Page 3 of Elysian

She swayed toward him, and with her angled position, I could not see her expression. Vaner curled his arm around her waist and guided her out, murmuring to her in a cajoling tone. Their steps turned faint until only the plink of a leak somewhere in the cell remained.

Torches lined the opposite wall, spaced about a pace apart. The flickering flames played along the dips of the stone. The same large, gray stones I stood on made up every surface.

A squeak brought my attention down to the iron cage braced across from my cell. Within it was Piper, her body writhing into the sawdust covering the bottom. I squeezed the bars harder.

Chittering sounds continued coming from her, but there were no words in my head.

I did not feel her. Pressing a hand to my chest, I struggled to draw breaths in. That familiar warmth was utterly gone. Not even a sliver remained.

“Piper, talk to me,” I begged. The small cage she was in was directly within my view, and it told me it hadn’t been an accident. Was it a kindness or were they driving the shard in deeper?

“Piper?” I whispered.

The ferret did not turn to me. Instead, she continued to nibble on a piece of sawdust. She had never done that. And I knew, without a doubt, that what made Piper her was gone. Obliterated by a snap.

I sagged, clinging to the bars and struggling to breathe.

She truly was gone. She was gone, yet I was still here. An impossibility that was somehow my reality. My hands shook.

It was all his fault.

I had yet to look at him, but now I did.

He lay on his side, facing me, unconscious. A chain connected to one of his ankles was attached to the stone wall. Blood still stained his mouth and streaks lined his face where it had traveled downward and dried.

He didn’t deserve such peace.

I crouched and collected a handful of dust mixed with a few stones. Drawing my arm back, I threw with my entire might. The rain of falling dust and rocks hitting iron cascaded through the cells.

“Get up!” I shouted, lunging at the bars that separated me from him.

No tears came despite the pressure of a pulsing throb that stretched to my temples. Cassiel sprang upright like the rising dead. He hissed, favoring his side while blinking with effort. His eyes widened, and he whipped his head toward me.

“Mortal.”

The relief that coated his voice roused my ire. He had no right to be relieved. With much more effort than he used ordinarily, he climbed to his feet and staggered toward me, the chain screeching across the ground. That look on his face . . . a clash of concern and relief as he stood before the bars and reached through.

“This is your fault.” I slapped his hand away. He flinched, but I did not move my glare. “You are why she’s not responding to me. Why I cannot hear her.” My voice rose a few octaves. Cassiel’s jaw bunched. “Why did you not believe me?”

He remained silent, but reached through the bars again. His hand spanned my cheek, and he swiped a thumb across the swell of my cheekbone.

“Why did you not believe me?” This time, I couldn’t stop the begging edge in my voice. Cassiel continued staring at me.

Piper was gone.

My knees gave out.

“Why?” I sobbed, curling forward over my thighs. Hard stone pressed against my knees. I shuddered, attempting to smother the gasps refusing to ease.

Cassiel placed his palm on my head. I did not have the strength to shove him away. Without saying a word, he combed fingers through my hair.

I hated how much I wanted to lean into his touch.

A sob burst free, and it hurt my sore throat. Pain expanded in my chest as if it could explode through my cloak and gown to become a tangible thing. But it remained inside me, festering suffocatingly. All the while, Cassiel continued to touch me, and selfishly, I stayed still, closing my eyes as the contact calmed the tumultuous grief.

The sound of approaching footsteps echoing off stone lifted my head. I blinked with effort, the lids crusted shut. Rubbing at them cleared my vision in time to see the shadowed figure. Not until the person reached the torches did I make out who it was.

“Eliza,” I breathed, pushing to my feet.