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A pair of girls walk past, giggling, looking far too young and naive. One of them carries a small cage. I don’t look too closely, not wanting to know what they are up to.

The market stretches on around us, buzzing with strange energy. A small band is set up down the end and the mournful violin music winds its way through the stalls. It sounds beautiful and heartbreaking.

‘I think it’s time to say goodbye to Red Thorne,’ I say softly.

Theo sweeps his gaze around us before those jet-black eyes settle on mine.

‘I think you’re right.’

26

THEO

The Captive

The smell of alcohol burns my nose as I step inside the bar.

The music is low, hardly audible over the sound of the heartbeats around me. Hunter’s already at the back booth when I walk in, leaning back in the chair, pint half finished, arms crossed as he gazes out the window, looking deep in thought as usual. He and Raya are similar like that, always looking as if they are mulling something over. He sees me, smirks, and lifts the glass in a mock toast.

‘Late,’ he says.

‘Fashionably,’ I correct, sliding into the booth seat opposite him.

He snorts. ‘You’re not that fashionable.’

‘Rude,’ I say, leaning over and finishing his drink. He eyes me lazily, unsurprised, since I have often done this in the past.

The bar’s half empty, with a few people eating and others playing pool.

I lean back, letting out a slow breath. ‘Been a while since we got to hang out.’

Hunter nods. ‘Yeah. Things were weird without you.’

‘Oh?’

‘When the others said you were going to travel a bit since being released from Kian’s hold, I assumed you were kicking it somewhere, letting loose. When time passed and no one had heard from you, I just knew something was wrong.’

I nod, tracing a finger through the condensation on Hunter’s empty glass. ‘You came back to Red Thorne?’

‘Yeah. The honeymoon was over, and Raya was still on break from study so it made sense to return. I tried looking around for you, and when Kian said he couldn’t sense you, we all started to panic.’

‘Naw.’ I grin, nudging his elbow with mine. ‘You were worried about me.’

Hunter’s face remains serious as he fixes me with his ‘no-nonsense’ stare. ‘Yeah. I was.’

The bartender arrives, places two glasses of bourbon down, and wordlessly disappears. Hunter must have ordered before I got here. Reaching for one of the glasses, I take a long swig, the liquid burning my throat.

‘What was it like?’ he asks quietly. ‘Being in the cell like that?’

‘Oh, it was a grand time. I got to relax, catch up on my reading, and sit with my thoughts.’

He gives me a deadpan expression. ‘Yeah right.’

I finish my drink and place it down a little too hard on the table. I stare down at it, jaw clenching and unclenching as flashes of being underground bombard my mind.

The feeling of darkness pressing in on all sides, the earth above me, stone at my back, metal bars locking me in. The disorientation, the pain in my fingers as I tried to claw my way out.

‘It was terrible,’ I eventually say, voice hoarse. ‘Wouldn’t wish that kind of loneliness on anyone.’