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"One of the men was singing that," a familiar voice said, and she looked up to find Luch perched on the windowsill. She shouldn't be surprised, he only really disappeared when she tried to press him further on things.
"Sorry?" She wasn't quite sure what he meant.
"The song you were singing, Queen Mary's Escape from Loch Leven, if I'm not mistaken." He sounded very sure of himself, especially for a mouse.
"What about it?" she asked, nodding her head.
"One of the male prisoners. He was singing it. Well, humming more accurately. According to the other man, he shouldn't even try the singing."
Macey perked up. That sounded a lot like how Bruce and Jerry would act. Bruce loved to sing under his breath but couldn't to save his life. And if the song he'd been humming had been Queen Mary, then it seemed likely that the men in question were her brothers. And if they were...
"What do they look like?" she asked eagerly, hope welling up within her for the first time. She wasn't sure why. There was probably just as little she could do with her brothers down the hall, as she could by herself, but it was something to strive for. And hopefully, if it was them, she could get to the bottom of how they were involved in it all too.
She really shouldn't get her hopes up.
"Men," the mouse said, running its paw over its ear and scratching.
"Not what I meant. Do they look like me?" she asked, heart pounding in her chest as she waited for the answer.
"They're the same shape without the..." The mouse made a gesture around its chest, clearly intending to mean boobs. Despite herself, Macey laughed before firmly clamping her hand over her mouth. She didn't want the guards to hear her, or they'd likely come to investigate. Something that wasn't likely to end all that well for her and would certainly mean that Luch disappeared off to wherever he hid when he wasn't with her.
"No, I mean hair, eyes, voice..." she trailed off, now worrying she'd completely got the wrong end of the stick. It'd wouldn't be good for her mentally if she thought she could save her brothers only for them to turn out to be complete strangers.
That was uncharitable. Saving strangers wouldn't be a bad thing. Quite the contrary. But it also wouldn't be the same as saving her brothers.
"I suppose so, yes. But they're a little bit...bigger than you."
"Taller?" she asked eagerly. "Wider? Stronger? Are they kelpies too?" Why hadn't she thought to ask that sooner? Luch had known what she was, so it was to be expected that he knew what others were imprisoned here too. Her mind strayed to Amber again. She wondered what she was. It seemed unlikely she was just another mage, not from the way Izban was talking about her. But Macey couldn't think of any creature connected to lightning. Maybe her education was lacking in that respect. It wasn't like it affected her people at the bottom of their Loch.
"Yes, yes, not anymore, and I think so. But their aura is a bit funny." Luch scrunched up his nose in a rather comical gesture.
"Funny how?"
Seconds seemed to drag as Macey waited for him to answer. But just when he was about to answer, the loud sound of boots thudding against a hard floor filled the room, and she froze in position. Luch did the same on the windowsill, while exchanging worried looks with her.
"Go," Macey mouthed to him, and he nodded, waving goodbye with one paw and turning to disappear into the wall. Macey cocked her head to the side. Her life really had taken a turn towards the weird recently.
She waited with baited breath as the boots approached, and something deep within her gut told her that this time she wasn't escaping. This time, it was her turn.
Macey's blood turned to ice, and panic began to build within her. Even if there wasn't anything she could do, her fight or flight instinct kicked in. She wasn't naive enough to believe she was stronger than the guards. The Voice really wouldn't leave security in his prison to off chance. They'd outnumber her, and they'd probably be more powerful than her. Their magic likely wouldn't be blocked either.
That just pissed her off. How dare the Voice kidnap her. Her men would be worried sick. And hopefully on their way. It'd save her so much time if they were already here and she didn't have to find them when she escaped.
Plus, she'd need Flint and Cam to get her brothers back to the Loch. No matter how to blame they were or weren't, she wanted them out of the way.
A scratching sound in the door confirmed Macey's fear. It really was her turn. Despite every instinct telling her to turn around, she refused. If this was going to be her last day, then she was going to give at least one last act of defiance.
She wouldn't scream either. No matter what they did to her. Okay, that one was a lie. There'd no doubt come a point where she'd have to scream, but until then, not even a whimper would cross her lips.
"Time to go, Princess," a male voice sneered. It was the same guard she'd heard before, and dread joined the panic.
Instead of letting him drag her, she turned around and looked him in the eye. "Okay, lead the way."
"Oh no, that's not how we do things here. Stretch out your hands."
She only hesitated for a moment, but it was enough for the guard to backhand her. Her cheek was burning and she instinctively covered it with one hand - which the guard used to grab her by the wrist and put a bronze cuff around it.
A shiver went through Macey. Bronze. Oh no. People thought iron was painful to supernaturals, but that was a rumour the fae had spread to protect themselves. In fact, it was bronze they were allergic to. The fae more than most other supernatural species, but for kelpies, it was almost as bad. It didn't hurt physically, but it blocked their magic and their ability to shift. The Voice really had to know a lot about kelpies to use bronze cuffs on her.
