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I consider telling him deafness can’t possibly have anything to do with it since he’s thinking his thoughts into my mind, but I have far more pressing matters than provoking the demon.“And why is it that the Void Prince of Pride has been captured by a bunch of priestesses? If you can be defeated so easily, perhaps I should be concerned by your ability to defeat the necromancers.”
“It was because of your orders,”he snarls.“If not for your command to do everything in my power to find a healer and keep you alive, I wouldn’t have been captured. I couldn’t kill them, or else they wouldn’t have been able to heal you.”
After seeing how he shattered the earth to defeat a pack of goblins, I’m inclined to believe him. If he’d fought the priestesses with his full strength, this temple would likely be in ruins. “Perhaps,” I say, and I can feel his wrath through our mind-link at that single word. “Now, if I were to give you the order to do everything in your power to break out of the dungeons, would you be able to do so?”
“No.”He only sounds angrier by the suggestion.
“Why not?”
“They’ve subdued my power with manacles forged from their wretched light.”
“Then it appears you’re in need of saving, Void Prince. Unless you’d prefer to spend all of eternity caged beneath a temple?”
“Be quick about it,”he snaps. “The sooner I escape these bindings, the sooner I can unleash my wrath upon these light worshipping imbeciles.”
“I think not.”
“Why not?”he seethes.
“Because I’m disinclined to order the execution of those who have saved my life.”
“You do not understand the nature of these zealous fools. Showing them mercy will prove a costly mistake.”
“Sit tight and be good,” I say.“I’ll come and fetch you soon.”
He only snarls at me.
eleven
ShortlyafterspeakingtoNatharius via a mind-link, I end up falling asleep. It isn’t what I intend, but it seems my body has other plans and is determined to make a full recovery. And I suppose Yadira is right. I did almost die from the goblins’ poison.
I’m not sure how long I sleep, but it must be a few hours since I feel much better when I wake. I sit up and notice my robes are laid neatly at the end of the bed and Zephyr has nestled into them.
I try to shake him off, but he doesn’t budge. After much wriggling, they come free from beneath him, and he rolls onto his side and continues to snore.
I hold up my robes and inspect them. They look brand new. Even the tear in the left arm has vanished, and the indigo material is free of all dirt and bloodstains. It seems the Priestesses of Selynis are as skilled at mending fabric as flesh.
I hastily change out of my silk dress, worried Yadira will reappear and insist I return to bed. But I can’t afford to sleep for a moment longer. We’ve already wasted enough time. I must find Natharius and leave Esterra City as soon as possible.
“Don’t tell me you’re still sleeping,” I say to Zephyr when I’m back in my magi robes. He doesn’t so much as open an eye in response. “All right, suit yourself. I’m leaving as soon as I find the Void Prince. If you don’t wake up, you’ll have to stay here and learn to eat light magic instead of aether crystals.”
Since he springs up at that, I’m certain he was only pretending to be asleep.
I march across the room, and Zephyr flutters behind me. When I reach the door, I pause and glance back at him.
“Do you know where the dungeons are?” I whisper.
He tilts his head to either side as he thinks.
“You have an idea, but you’re not entirely sure?”
Zephyr nods.
“Right, we’ll have to look around the temple.” I glance across at the window beside the bed. The sun is dipping low in the horizon and casts crimson streaks across the sky. “If the priestesses ask where we’re going, we’ll tell them we’re hungry and are looking for food.”
I slip through the door and step out into the corridor and pause, holding my breath. Nerves hum through me, even when I repeat the excuse I suggested to Zephyr.
Luckily, there are no priestesses here. The corridor is empty. Pale rock stretches out either side of us. The temple must be built from limestone.
