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It takes more out of me than I care to admit to pull the pin from my hair. Once I have it, my arms fall back into my lap as I take deep breaths to steady myself.
Even if I can get out of here now, I have no way of knowing if I’ll have the strength to stand, let alone run or fight.
Another noise comes from the ceiling, a banging sound. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but I refuse to be this vulnerable when they come back.
I’m just testing the movement in my feet when a pained scream rings out, far away and barely audible. I freeze, listening as closely as possible when it happens again.
My heart races, and I force myself to stand on shaking legs. Every bone in my body hurts from the cold and from being in one position for so long. I strain my ears for the shuffling of feet and then the most precious sound of all.
The sound of a large cat growling.
Khijhana.
It has to be her. I have spent months in Jokith and have yet to see one other chalyx or wild cat. Only mine.
And if she is here, then one of those voices must be Einar.
Whether it is him or not, I call out as loudly as I possibly can. My throat is raw and aching, my eyes burning from the pain. Silence reigns for a moment, the only disturbance a faint shuffling sound. Then abruptly, another scream, this one piercing and louder than the one before.
I call out again and again.
Not only so Einar can find me, if it really is him. So that he can take me away from this sands-forsaken place.
But also to stop him from delivering the killing blow to Dvain that I have waited years for.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Einar
“No!” Dvain pleads. “Not again. Just give me a moment.”
I pull the blood-soaked knife back from his finger. I already took his thumb. I can’t imagine he will hold out as I cut off a second one.
He’s panting heavily, and I’m about to slowly remove another finger when the chalyx stiffens next to me. She keens and sniffs wildly, pawing frantically at the floor.
I pull away from Dvain. His face is slack with pain, and maybe shock. I shoot him a disdainful look before turning to focus on Khijhana.
She’s looking for something.
Or someone?
The room goes silent but for the quiet rustling of Khijhana’s ears twitching as she strains to listen to something in the distance.
And that’s when I hear it. The faintest voice, barely audible at all. Dvain whimpers beside me. I kick him, ordering him to be quiet so I can concentrate.
There is something there. Something tauntingly close but impossibly far away.
Khijhana goes wild, sniffing and pacing the room with even more urgency than before.
I grab the collar of Dvain’s shirt and drag him along with me while Gunnar and I follow the chalyx in her search. He doesn’t speak, only snivels while he clutches his bleeding hand like the weak, cowardly creature that he is.
Khijhana doesn’t stop until she reaches a small, unassuming closet door. Then, she scratches the wood until splinters fly near our feet.
I pull it open, and she tears at a rug in the same fashion, shredding the thing to bits.
Glancing around the closet, nothing seems amiss. It is full of vials and ingredients and supplies. Exactly what you would expect from an alchemist, but I know better than that. If we have secret passageways and doors in the castle, he surely does here as well.
“Open it.”
