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The bone I chose wasn’t as flexible as the first. There was a very real chance it would also snap. But I was out of options.
Achingly slowly, I used the tension bone to press against the internal cylinder. Sliding the new bone into the lock, I held my breath until the world dimmed around the edges.
Stop. Breathe.
There would be no rushing this. I either picked this lock, or I died.
I kept my movements small, manipulating the pins gently. One by one, I felt for the pins, the world reduced to the cold iron around my wrist and the fragile hope still fluttering in my chest.
It felt like hours later when I turned the tension bone.
Click.
The manacle fell open.
Feral delight kindled in my gut, spreading hungry flames throughout my body. The rush was heady, and my head spun, my spine tingling with possibility.
I yanked my wrist from the cuff, carefully placing the manacles on the floor next to me, hidden by my body. Rolling my shoulders, I waited for my power to slam into me. To come roaring back.
Nothing.
Panic clawed at me, until I leaned over, battling nausea. I was down to hours before Regner would arrive. My power was closer than before, but still out of reach. And without that power, I was his prey.
I took a deep breath, leaned my head against the wall, and closed my eyes.
Then I begged whichever gods were listening for help.
CHAPTER EIGHT
As usual, the gods weren’t listening to my pleas. I didn’t receive a sudden influx of power.
But slowly, as the guards’ shift changed once, and then again, a few drops of my power began to return. It was sluggish, buried deep within me. But I could use it.
At this point, I had to use it. There was no time left to wait.
I shuffled over to the bars of my cage.
The first guard didn’t spare me a glance as he stalked past. He wasn’t who I needed. The blond guard came a few minutes later, rushing past as if he were late for something incredibly important.
He was the guard in charge of the keys today.
I pulled the thread of my power toward me and launched to my feet, reaching through the bars to his pocket.
Empty.
Taking hold of his shirt, I pulled until his frozen body fell against the bars. Panting, I grasped my power with everything I had, refusing to let go until…
There.
I scooped the keys from his other side, swiping them off his belt. The lock was on the outside of my cell, and I twisted my arm around, pressing the key inside and twisting. At this point, I half expected the iron key to snap.
But it didn’t.
The cage opened with a satisfying click, and the guard fell inside my cell. Pressing a foot to his back, I shoved him in farther, slipped his dagger from his sheath, and slammed the cell door shut. Now I was the one in the corridor.
My grasp on my power slipped.
Time restarted.
