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I breathed in a dank, loamy scent that reminded me of the underground tunnels that led under the academy, but this was not the way I’d come when Kann had taken us to see the maze, or when Torq had led me to them later. This scent was heavier, and I could swear I detected the coppery tang of blood.
My heart tripped as it hit me that maybe he intended to kill me, instead of take me with him. Maybe he was only telling me he was taking me with him as he dragged me to my death. “Taking me prisoner is just as wrong as what Torq’s brother did, and I did nothing to you. I am not high-born. I am like you.”
He hesitated and his voice softened. “I will not hurt you. I can make you happy. Happier than you would be with a Drexian like Torq who could never claim you as a mate. I saw you with him and his father. I saw how he treated you. I would never do that.”
I had no answer for that, but being reminded of Torq pretending he barely knew me in front of his father made my heart twist. Dom was not delusional about everything. Torq had made his choice about me, but I had also made my decision about him. “I promise you that Torq and I are not together. This will not hurt him the way you think it will.”
Dom ignored this, grunting as we moved deeper down the sloping corridor and through a rusty, steel gate that hung loosely on its hinges. Then we were walking on dirt-covered stone with barred cells on either side of us. Was this the dungeons? Part of me had believed that they were made up to scare cadets, but from the smell of decay and urine, it was clear that they were very real. A low growl from somewhere deeper sent fresh waves of fear through me. They were real and they were not empty.
“Release her.” The deep voice came from behind us, and it was so calm and steady that it took me a beat to realize who had spoken.
Dom swung around, almost knocking me over as he tried to regain his grip on my arm and press his blaster into my side. Torq stood at the entrance to the dungeons with a curved blade in each hand.
“It is over.” His expression was fierce as he stared at Dom. “Everyone knows that you did not drown. You will not escape, and you will not leave the academy.”
Dom clenched his teeth so hard I heard them grind. “You would let her die to win?”
“Jess is not going to die. I will not let you harm her.” Barely controlled rage hummed through each word, but his eyes were on me. “I will not let you touch her for one more second.”
From behind us came the sound of shuffling and scraping, and then iron bars rattled as an enormous creature flung itself onto them with a roar. Dom jerked and glanced behind him, but swiftly regained his composure and gripped me with even more determination.
But the moment of distraction had been enough. Torq had flicked his gaze to the floor quickly and then back up, and when he did it again, I understood. Before Dom had fully focused on Torq again, I elbowed Dom hard and aimed low. He grunted and loosened his grip on my arm, which gave me a chance to duck.
Blaster fire echoed off the low ceiling of the dungeons, and Dom staggered back, releasing me fully and dropping his own weapon. The beast in the cage screeched and swiped a long, furry arm into the passageway. I stumbled away, turning back to watch Dom fall. Commander Vyk emerged from the shadowy depths of one of the first cells still extending his blaster. I didn’t know why the security chief was with Torq, or how they’d found us, but I didn’t care as Torq rushed forward and swept me into his arms before my knees buckled.
Chapter
Seventy-One
Torq
Ididn’t let go of Jess until I’d led her from the dungeons, leaving Commander Vyk behind to handle the wounded Dom. I kept my arms wrapped tightly around her as I moved her quickly up the corridor and the stairs, wanting to get her far away from the cadet who’d tried to take her. My heart hammered relentlessly, even though I knew she was safe and could feel that she was unharmed.
I was sure I had lost a year or two off my life as I had run from the banquet hall and toward the dungeons, with Vyk close at my heels. I had not bothered to ask him why he was coming, or why he cared so much. I had been grateful to have the grizzled warrior by my side when we’d reached the underground corridors and had heard Dom recounting my shameful behavior to Jess. The security chief had not hesitated to motion for me to follow while he snuck into a cell with his blaster out, and he had not spoken a word to me after he had taken down the cadet. Maybe he had done it as payment for the sins of the trials. If so, I would take it and consider his debt paid.
Jess was safe and Dom would not threaten her again. That was all that mattered to me.
When we reached the main hall and the bottom of the wide staircase, Jess pulled away from me. “How did you know?”
I brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, grateful to be able to touch her again. “Reina saw you.”
Jess released a breath. “I didn’t think anyone saw him grab me. I was sure no one was coming.”
“I will always come for you.” My voice was thick with emotion as I stepped closer to her again, missing the feel of her body pressed against mine.
“Torq.”
I stiffened at the all-too-familiar voice booming from above. The voice that had scolded me as a child, the voice that had lectured me when I was older, the voice that warned me now. Jess stepped away from me, her expression shuttering.
I forced myself to look from her to my father as he swept down the stairs, his gaze locked on me. “You have returned to the academy so soon.”
“None too soon it seems.” His tone was cutting, and he slid a cold glance to Jess. “I came to speak to High Commander Kax. His father was a good friend.”
I wanted to correct him and tell him that Kax was no longer High Commander, but I did not. I also wanted to remind him that Kax was not at the academy due to his influence. Instead, I squared my shoulders and reached for Jess. “Father, this is Jess, one of the Assassin cadets.”
My father lifted a single brow and inclined his head at her. “I have seen you before, but my son assured me you were nobody.”
I flinched at this, but I proceeded to curl an arm around her waist and tug her to me. “She is not nobody. Far from it. She is all that matters.”
