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Victory coursed through my veins as the lock gave a slow clicking sound, and then the door unlatched a bit violently. It shook, and I dropped the key like it was on fire, grabbing the bars on the door to remain upright.
It swung open, into the cage, and I swung with it. A scream pierced the air, and I realized as my face crashed into and bounced off of the bars, that the scream had been mine.
Warm blood gushed down my lips as I pulled my cheek off the bars.
Dammit, my nose was bleeding. Throbbing, too, strong enough to make my eyes water.
I climbed down slowly, my arms and legs shaky, stepping away from the door and lifting my hand to my nose. Pressure would staunch the bleeding, I hoped.
But the moment I’d stepped away from the door, the fucking thing swung shut.
Shock hit me hard in the chest, stealing my breath and parting my lips as it slammed and the lock clicked back into place.
A panicked cry escaped me.
My chest started to rise and fall rapidly.
The room spun.
I staggered toward the door, my gaze searching frantically for the key-spear.
But the damn thing had fallen when the door closed—and another awful sound burst from my lungs when I saw it mostly buried in the cell two over from the one I was in.
I yanked on the cell’s door anyway, trying frantically to calm my mind. My emotions were a fucking hurricane though; the awful memories of my past hitting me so damned hard, one after another.
But after a moment, dark magic swelled around me—and then I was pulled against a hard, warm chest.
My eyes were still open, but I saw nothing.
My body was in panic mode, my mind racing through the horrors that it was certain were coming next.
Pain.
Blood.
Fear.
Loss.
“No one and nothing will hurt you while I’m here, Vena. Open your eyes and look around. See that you’re safe.” Laith’s voice was firm, but not cruel.
My eyes opened at his command.
At first, I saw nothing but his chest.
Then he lifted my chin slowly, until our eyes met.
“Match my breathing, Lemay.”
He inhaled slowly, and I did the same. When he exhaled slowly, I copied that too.
We breathed together for a long while—in slowly, and out slowly—until my heartbeat had calmed and I felt safe again.
“Good.” He brushed the backs of his fingertips over my cheek, and the softness in his eyes about killed me. “We’re still in the dungeon, but you know the strength of our magic. The darkness seeps into every corner of our world, and when we embrace it, it carries us where we need to go. There is nowhere that can trap us—and nothing that can hurt us while we’re together.”
I dipped my head in a rough nod.
He was right; his magic could transport us.
