My throat tightened, and I stopped walking completely.
“I wasn’t able to protect her from the guards. Our mother tried and died for it.”
“That woman—”
“I know how you feel about that,” Tibris said. “And I can understand why. But that woman raised Prisca. She was the one who dried her tears after her nightmares. The one who taught her to hide her power and keep herself safe. My mother may be the villain in your story, but she died to protect our sister.”
A long silence followed. Finally, Tibris sighed. “I need to see your shoulder.” He let out a humming sound. “It looks good.”
I resumed my footsteps, finding Asinia standing in her cage, stretching her legs.
“It’s so good to see you moving.” She still needed to gain her weight back, but she looked stronger than she had since I’d found her down here. And she practically radiated determination.
“I have to be ready to run if I need to.”
I nodded. “I have a question. It’s about your…power.”
Her mouth curved in a faint smile. “You want to know what I can do.”
Tibris and Demos stopped their sniping at that, and I glanced at them. Both of them had turned toward Asinia expectantly.
She rolled her eyes. “If you’re hoping for some incredible offensive power, you can keep hoping. My power heightens my precision. I make incredibly neat stitches.”
Tibris nodded at that, while Demos continued to watch her. “Precision can mean many things. Let’s put a bow in your hand and see if you can let those arrows fly.”
She raised one eyebrow. “I tried learning to use a bow when Prisca did. I was almost as bad as her.”
“You were suppressing your power then, though, weren’t you?” Demos asked.
After a moment, she nodded.
“Worth a try,” I said. “As soon as you’re free, you need to begin training and see if that precision can be used to aim.”
She gave me a cool look, and I realized I was giving her orders. “Sorry.”
She just smiled. “It’s okay. You know, sometimes I barely recognize you.”
I winced, and she reached through the bars and grabbed my hand. “In a good way. Some people break under pressure like this. You’re using it to become strong.”
I thought of Lorian and all the ways he’d prodded me into doing exactly that. “I’m working on it.”
Tibris stepped out of Demos’s cage. “We’ve been down here for a while now. We should go.”
I nodded, and I squeezed Asinia’s hand. “Not long now.”
Glancing at Tibris, I gestured for him to follow me. He frowned but complied, and we walked toward the stone staircase. Hands on my hips, I examined it.
Tibris caught on immediately. “You think this is the tunnel entrance.”
I held up my lantern between us. “My source insists it is.”
He rolled his eyes at my source.
I scowled at him. “I’ve been down here every night, looking for this entrance. You can dislike Lorian as much as you want—and I can’t blame you for any of it—but he helped us with this, Tibris.”
“Fine. I guess I can thank him for that at least. I wouldn’t have thought to look here.”
“Me neither. He even told me how it works.”
“You’re not an idiot, Pris. He’s playing his own game here. If he gave you any information to help you, it’s because it benefits him somehow.”
“I know. I’ve spent more time with him than you have, after all. That doesn’t mean we can’t benefit from whatever he’s up to.” I circled the stairs and crouched in front of the second step from the bottom. The catch was tiny, created to look like just another crack in the stone. Shoving my finger into that crack, I pressed on the tiny metal latch.
Tibris pulled me off the stairs, and we both watched as a door slid open. Completely silent.
We glanced at each other and stepped into the tunnel.
As usual, I made my way to Lorian’s rooms after I left the dungeon. This time, I was feeling exultant. The tunnel had led us all the way out to the main market. Just days from now, every person in the dungeon would be free.
I wanted to thank him. I knew Tibris was right. But Lorian was still helping us save the hybrids’ lives.
My power came to me easily tonight, my mind on the mercenary. Lorian had the ability to both calm me and infuriate me. Either way, he was a distraction from the way my skin constantly felt too tight in this place, and I longed to run just to burn off some of the tension that consumed me.