Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I crouched in front of his cell. “We’re going to make them pay.”
Dashiel’s breath hitched, his pale blue eyes finding mine. “It was a better end for him than any he would have had at the king’s hand. Sabium doesn’t just burn those of us with the most helpful powers, you know. Some of us, he puts to work.”
I shivered at the thought of being used to hunt the king’s enemies.
“He used Thayer as an example of what happened to villages that hid the corrupt. His guards went from village to village, town to town, with the story of how Thayer had turned half of his village mad. But they made it sound like he meant to do it. Like my gentle brother lashed out because he could.”
“The king’s assessor who came to your village… Did he have a scar on the side of his neck?”
Dashiel nodded. “You know him?”
“He’s here at the castle now.”
Dashiel went still, and some of the life returned to those pale eyes. Life and vengeance. “I want him dead.”
“Then stop eating the food they give you. I’ll try to bring more down in the next day or two.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “I do this, and you’ll help me kill the assessor?”
“I will.” I’d already planned to kill him anyway. If this was what Dashiel needed…
He let out a long breath. “Very well.”
I’d figured out which cell Lina was in by process of elimination. I made to scuttle past her, and she let out a low laugh.
“I know it’s you, Prisca.”
I turned. Unsurprisingly, she looked terrible. Her blond hair was dark with dirt, hanging limp in front of her face, which was covered in bruises.
“It’s okay,” Lina said. “I won’t say anything. I know you’re here for Asinia.”
And no one had come for her.
Her lower lip trembled, but she bit down on it.
“I’m sorry about your grandparents.”
“Thank you. The worst part is…they didn’t know. Or I think they would have tried to get me out. But I didn’t know either. I thought I was just a lucky person. I thought the gods were smiling down at me. That I was blessed.” She let out a hollow laugh.
“I’m getting you out.”
A flash of hope sparked in her eyes, quickly suppressed. “You’ll never be able to do it. If you’re smart, you’ll take Asinia and run far from this kingdom.”
“Stop eating the food. And start exercising as much as you can.”
She stared at me.
I crouched down and leaned close. “I know you don’t want to hope. But if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for your grandparents.”
She let out a long breath, but her mouth had firmed. “Get me out of here, Pris. And I’ll owe you my life.”
“You won’t owe me anything.”
I spent the next hour searching for the tunnel entrance. But that search was futile. We had to be careful how long we spent down here, and when Tibris finally insisted we leave, I allowed him to take my arm.
Walking past Wila’s empty cell felt like being stabbed in the chest. I stalked past the frozen guards, holding the thread of my magic without a thought. I barely restrained myself from slitting their throats as Tibris tucked the keys back into the older guard’s belt.
“Are you okay?” Tibris murmured when we were back in the servants’ hall.
“No. But I will be.” I reached out and hugged him. Wila’s face flashed through my mind, the sorrow and rage as she’d talked about her brother. And I squeezed Tibris a little tighter. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
By the time I made it the hall outside my chambers, I was more than ready to crawl under my covers.
“And just what are you up to?” a low voice purred.
I whirled, finding Lorian leaning against a wall.
“What are you doing here?”
He gave me a slow, feline grin. It was as if this morning had never happened. Good. Shockingly, I didn’t enjoy being reminded that I’d sobbed in his arms.
“All this sneaking around the castle. Have you found a way to get your friend out yet?”
My heart twisted. “No.”
The smile left his face. “What’s wrong?”
I stared at him in disbelief. Everything was wrong. A good woman had just been put to death because of my stupid plan. Asinia was imprisoned because I’d been caught using my power. Both of our mothers were dead.
He leveled me with a hard stare. “Prisca. What’s wrong with your friend?”