Easing one of the beige curtains aside slightly, I carefully peered outside.
Given that I’d spent the last several days in darkness, it was easy for me to make out what I needed to through the dark.
A mansion a few feet away over by a courtyard being protected by wrought iron gates.
This was only a guesthouse then.
The fact that no one was around in the immediate vicinity of this place guarding me made it clear that I’d been left here to waste away and die.
Part of Elijah’s plan to break Caspian, I figured.
I caught sight of a few people milling about around the mansion itself. Guards, it looked like. With that protection in place, it pointed toward Elijah being here.
I grasped my necklace. It should have led Caspian and his people straight here. The fact that it hadn’t pointed toward there being some sort of interference around, either on the grounds, or perhaps a mobile signal jammer on Elijah’s person.
Now I was free of the basement, I just had to escape the grounds, evade his guys, then get far enough away for the tracker inside the pendant to no longer be blocked, then Caspian would be able to head right to me, and I could give him Elijah too.
Easy enough, right?
Not exactly.
Especially not in my current fucked-up state.
Here goes nothing.
As I crept toward the main building, intending to sneak around the side, steal a car in the courtyard, then ram the gates and make my escape, two guys dressed in sweats just like my kidnappers had been came walking out of a side entrance.
I bolted the few feet remaining to the building, then flattened my back against the brick wall out of their line of sight as their voices reached me.
“You think he’s gonna break the guy?”
“Bane doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants, we all know that.”
“Maybe he’ll do like he has before, put him on a literal leash and have Rowland serve us all on his knees, mouth open wide, as his initiation into being Bane’s pet boy.”
I froze, my gut twisting at their words.
Caleb was here as well?
I’d been operating under the assumption that I’d been taken alone.
Fuck. And he was enduring what? Jesus Christ.
“Not my thing, but you can have at it all you like.”
“Unless he goes all possessive because Rowland is King’s piece.”
“Could go that way. He’s got a thing about copying the guy.”
I gritted my teeth as they both started laughing, then headed around to the front of the mansion. Not long after I heard a car start up.
Change of plans. I’m coming, Cal!
I hugged the wall as I made my way around to the side entrance.
The hugging part wasn’t just about staying out of sight, it was a fucking necessity with how damn dizzy I was. Aside from that and the weariness, there was now a shitload of nausea. Probably something to do with me gulping down a load of water after days of not having any.
I forced myself to push past it as I reached the bland white door of the side entrance.