Page 94 of The Crimson Walls Of Algorath

At that, Kall grunted, his mouth twisting into a sour expression. “She no stop.”

“So these last few nights haven’t been just because I’m here?” He knew she’d trained all night when in Monsumbra, but he hadn’t expected her to keep that stamina. That Kall could keep up with her quick-healing body and incessant endurance was a miracle unto itself.

His sister shook her head. “If I am going to get him out of that place, I have to be ready.”

“But do you have a plan?” How did he end up with two siblings who never thought through their actions? Azriel had always charged in head-first, and Ariadne, equipped with her new knowledge, was on the same destructive path. At least Emillie seemed to think like him.

“The Iudex won’t hear his case,” Phulan cut in. “Azriel’s sentence by the Caersans was considered enough to keep him imprisoned for his full term.”

Madan swallowed down the rising tide of panic. He’d hoped there would be a way around whatever the vampires had said against him—a way around Ariadne feeling the need to raise arms against Melia. But his hands were tied. He wanted his brother free as much as she needed her husband. He wouldn’t stand in her way.

“Then let’s make one.”

“We’ll go in and kill everyone in our way,” Kall said in the dhemon tongue. “Like the Crowe and I did for Whelan.”

Of course he had to bring that up. Madan’s gut knotted, remembering all too vividly the sheer terror he’d felt when Brutis alerted them of his partner’s capture. Of course, he later realized who’d orchestrated the entire thing. Ehrun wanted the Crowe out of the way to enact his own plans—plans their King had forbidden as he attempted to mend the rift between vampires and dhemons.

He’d never really asked what they’d done to free Whelan. He’d never cared so long as they were successful. It wasn’t even until this moment that he’d truly considered the lengths to which the Crowe, his father in so many ways, had gone to ensure his partner’s safe return.

Evidently, he’d fought their way out of Algorath, then died on Ehrun’s sword and, in doing so, protected both his sons.

“The Crowe also had an army at his command,” Madan reminded him in the common tongue after seeing Ariadne’s look of confusion. “The mages couldn’t risk challenging him without inciting a war.”

“We have no such power,” Ariadne said, looking between them. “And Phulan cannot risk exposure. We are but two of us, and the moment Kall is seen, we must act. There will only be one chance.”

So she had given some forethought to this. Madan sighed in a mixture of relief and exhaustion. Unfortunately, she was correct. She was working alone with only Kall as backup. If they didn’t move at precisely the right moment, they’d both die in the rescue attempt.

“You need to contact him,” he said after a long moment of tense silence as the same thoughts dawned on them all. “He’s training with a dozen of the city’s best fighters. They’d look for any way to free themselves as well.”

“You want us to recruit criminals?” Ariadne gaped at him. “What happens when these people end up free to continue whatever got them thrown into prison in the first place?”

Kall leaned forward and said a single word, “Oaths.”

But his sister shook her head. “What would we do with oaths?”

To Madan’s relief, Phulan’s eyes sparkled. “An excellent idea, Kall.”

The dhemon dipped his chin in thanks.

“Melia’s hosting another party tonight,” Phulan said, then looked to Ariadne. “We’ll go, and you’ll have the opportunity to contact Azriel. I can’t do it, or she’ll be suspicious. He knows how to bind others to him.”

Ariadne, however, didn’t look convinced. “I do not understand.”

“Vampires stole the ritual a long time ago,” the mage said with a downward quirk of her mouth. “You didn’t even realize what was happening when you did it.”

“Pardon me?” Ariadne’s eyes widened, and for a moment, Madan felt a pang of regret for not telling her the truth of the wedding ceremony. He’d known precisely what happened the moment her blood mixed with Azriel’s—with a dhemon’s.

Madan shifted forward, resting his elbows on the amethyst table. “Vampires took many things from dhemons when they first arrived in the Keonis Valley.”

“I know this,” Ariadne said a bit defensively, but her eyes went distant. Wherever she disappeared to in that moment was not pleasant. Blood drained from her face, and her shoulders curled in.

Without thinking, Madan reached across the table and took his sister’s hand. She jumped in alarm, having not seen him move despite her gaze locking on the space between them. Her eyes slammed into his as though to remind herself who touched her before turning her palm against his and wrapping her fingers around his hand. He squeezed once. She returned the gesture, loosing a breath as she did so.

“What is this ritual?” she asked, her voice no longer holding the same strength it had mere moments before. “And what does it do?”

Phulan gave her a sad smile. “The Caersans have changed it enough that the steps are no longer the same, but the end result is. With Azriel’s connection to you, he likely hadn’t even realized what he was doing. He only saw his bond solidified by the wedding ceremony.”

“But what does it do?”

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