Page 121 of Wings of Death

I raise my brows and turn away from him.

“I can’t explain it to you now, but you have to trust me, okay?”

I move back over to my spot in the corner and sink down, wrapping the blanket over myself. He watches my movements, and when I finally meet his gaze, I see pain there.

“I will be back as soon as I can, I promise.”

And with that, he’s gone, leaving me alone again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

It’s been hours since Amaros was here, and I’m not holding my breath for his return. Even if he frees me, unless he’s planning to deal with both of the twins and Hethenos, it’s pointless. They have to be stopped, and I know without a doubt if I escape, they will kill me. If I’m ever going to get out of here, it will be when one of my captors opens my cell door, giving me the opportunity to escape.

Footsteps sound in the tunnels, and I glance up to see Demetros and Lacinda. Our eyes lock, and they run to my cell.

“By the gods, Zarla!” Lacinda panics, tugging on the cell lock.

“Hethenos did this?” Demetros asks, his eyes wide with fury.

I hurry to the gate and reach my arms through to Lacinda, and she hugs me. “I’m so happy to see you both. How did you know I was here?”

Demetros grips the cell bars. “We bumped into Amaros. He told us.”

I raise my brows. I guess he really is trying to help me. “It’s not much use, though. He couldn’t get me out. He went back to find a way.”

Lacinda flexes her fingers and starts pacing, her red curls bouncing around with each movement. “How dare she do this to you.”

“Does my father know? How is he?” I ask with urgency.

Demetros and Lacinda share a look that has my heart beating faster.

“He’s in a coma,” she finally tells me. “They don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he was so sick, the healers had no choice but to induce him into a coma. Hethenos is waltzing around like she owns the place, and has been barking orders like she’s the Queen. And with your absence, she is the one they look to.”

I grit my teeth together and tighten my grip on the cell bars. “She’s poisoned him. That’s what’s wrong with him. She did the same to me.”

Lacinda’s mouth drops open. “Shewhat?”

I let go of the bars and wander around my cell. “Alaron helped me to remove it.”

Demetros frowns. “Alaron?”

Oh, that’s right. He didn’t give his name when the three of us visited him in the Dark Forest. “The God of Death. His name is Alaron.”

Lacinda tucks her hair behind her ears and steps closer to the cell gate. “Well, that’s good. Why couldn’t he break you out of here too?”

I glance down, remembering what he said about how he can’t upset the balance too much. “He can’t. He removed the poison, and that was all he could do. Oh yeah, and he gave me this rock,” I say, pulling it from my pocket.

Their brows knit together as they look at the green rock in my hand.

“What does it do?” Demetros asks.

I shrug and slip it back into my pocket. “I’m not sure. It’s got to do something, or why did he give it to me?”

Lacinda reaches through the bars and grasps my hand. “What can we do?” she asks, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

I give her a tight-lipped smile. “Find Kyle.”

Demetros lets out a frustrated grunt. “We can’t go to his Kingdom, and we have no way to contact him.”

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