I knit my brows together. This is the most I’ve ever heard him speak. It’s always his twin brother, Rimel, who did the talking, and Yimel would just linger in the background. Was this my chance? To reason with him to release me? Regardless, I have to try. There is literally nothing left to lose.
“Yimel, I’ve always liked you,” I lie. “You’ve never been cruel to me. It’s not too late to release me. I’ll tell my father that Hethenos and Rimel forced you to do this. He’ll believe me.”
He doesn’t respond right away, and I can see him mulling it over in his mind, but when he eventually shakes his head, I know I’ve lost him.
“That won’t work.”
Still feeling an ounce of hope, I stumble to my feet and move toward the bars. I place my hand over his, and he flinches at my touch but doesn’t remove it. I stare into his eyes.
“Yimel, please. She’s going to kill me, just like she killed my mother,” I plead with him.
He frowns and takes a step back. “That’s a lie.”
“No, it’s not. I swear she?—”
He bangs his fist against the bars, and I jump back.
“Stop!”
He presses his hand to his head and closes his eyes. When I see I won’t get anywhere with him, I walk back to the corner, sink down onto the cold dirt ground, and wrap the blanket over my knees.
He opens his eyes and watches me for a while without saying a word and then turns and storms out through the tunnels. Strange. Perhaps the quiet one has a conscience.
When I’m confident he’s gone, I curl up on the floor and wrap the blanket around my body. A strong determination settles in my mind, and I decide then and there that I won’t die in here. I will escape no matter what it takes, and by the gods, they will pay for what they have done.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
At least a week has passed since Hethenos had me locked up in the cells. My hopes of Kyle rescuing me have dwindled away, and I have spent my days trying to avoid frostbite in the chilly conditions. Autumn has given way to winter here in the Kingdom. I’ve always been able to feel the shift in the air when the change occurs, and even locked up here in the cells, I can feel it.
The twins have been back every day to check on me, and some days Yimel returns alone in the night. Sometimes he just watches me; other times he brings me food and water. There is a kindness buried deep in his eyes, and I sense he harbours a soft spot for me. I try to use it to my advantage by not setting him off again. I don’t speak of Hethenos, Rimel, or their plans.
Instead, I keep the talk to a minimum, as that seems to be the way he likes it. I ask about casual things, like how the weather is, whether there has been a frost that morning. I ask how my father is doing, and he says he’s okay, but that’s all he will say. He told me Lissian suspects something bad happened to me, but didn’t know if I’m with Kyle or not, so didn’t push her concerns.
I ask about Demetros and Lacinda, and he says he hasn’t seen them. He tells me he will bring me a warmer blanket thefollowing night, and I thank him. I know if I play my cards right, and build some sort of trust or connection with him, it can help. Hell, he’s literally the only chance I have of escape at this point.
Hethenos visited me once, and she was as cruel and coldhearted as ever. She taunted me about Amaros and Astelle, telling me they have been spending lots of time together now that I’m not there as a distraction. She accused me of seducing Amaros, despite me denying it. I even said to ask him herself, and that he too would deny it, but she said of course he would deny it, and she wasn’t about to put the thought into his mind again now that he’s preoccupied with Astelle.
She said Amaros is under the assumption that I have somehow escaped to be with Kyle in Zarquon and that he and Astelle are to be mated. Gross. When I asked if my father was all right, she said he’s not of concern, whatever that means. I begged her to release me, saying I wouldn’t tell anyone what she’s done to me. That she can rule the Kingdom if my father is unwell. I told her I’d leave to be with Kyle in Zarquon, but she didn’t believe me.
Truth be told, it was a lie. I would never allow her to rule this Kingdom.
I can see the sun is setting through the small window in my cell. It’s equally my most favourite part of the day, watching the beautiful colours of pink, gold, and orange fill the skies, as it is my least favourite, knowing the sun is about to descend, blanketing the Kingdom in a wintery darkness where the temperatures will drop to an almost unbearable level.
As the air cools and my body shivers beneath the thin blanket Yimel gave me, I pray to the gods that this is the evening he brings me another, warmer blanket. Despite my deep sadness, I have taught myself not to shed another tear while locked up in here. My mind and body have grown numb to the environment, and I know it’s the only chance I have to survive it.
And I have to survive it. Not just for my father and my Kingdom, but for Kyle.
Picturing his steel-blue eyes, his perfect features, and his gentle touch have helped me get through these dark days. I long to be with him again, and the next time I am, we will seal the mating bond. If only we had already, he would have been able to sense that I’m in trouble, and he would have come for me by now.
I brush the thoughts aside, knowing they will only eat away at my sanity.
Footsteps grab my attention, and I focus on the tunnel to see Yimel walking toward me, holding a thick, warm-looking blanket under his arm.
I leap to my feet. “Thank the gods,” I say, my teeth chattering as I rush to the cell gate.
He smiles at me, reaching through the bars to stroke my cheek. “Sorry it took me so long. I had to be extra careful. Rimel is starting to wonder where I’ve been going lately.”
He feeds the blanket through the bars, and it’s the softest, thickest blanket I have ever seen in a gorgeous teal colour. I press it to my face and breathe in the delicious scent of coconut and lavender, which is in stark contrast to the scent of dirt and death down here in the cells.