Page 54 of Forging Darkness

His eyes flick over the dirty bedding behind me before settling back on my face.

“What? You told me to rest.”

“And I’m glad you did,” he answers as he yanks off his helmet. A clump of white-blond hair flops over one eye. His disheveled appearance almost makes him normal from the neck up. If I squint and tilt my head the right way, he could be a college student who just played a pick-up game of soccer or returned from the gym. But then he lifts a gloved hand to push the hair off his forehead and ends up smearing blood over his cheek, instantly transforming into an otherworldly warrior.

He stares at his hand with a grimace, realizing the mess he just made. “Let me take a moment to clean up.”

Striding past me, he pushes his hand against the wall. There’s a grating noise and a section depresses, then hinges open like a door. He shoulders past it and disappears into another room.

Water splashes, and I can’t help but inch forward to look through the opening. Thorne has shucked his heavy armor and is pulling his shirt over his head. I rear back with a squeak.

If the dude is changing, why the heck didn’t he shut the door?

My cheeks heat. Turning my back on him, I shuffle over to the yawning opening. The view from this tower is breathtaking—snow-capped mountains as far as the eye can see—but that’s not what holds my attention.

My stomach hollows when I get an unfettered view of the compound. There are half a dozen large buildings, each flanked on either side by smaller structures that connect them all together in a rectangle. Thorne’s tower is located in one of the corners. I spot the coliseum, sitting in the belly of the compound. I have a partial view of the arena floor.

The seats of the coliseum are cleared, but down in the arena, Forsaken drag what’s left of the Fallens’ bodies—and various body parts—away. An unwelcomed shudder works its way through me as I remember fighting in that pit. And to think, it was all for naught.

Dragging my gaze away from the arena, I cast a critical eye on the wall that rings and connects the entirety of the fortress. I consider making a run for it right then and there, but the sentries along the wall—both Fallen and Forsaken—stop that escape plan in its tracks. Between the lookouts and my poor flying skills, I won’t make it a hundred yards.

I may not be ready to flee at the moment, but when the time is right, I’ll take the chance. If I’m getting out of here, it is going to have to be a stealth mission. Outrunning my captors outright is not an option.

“The armory is the squat building to the left. The one that’s a slightly different shade of white.”

I whirl to find Thorne prowling toward me. He’s changed into leather pants and a long-sleeved shirt. His wings are nowhere to be seen. A damp tendril of hair hangs over one eye, and he bats it back impatiently as he joins me. He’s morphed from medieval knight to modern-day rocker. The change is jarring.

“It burned three years ago, almost taking out the barracks on either side with it, so we had to rebuild.”

“Huh?” I’m so eloquent.

Casting me a side-eyed look, the corner of his mouth tilts up. I notice another scar running down his jaw. The white line is barely visible, but it’s there.

“I figured I’d help you case the fortress. If you’re planning an escape, you’ll need some decent weapons.”

I slant my gaze toward the dagger at my thigh and lift a brow.

“That’s not going to get you very far. It’s a close-range weapon. You’ll need something you can use from a distance to fight your way to freedom.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

He crosses his arms and looks over his domain. “I don’t intend to hold you captive here. I believe given some time, you’ll see this is the best place for you. You’ll need to know your way around your new home.”

I frown, my gaze pulling outward to the space beyond the walls of this fortress. What a joke. There’s no way he would offer information so easily if he ever intended to let me leave.

“What is this place?”

“This is The White Kingdom.”

I snort. “Rather pretentious.”

The side of his mouth upturns again. “Built by Forsaken from the white rocks in this mountain, my people have been using this place as a refuge and training center for over a millennium now. Although I agree, the name is a tad pretentious. I prefer Whitehold.”

“So this fortress isn’t inhabited by humans in the mortal realm?”

“It’s not inhabited in the mortal realm at all. We only send forces beyond the orb’s reach as lookouts. The residents here dwell in the spirit realm.”

My gaze sharpens. “So that’s what’s keeping me from phasing?”

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