Page 125 of Blinding Light

“He fainted,” one of them laughed.

“Because you nearly killed him.” Cyprian felt anger boiling up in him. Anger that made his vision falter and tear in two, like some shredded vision, until he saw both Bekn and those stairs. HefeltHelianth, felt the weird presence of the woman who had begged him for help in his head.

But now Cyprian had made it here, in the pit of poison, he wasn’t sure what else he could do. Had he failed even before he had begun? He needed to protect Archer, find Helianth, and bring them both to safety, but he had no idea how he could do that by himself.

“What’s going to happen with him?” He heard himself ask.

“Patience,Xander,” Bekn crooned. ”You have so many questions. We were talking about my runt of a brother. Once that Imperial monster snatched you from your roommate’s apartment, we needed to get our hands on that chip. Better, we needed to get those monsters to get their hands on that chip. I ordered the runt to go out and retrieve that chip. I then anonymously tipped the Luminary about the items I found on deep space, making sure to cause a leak in Theo’s multi-slate. We were counting on those greedy fuckers going after the missing stuff…andthe chip. Which they did. That moment—” His smile widened. “Was fucking sweet. To have that lunatic Aviel coming out with his Luminary assholes. Once the chip was back with the enemy, we could let it explode whenever the fuck we wanted. Poor Theo got chained up in the process, but it was all for a good cause.”

Cyprian grimaced at the memory of Theo’s face, distorted by pain and fear. “Why? Why do you treat Theo like that? He is your blood.”

“That’s none of your fucking business,Xander,”Bekn spat in his face.

Cyprian lifted his chin in defiance. “Maybe. Still, you accuse the Imperials of murdering innocent people, but what about your own hands? They are covered in blood.”

“An eye for an eye,Xander,” Bekn replied, but there was a sharp edge to his voice.

Cyprian felt his rage increase at those words. “You are just as bad as them. You kill people just to make a statement.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Bekn pointed his chin and two Attica members came forward and looped a chain around Cyprian’s neck. “Let’s move on to the next part of the entertainment.” When they yanked him backward, Cyprian balked in fear. He was being dragged through the inky-black corridor and his heart pounded wildly in his chest.

Stairs.

“Stairs.” Cyprian mumbled. Just like in his painting.

So many of them.

Why had these voices called him here if he couldn’t save Helianth?

“Take him to the cellar,” Bekn ordered.

There was a zigzag of wooden floors going down... Cyprian’s body froze but the rope jerked further, making him stumble and fall into the back of his captor. A rough hand pushed him back, and laughter filled the space.

Cyprian’s lips parted in a silent cry as the visions tugged at his sense of reality once more. Finally, he saw him in his mind. The Imperial Prince, Helianth.

Stairs. Stairs. There, down the stairs, was Moargan’s younger brother. Cyprian fisted his hands tighter, pressing his lips in a firm line as he glared at Bekn. He looked straight through him,at Helianth’s raised head. His face was blue and red from the multiple bruises and cuts. But his eyes—they were a fierce amethyst as they held Cyprian’s gaze. Chains were littered on the floor, just like Cyprian had seen in his visions. He tried to focus on the bond, tried to call for Moargan, but he didn’t know how. He’d always been too stubborn to call for help. Now he regretted that.

“Welcome to Attica’s headquarters,” someone spoke.

Cyprian grimaced at the scent of rot that made a haze that became stronger with each floor they passed on their way down. Then he caught sight of a corpse dangling from a rope. The body had been cut open, the intestines removed.

Bekn saw him gaping. “Don’t mind him. He was Luminary.”

“He was aperson.”

“He signed a deal with the devil,” Bekn shrugged. “And he died for it.”

“Where’s Helianth?” Cyprian growled. “What do you want with him?”

“Milanov Zephyranthis killed my father,” Bekn said instead. “Because he fucking felt like it.”

“I can’t believe that.”

“That’s because you’re a naive, little monster,” Bekn spit. “It was so easy to fool you. Good light, you still don’t understand it, do you? You’re going to die here.”

Cyprian struggled to keep up, the words slashing his insides, ripping open his insecurity. His eyes had long adjusted to the darkness, although right now, that wasn’t a good thing. He could see more dangling corpses and heard the wailing sound of pained victims who’d managed to survive, hidden behind bars.

“They threw my father in that arena, where he was chased down like a beast,” Bekn continued. “The crowd loved it, partying and howling as they watched. It took my father five hours to die. Five hours of pure agony, while the Imperial showed off his status.”

---