Page 126 of Blinding Light

Not innocent,the female voice echoed through him.

“Don’t believe him,” came a voice, barely audible. Hoarse, beaten down. “We don’t take innocent lives.”

“Shut up,” Bekn snapped.

“Helianth!” Cyprian called. “I’m right here. I’ll—”Get you out of here. The words died on his lips when he caught sight of Moargan’s younger brother. He’d been stripped naked and was hanging from a rope, his famished body beaten. He had cuts and bruises everywhere, and his blond hair, once shiny and slick, was now caked in dirt. But his eyes…Helianth hadn’t given up despite his appearance.

“Xander Devers, thank you for coming.” Bekn took hold of the rope that was tied around Cyprian’s neck and gave it a firm yank, chuckling when Cyprian stumbled forward and down to his knees. “Thank you for sharing your secrets with me. For being so eager to trust me. For being who you are—a baby devil. It only takes one to find the rest.” He turned around and punched Helianth right in his face, making the Imperial howl in pain as his hanging body swung helplessly in the air. “By the time your prince comes for you, you’ll be long gone.”

Someone grabbed him from behind and hauled him back onto his feet. “They will destroy you!” Cyprian snarled.

“We will lock them up.” Bekn gestured to the self-made prisons. “Just like we’ll lock you up. Even a devil eventually dies, doesn’t he?”

Dark rooms with thick, iron bars identical to the ones Cyprian had seen in his visions. Chains lay scattered everywhere. But that smell…that scent of rotten meat, piss, and feces…he hadn’t realized that came with imprisonment.

He hadn’t realized so many things.

Cyprian felt so stupid. Bekn was right, he had trusted the anonymous source from Helion. Had felt relieved when someone finally understood what he was searching for and had provided him with the correct lists. Looking back, that had beensuspicious. Helion was the only planet that had provided such detailed information. But in his hope anddesperation, he had ignored the red flags.

And Attica had taken advantage of that.

Bekn had sacrificed his own brother, Theo, to take the punishment.

There was a click, then a barred door slid open.

“Go inside your prison, devil.”

“Bekn!” Someone called out. People came running through the darkness, their sinister plastic frames lighting up by the source of their flashlights. “We’ve spotted multiple hovercars with Luminary guards on the parking outside.”

Bekn turned and grinned at Cyprian. “Seems that your prince has come early to fight your battles. Do we have any empty prisons left?”

A chuckle and a clink of chains. “Plenty of space here.”

“Well then, it was a pleasure to meet you again, Cyprian?—”

“I’ll kill you for this,” Cyprian growled. The gem on his incisor glowed, his fear for Moargan’s safety bringing a sliver of hot liquid through his stomach. “You won’t touch him. You?—”

“Let’s go,” Bekn called out instead, ignoring him.

Throwing him away.

“I won’t be discarded!” Cyprian banged against the bars, terrified in his fury. ”I won’t be ignored!”

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, followed by a cracking sound.

Cyprian blinked. Had he done that? He looked around, eyes squinted in terror. The space lit up in a blue glow. “What?—”

“How the hell can they get down here so fast?” Someone cried out. Around him, Attica panicked.

“What the fuck is happening?”

“Blue light,” Cyprian murmured.

“Not light,” came Helianth’s weak voice. “It’s ice. And it’s coming for us.”

He was right. As Cyprian gaped up at the endless ceiling in between the stairs, he saw the blue glow descending on them. An inevitable blanket of ice that was about to sweep its wrath over them all.

His palm lit, creating a buzzing sensation.

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