Page 109 of A Broken Promise

He might not have been able to summon fire, but his eyes, gods, they burned. I snarled like a wounded animal.

“I found it.”

“Liar.”

He moved faster than a panther in the night, closing the distancebetween us within a blink, shoving me against a tree. I slapped him hard against his cheek. He flinched, grabbing my wrist tight. Muscles in his jaw tensed. “Let me ask you onelasttime. Where did you get this ring?”

“I’ll tell you once we get to the Rebels.”

He grumbled, not liking my answer.

Pitted against the tree, my feet dangled in the air. I tried kneeing him in his groin with my other leg, but he just pinned me harder until I couldn’t move at all.

I had run out of moves or any kind of options.

This was it.

“It’s time we stopped playing games, don’t you think,mage?” he whispered in my ear.

Then he headbutted me so hard that I blacked out.

54

Iwas alive, I realized as I opened my eyes. Warm, welcoming air filled my lungs, even as small rays of sunshine kissed my cheeks.

I was alive.

Stitched up and well bandaged too, I noticed, looking at my chest and my leg.

Yet the concern came crashing in as I took in my surroundings. I was in a large, circled tent, tall and spacious, decorated with well-maintained furniture. But it wasn’t the lamps or the pillows or the neat desk that made my heart stop. It was the dark armor in the corner and the large black cape behind it.

I winced as I jerked my body up. Limping to the small window not too far from my bed, hoping, praying, begging for one simple truth.

My wrists were sore from the thick rope that tied them together. I pulled on a small flap to peek behind the tent window.

It couldn’t be.

My heart raced as I beheld a large camp. So many tents, and those black and silver flags.DestroyerFlags. I turned away from the window as a group of Destroyer soldiers walked by laughing, their laughter like poison, making me instantly nauseous.

No.

It couldn’t be.

But reality slipped through.

Somehow, the twisted threads of Fate brought me to the one place I was so desperately trying to escape.

Dread sunk deep in my soul as if it were an anchor on a ship, pulling me to a complete halt.

I was in the belly of the beast. Surrounded by Destroyer soldiers. My daggers were gone. My knives were, too. Intuitively, my hands quickly ran through my hair. In the matted, blood and dirt covered hair, I pulled out a pin. The only one left in my almost completely unbraided hair. I looked at my prized possession.

I only needed one.

I limpedout of the tent. Two Destroyer soldiers—the General’s guard dogs—startled by my sudden appearance cleared their throats.

“Please, follow us,” one of them said as he pointed to a tent that was larger than the rest. I didn’t reply as I clenched my fists and followed them.

“Here.” The soldier raised the tent flap to the entrance.

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