Page 15 of Shadows of Ruin

“We’ll need Maria to handle speeding up the healing process so he can be questioned again,” Andras said to the guards. “Leave his feet bound but take off the chains.”

They jimmied the lock at my wrist, and I collapsed in a heap onto the floor.

“Until next time, Captain Stronholm.” He turned, storming away from my cell.

Time passed in unmeasurable quantities. Maria hadn’t come yet.

The flickering lights of the torches remained illuminated, never dimming thanks to the magic in them. Was it minutes or was it hours I spent in solitude? I had no way of knowing.

Eventually, I inched away from the bloodied spot they’d left me in. A flicker of magic within me stirred to life, seeking out the worst of my wounds.

I would heal. I would live. I would face Andras with Lana by my side, destroying him once and for all.

Sensing movement in the shadows of the cell, I tensed. Turning my head slowly, I faced the darkest corner. My blond hair covered my face, practically black now with matted blood and grime.

A sharpthudcracked on the stone, and a spiky tail emerged before the rest of the body appeared. Lucien wagged his deadly tail as he pranced toward me on his stubby legs.

How he traveled throughout this palace unnoticed always remained a mystery to me, but right now, his eerie abilities had me feeling grateful.

“Lucien.” I held out my hand and the pugron came over immediately. He nuzzled his head into my side, puffing out a hot steam of breath. Thankfully, fireless.

“Am I glad to see you,” I whispered.

The beast looked up at me expectantly. “She’s not here,” I told him. I might be the only one who believed Lucien understood us, so I’d be damned if I ignored what years of watching him with Lana had revealed. “If you ever loved Lana, you have to help me get out of here."

A small puff of smoke erupted from the pugron’s snout. Like he agreed with me.

“Is Kalliah in the palace?”

The small puff turned into a volcano of smoke.

“Do you know where Lana is?”

This time he blew a stream of fire to the side, his eyes drooping like a lost animal.

Smart boy.Smoke for yes, fire for no.

I frowned. “You must find Kalliah. Find a way to tell her where I am. See if she can help.”

Lucien backed away, spewing steam. His gaze never left mine as he trotted toward the wall, disappearing from my sight.

“Please, let the pugron do as I said,” I whispered.

In the meantime, I had to plan. To plot. Not just an escape, but where to run. Somewhere I could use as a base to begin my search for Lana.

I closed my eyes, leaning against the cool stone of the inner wall of my cell.

It was a different game down here than before. This time, I was the main attraction.

Andras may be powerful, but he’d underestimated me like he always had.

How I’d escape, I didn’t know. But when I did, the Fates themselves would pay. They might play by their own set of rules and prophecies, whispered and told in secret passings for only the blessed to hear.

But I, too, could play by my own rules. Bound by nothing and no one except for the loyalty to the ones I loved.

So if playing dirty was what it would take, then Fates be damned.

For I’d stop at nothing to win this cursed game. Not a soul would stop me.

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