Page 34 of Ecliptic

I huffed. “Of course you did. Don’t forget, I saw your memories too. I know what a piece of shit you were back home. Allyour cheating, lies, and manipulation. It’s all up here,” I said, tapping my temple. I wanted to tell him his presence here was wasting precious food and water, but I refrained. I had already divulged too much information. But still, I needed him gone. “Me healing your body doesn’t absolve you of your past. You’re a thief who stole a piece of my Light and violated my mind. A coward I never want to see again. If you were expecting to find forgiveness here, you are sorely mistaken.Driftwherever you want, just make sure it’s the hell away from me.”

Before I could hear one more word of his pathetic excuses, I turned and left the prisoner to continue basking in his cell.

Dyani appeared on the organic pathway. “Did you talk to him?”

“Yes. He doesn’t know anything,” I said, not wanting to stop and talk. I was still fuming.

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

“Who is he then?” she pressed. “He has to know something.”

“Look, he doesn’t know a thing. But you and the other guards should know those bars aren’t really holding him. He can escape at any time. It’s all just for show. He’s a traveler like me—a walker between worlds.”

“Why would he want to stay in a cell if he can escape?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest, making it known she had no intention of letting me pass.

I realized I hadn’t stuck around long enough to find out. “I have no idea.”

“Do you know how hard it was to organize that meeting, and you didn’t think to ask?”

“I don’t care what he wants. I just wanthim gone.”

“You know he’s not going anywhere. Especially if he’s been able to leave all this time. That doesn’t make you curious?”

“Not really,” I lied, trying to step around her.

“You’re going back,” she said, blocking my path again.

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” she said, finally letting me pass. “You are going to see him again tomorrow at high sun.”

Without looking at her, I stormed away and mumbled under my breath, “No. I’m not.”

15

The next day, I sat at the training grounds as the sun climbed towards its zenith. Despite Dyani’s behests, I had no intention of visiting Maddock. The thought of him sitting in that cell, waiting for me, made me gloat.

I hoped that if I never visited him, he would eventually give up and leave. Though something told me, he wouldn’t. He’d already happily sat in prison for over three months.

It aggravated me beyond belief that a man behind bars could appear as happy and free as he did. Meanwhile, I wandered the open air, feeling more imprisoned than he looked. The mental chains around my mind seemed worse than his actual cell.

I half-heartedly stretched on the dry grass by myself. Rowen felt comfortable leaving me on my own because of how adamant I’d been about never seeing the prisoner again. So he’d taken this time to meet with Takoda for a mind-mending session.

Rowen asked if I would like to come, but I declined. I didn’t need someone poking around in my head. It was a frightening place I wouldn’t want to subject anyone to. I’d rather be doing the poking.

The thought hit me like a ton of bricks. The sun had justreached its peak; there might still be time for me to slip in and talk with the prisoner. I hated that Dyani was right. I was curious.

I made my way back to Maddock after swearing I would never step anywhere near him again. For a moment, I was worried I had waited too long, but true to Dyani’s word, the guards parted like water, letting me pass yet again.

I don’t know what I expected the prisoner to be doing, but what I saw was beyond my worst expectations. Ven, my inquisitive little friend, was engaged in conversation with the Wyn’s number one prisoner.

Fury surged through me as I charged toward Ven and his white wolf, Sabra. “Don’t you dare talk to them,” I said, stepping between Ven and Maddock. Would this kid ever stop getting into trouble?

“They were talking to me!” Maddock proclaimed, gesturing to the majestic beast seated innocently at his feet. It pissed me off that Sabra was letting him pet her through the wooden bars.

“No, they weren’t,” I said for no other reason than to disagree.

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