Page 32 of Wings of Valor
Then it all comes back.
Hayliel’s secret meeting with Auriel. His attack. Fucking Atlas.
I growl as everything hits me at once. The betrayal. The possibility of Mira working with her father against us. How close Hayliel came to getting hurt.
But she didn’t. She’s safe. And as long as she stays with the others and doesn’t foolishly rush off to put herself in harm’s way again, she’ll stay that way.
As my heart rate settles, I blink a few times, still feeling groggy from whatever Atlas drugged me with. I might not be completely coherent yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m useless. All I need is aplan to get the fuck out of here, but first I need to figure out wherehereis.
As more light filters in from somewhere up above, I can finally make out the color of the stone beneath me. It’s beige—like sand. I guess Atlas didn’t take me to the guild, then, considering I’ve never seen this type of rock there.
I try to check out the ceiling, but the motion makes my head spin, and before I know it, I’m vomiting on the floor.
“Are you alright?”
My body goes still. The voice is familiar. It almost sounds like my hummingbird, but that must just be my mind playing tricks on me. She can’t be here. I don’twanther here.
I spit more vomit-coated saliva on the ground and glance toward the voice. Two figures are in the cell next to mine. They’re pressed up against the metal bars, watching me with concern.
Hayliel’s parents.
“You’re alive,” is all I manage to say out loud. Inwardly, I’m desperately trying to let Hayliel know her parents are still breathing. When that doesn’t work, I move on to the others, needing someone outside of this godforsaken cell to hear me, but the connections are too blurry. They shift in and out of focus, likely because of these damn drugs. Fuck!
“They haven’t harmed us since the initial capture, so we’re mostly healed. Though they like to keep us malnourished and quiet,” Hayliel’s dad says. Shit, what’s his name again? Cal, maybe? Fuck these fucking drugs.
With worry etched across every line of her face, Hayliel’s mother asks, “How the hell did they get you? Is Hayliel …”
“Safe,” I whisper. “She’s safe, though I won’t lie and say it wasn’t close. Your daughter—”
A door opens, cutting off my words. Several sets of footsteps approach my cell, and now that my eyes have adjusted, I seewho it is. Auriel stands with two demons at his back, the same ones who helped subdue me. Atlas isn’t with them, and that just makes me angry.
“Ah. You’re awake,” Auriel says, leaning casually against his staff. “I see you’ve met our other guests. Splendid. Glad to see you’ll all get along in your new home. Now. I just need to borrow this lovely angel, but I’ll have him back before you can sayNo, don’t hurt him.” He shifts the tone of his voice, mimicking a broken angel. “Not that begging will do you any good.” He giggles maniacally.
Is it just the drugs still in my system, or does he sound crazed as hell?
That thought gives me an idea. I slump a little further, playing up the fact I’m still disoriented—which isn’t really that hard considering Iamlethargic and still fucked up from whatever they gave me.
Auriel unlocks my cell door, and the two demons yank me out. They don’t even attempt to be gentle, not caring a bit that their grip feels like they might tear my arms clean off or whether they make my head spin with how they’re throwing me around. Still, I bide my time. They’re making the one mistake all kidnappers do—letting the prisoner out of their cage.
Auriel hangs back, allowing the demons to lead the way. With my head down, I search the long hallway for anything I can use to escape. I don’t really expect to find a flashing neon exit sign, so when I see one glowing at the end of the hall, it takes a second for it to register.
Escape. I can escape.
Without a second thought, I tear my arms free of the demon’s hold and race toward the exit. I nearly fall flat on my ass, tripping over nothing but my own two feet, but I don’t stop. I’m so close I can almost taste it.
Freedom.
Her.
I shove the door open, bright light nearly blinding me. But it’s not from the sun, and the door doesn’t lead outside.
This is no exit.
I whirl around, but the two demons block my path with their large, leathery forms. They let Auriel pass between them, and I instinctively retreat farther into the room.
“It was a good attempt,” Auriel says, like he loves watching the hope die in my eyes. The two demons shut the door, and it’s only when I bump into something behind me that I realize just how screwed I am.
A lone chair with only a metal rod for a back sits empty in the center of the room. It’s bolted to the floor, with several chains on either side. Behind it, along the far wall, is a table lined with instruments I know are going to cause me pain. Maybe if I can reach them first, I’d—
