Page 1 of Cage of Darkness
Chapter One
Sitting in the cold, damp cave withher wrists and ankles bound, Allyssa watched the assassin start thefire. Once it took, he glanced up at her, his black eyes revealingpure ruthlessness. Without uttering a single word, he stood andexited the cave as silent as a cougar. Most likely, he was goingoutside to tend to the horses, which were secured to a nearbytree.
Allyssa looked over at Jarvik crumpledon the ground. He was staring at the ceiling of the cave. She hadno idea what to say to him. Their entire friendship was based on alie.
“Don’t look at me likethat,” he mumbled, his soft voice echoing.
“Like what,Prince Odar?” The wordscame out harsher than she intended. For the past few weeks, she hadthought he was simply a nosy, pigheaded squire, not the bloodyprince of Fren. No wonder he was such a good strategist andswordsman. She couldn’t help but remember the nights they’d snuckout of the castle together, scheming. How her traitorous feelingsgradually turned from hatred to respect, and then to something muchdeeper than friendship.
“Like you hate me.” Hesighed. “I was afraid this would happen.”
“When you’re deceitful,”she snapped, “you tend to lose people’s trust.”
“Like you lost Grevik’s bylying to him?” he countered.
If she wasn’t tied up, she would marchover there and punch him in the face for speaking about Grevik.This situation was completely different. If her best friend hadknown she was the princess of Emperion, they never would have beenfriends, nor would they have fought crime together. A deep painrippled in her chest, but she shoved it away, not wanting to thinkabout Grevik’s death. His loss would be dealt with later, when shewasn’t at the mercy of the assassin who’d brutally killedhim.
Jarvik started laughing, the soundbouncing off the surrounding dark stones. “It doesn’t even matter.All the precautions I took and look at me. I’m lying here about todie.”
“No, you’re not.” Granted,he was covered in a tremendous amount of blood. However, if theassassin wanted either of them dead, they’d be dead already—whichmeant he needed them alive.
“There is a serious knifewound in my thigh. I’ve lost a significant amount of blood, whichhas made me lightheaded and unable to walk. If my injury isn’ttaken care of, infection will set it. It’s only a matter of time.”It sounded as though he had already given up, but Jarvik was afighter. Apparently, he was also a master manipulator. Her eyesnarrowed, studying him. He had made no attempt to lower his voicein the small space. The assassin wouldn’t have gone far. Mostlikely, he’d overheard their conversation. She didn’t respond,unsure of what Jarvik was playing at.
Her thoughts drifted to the knifewound he sustained while fighting the assassin. Before they hadleft on their journey, Marek, the head of her personal guard andlifelong friend, briefly instructed her on how to mend such wounds.She knew what plants lessened swelling and kept infection at bay.Although she had never done it before, she was fairly certain shecould stitch his skin together if needed. How hard could itpossibly be?
The assassin slunk into the cave,carrying two skinned rabbits skewered on sticks. After placing themover the fire, he sat down and removed something from the saddlebagnext to him on the ground. Glancing at Allyssa, he said, “Besidesyour neck, do you have any injuries that requireattention?”
Concealed beneath her plain tunic, abandage covered the sword wound she received from her own guardduring Grevik’s failed rescue attempt. “How do you know aboutthat?”
He raised his eyebrows, a small smileplaying on his lips, but he made no attempt to respond.
“No,” she finally answered.Her stomach felt tender from the punch she withstood earlier in theday, but there was nothing that could be done about that. Noddingtoward Jarvik, she said, “He, on the other hand, needs help. Untieme so I can see to him.”
“You do not give meorders,” the assassin said with a sneer.
She had the urge to scream at the manfor being a daft cow. How could he sit there so composed whileJarvik was covered with blood? Taking a deep breath, she forcedherself to remain calm with her temper firmly under control. Beingassertive did not seem to work with him; perhaps appearing meek andmild would be more effective. She bit her tongue to prevent herselffrom speaking. It went against every fiber of her being.
After a few moments of silence, theassassin said, “Do you have any experience in the art ofhealing?”
Technically, she hadnoexperience, butshe did have a vague idea of what needed to be done, thanks toMarek. She squeezed her bound hands together, not wanting to thinkabout Marek right now. His face had revealed hurt, betrayal, andfear when she ordered him to leave her and seek help. However, ithad been the only way to save him.
Looking directly at the assassin, shenodded.
He stood and came over to her,whipping out a small dagger and slicing through her bindings.Before she could say a word, he took the tip of the dagger andbrushed a lock of her long, brown hair away from her right ear. “Ifyou attempt to harm me in any way,” he whispered, “I’ll hunt downthat pathetic guard of yours—what’s his name? Marek? Only, I won’tkill him like I did your friend Grevik. Instead, I’ll capture himand keep him as my plaything. He’ll wish he were dead. Do youunderstand?”
Her stomach rolled with nausea. “Yes.”She knew the assassin spoke the truth, and no one else could diebecause of her.
After he sat back down, hetossed her a small leather bag. She caught it and went over toJarvik, kneeling beside him. “First thing’s first,” she said.Curling her fingers into a fist, she heaved her arm back andpunched Jarvik in the face. “That’s for lying to me, youbastard.”Damn, that felt good.
His eyes widened in shock as his headflew to the side from the impact. When he turned back to face her,a sardonic smile spread across his face. “You grew up at court. I’msure you’re used to it by now.”
Fury filled her. She had trusted him,and he lied to her. Their friendship was built on something thatdidn’t exist. Did he even care for her, or had his feelings alsobeen a lie? “Don’t speak to me in such a way.”
He chuckled. “Cursing and punching oneminute, regal the next. You are a walkingcontradiction.”
Ignoring him, she opened the bag andrummaged around inside, taking inventory of the herbs and bandages.Her knuckles were sore even though she hadn’t hit him thathard.
“I can take care ofmyself,” Jarvik said. “You don’t need to help me.”
