Page 10 of A Story of Sinners

“Are you here to kill me?”

No response.

I sighed. “Go ahead. Make it quick.”

A harsh exhale met my ears, and I scooted closer, squinting beyond the bars. A towering form stood just outside, so I rose and stumbled, my legs as weak as a deer’s. I slid my head through the bars and bore my neck, ignoring the burning pain of iron. “I’ll make it easy for you. You don’t even have to enter this cage. That is, unless it’s to be done in public.”

I savored the pain of iron against my skin—pain that once coincided with tears. To feel pain meant I was still alive, still breathing. The torch pulled back, and I could finally see, my eyes landing on an unexpected but familiar face.

“Brandon.” His dark skin blanched at the sight of me, the state of me, and I scoffed. “What did you expect to find?”

“Dahlia.” His eyes danced along my face and body, taking in the matted hair, the dirt and blood, the tattered outfit. “Not this. You look emaciated. Have they not been feeding you? Has nobody given you fresh clothing or allowed you to bathe?”

A strangled laugh tore from my throat, and I squeezed my head from between the bars. “Don’t act like you didn’t know.”

He clutched a hand to his stomach, and his face turned green, as if my stench sickened him. “I didn’t. I swear.” He fumbled for the keys at his waist. “The king commanded that you were to be well taken care of.”

Aiden.

I laughed. “Well, maybe his tone didn’t convey what he meant by ‘taken care of’.”

Brandon slid the key into the lock, and the cage door sprung open. I fell to the ground, my hands just barely catching my fall. The torch dropped beside my body, and strong hands cupped beneath my arms and lifted.

Brandon held me firmly to his chest and cursed beneath his breath. “The guards in charge will pay, I promise.”

I leaned into him with a groan and absorbed the warmth of his body, a comforting heat I hadn’t felt in a long time. It had been so cold in the dungeon, so very cold.

“Can you walk? Aiden has requested your presence, and I’ve come to retrieve you.”

“Yes,” I answered, pushing away from him under the guise of stubbornness. I should be mad at him, furious, but I just felt numb. “I can walk.”

Brandon sighed, his eyes downcast as he reached behind him and pulled out a chain. I tilted my head and watched as he looped it through the rune cuffs at my wrist. “I’m sorry about this…but we just don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?” I asked, searching his face for the answer. When his eyes met mine, realization slammed into me. “You don’t know if you can trust me.”

“Something like that.” Brandon cleared his throat and turned away, his hand gripping the chain between my wrists. “Follow me.”

His first step was too big, too broad, but I tried to match his pace and keep up the façade that I was still me, still strong. However, by the time we reached the spiraling staircase, my muscles weakened. My vision clouded over, and the façade dropped.

I wasn’t strong. I was no longer the same person. There was no point in going through the motions, in pretending I cared about whatever happened next.

So, I let go and allowed my body to cave to its natural instincts. I fell, too weak to take another step. My face hit the cold stone ground, and darkness swallowed me whole.

I rejoiced.

Finally. Sweet nothingness.

Chapter5

Dahlia

It was difficult to orient myself, as I’d been drifting in and out of sleep for what seemed like days. Flashes of Redmond feeding me, pressing damp cloths to my skin, and whispering encouraging words in my ear were the only indicators of the passing of time. The voices of Brandon and George filtered in as I dozed, but never Aiden’s.

My dreams had been nothing but an empty blackness, as if my mind was floating through the air with nothing to anchor it. It was a vacant world, something not even the memory of Ryken could penetrate—a blank expanse of nothingness.

It was Gabriella’s voice that finally tore me from that place. “Why won’t you let me see her? Why are you keeping me away? This isn’t right!” she shouted.

“She’s unwell,” George spoke, his voice soft and tender. “I promise, you can see her when she wakes.”

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