TWENTY-THREE
FINLEY
Releasing my death grip on Nyfain’s essence through the bond, I pushed myself forward. Power still thrummed within me, but I felt utterly exhausted. I felt the way my brother looked.
The tunnel leading away from the Bridge of Doom didn’t take much navigating, so I let Hadriel set the pace, the two of us at the front. Like me, he’d paid attention to the path leading in, so the two of us would need to find the way out.
“We still need to figure out how to get a demon to pilot the boat,” I told him as I sucked in air and remembered that, once upon a time, I used to think this place stank so bad it layered my tongue. Now it just smelled like air.
Gross.
“There will be one or two demons patrolling the beach near the boats,” he said as we reached what looked like a dead end.
“See? Dead end,” someone in the back said with a shaky voice. Elex, it sounded like.
Neither Hadriel nor I replied. We couldn’t spare the energy.
He reached to the side for the latch and then pushed the skull door open.
“Thank the goddess you paid attention to how the door was opened,” I said, putting some pep into my step as I walked through with him. Maybe we weren’t being followed, and maybe they didn’t even know about our escape, but prisoners were brought in randomly. Hadriel was proof of that. We didn’t want a chance meeting with unsuspecting demons. “I was too busy gawking at the skull. Also in pain—they pushed me down the first set of stairs.”
“They did? What the fuck?” Hadriel stopped, surveying the walls when the tunnel broke into three separate paths.
I found a familiar marking, and my dragon pointed out the tunnel with the correct smell. I pointed.
He nodded, and we were walking again.
“I thought Dolion wanted to keep you safe to use against Nyfain?” Hadriel said, reducing his volume.
“At the time, sure. The demon who did it was an idiot.”
At the next crossroads, I pointed again. Hadriel nodded.
“You know, when I first got here, I was so sure I could get out—that no prison could hold me,” I whispered, coming to the next intersection and pointing. Hadriel paused for a moment, scanning the walls. After a moment, he nodded. “Turns out…nope. If not for you guys, I’m not sure I ever would’ve gotten free.”
He snorted. “Calia said something incredibly similar. It’s a lesson in the strength of teamwork and, for me, a lesson in the strength of teams that span the species divide. As I heard it, the dragons, wolves, and faeries have all tried to escape… They faltered because they only cooperated with each other the barest amount. It took someone to bring them all together. It took you.”
“With the help of my amazing butler, brother, and whip-toting lady’s maid…”
“Well, heroes never do it alone, my darling. They just claim they do. Remember that for a drunken storytelling situation.”
I chuckled softly.
One of the torches that usually lit the way had guttered out, washing part of the tunnel in darkness. I glanced back at those who were still magically suppressed and/or couldn’t see in the dark. Those who could see held on to those who couldn’t, guiding them.
We neared what should be the end of our path. The air had cleared dramatically, sweet and refreshing compared to what we’d been breathing. More torches burned against the walls, strangely archaic. I wondered how they stayed going. Magic, perhaps.
Up ahead, it looked like another dead end but for the slips of light and tunnel beyond. Bars cut across the tunnel, an actual door with a real lock.
“Vemar,” I whispered, turning to look back. He’d been charged with bringing the tools.
“Yes, Strange Lady, ah…” He looked hard at the bars. “Shit. My tools were in my pocket.”
I blinked at him, then looked over his nude body. “Were?”
He met my eyes, frustration burning in his gaze. “I wasn’t thinking. I should’ve given them to Hannon. My clothes went over the side and into the lava. It completely slipped my mind about the lockpicks. It’s… I…”
He sagged in misery.
My stomach dropped, and my ass tightened, and I felt like throwing up all at the same time. At the last door, the one where we desperately needed a real key, we didn’t have any tools to open it.
“Anyone?” I turned around desperately. “Does anyone have tools?”
Those who weren’t naked patted themselves, their faces falling.
“Shit.” I turned and grabbed a bar. “Fine. I’ll run back. I know the way. I can get across that bridge. Who has tools in their cells?”
A chorus of people gave me an affirmative, and I knew where one of them had been held without needing to ask for further details.
“No—” Hadriel gripped the bars, but he didn’t get much farther than that. There was no point in arguing; we needed to get through this door, and lock-picking tools were the only way to do it.
“I’ll go too.” Hannon pushed through the crowd, stepping out into the space next to me. “I can make sure you get across the bridge.”
“No, it’s—” I cut myself off for the same reason Hadriel had. It would be safer if Hannon went with me.
With a chuff, five wolves stepped forward.
“The wolves will be going too, if that wasn’t obvious,” Hadriel said. “And I guess I should come, just in case you forget the way. Vemar, I hold grudges, know that.”
“Normally, I’d make fun of you, but in this instance, I don’t blame you,” Vemar said. “The bridge made me forget anything other than…well, the bridge.”
“You might need me if a lock has been engaged.” Calia stepped forward with her sister.
“Fine. Let’s hurry.” I started jogging, my pace labored and my form horrible, but at least I was moving. The others, except the wolves, went about it the same way, all of us malnourished, ridden with anxiety, tired, and now desperate. Trapped.
With the markings and smells fresh in my mind, I led the others through the tunnels without a problem, passing through the skull door and closing in on the bridge.
“Someone is going to have to carry me again, Hannon,” Hadriel said as the large, glowing room appeared up ahead. “Vemar told me what almost happened. I would rather not be tossed overboard, Finley.”
Calia giggled, and I didn’t need to look to know Hadriel was scowling at her.
I rounded the corner and hurried into the room, smacking off a hard chest and bouncing backward. Growls reverberated behind me. Someone gasped.
I stood face to face with Govam. Behind him, filling half the room, were his guards.
TWENTY-FOUR
FINLEY
I built power to strike, but he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, spinning me and throwing me to the ground. Denski grabbed Calia, ripping her away from her sister.
“Weston, go!” I yelled. “Get the others! Hurry! Bring the dragons!”
The wolves turned quickly and sped away, not a moment to lose.
“Don’t do anything yet, Finley,” Govam said very quietly, his lips right next to my ear. “This isn’t going to go how you think.”