Shit.
I’m pretty sure I’m in some kind of dungeon.
“About time you stopped frolicking in your dreams and came back to the real world.”
I yelp at the unexpected voice in the cell with me and turn to find Ryn leaning casually in a dark corner. It takes me a moment to wake all the way up and absorb where I most likely am and then another beat to recall why. I fix Ryn with a look that promises pain and then leap for him.
“You fucking prick! I’m going to kill you!”
2
I surge up from the ground like some demonic frog, hell bent on strangling Ryn with the smug look on his face and my bare hands. I don’t get very far. The chains I momentarily forgot were around my ankles put a quick stop to my vengeance-filled trajectory. I’m snapped back like a dog on a leash by the unwelcome tether, and I face plant on the cold stone of the cell’s floor, with a very pitiful sounding oomph.
“Rutting Cynas, Falon, what do you think you’re doing?” Ryn asks me as he scoops me up in his arms and sets me back down on a stone ledge that I’m pretty sure is supposed to serve as a bed.
“Trying to kill you, what does it look like I’m doing?” I ask incredulously, as I push out of his hold and rub at the bruises I know are forming on my shoulders from the graceful swan dive into stone I just executed.
Fucking chains.
“Where exactly am I?” I demand as I bat Ryn’s hand away when he reaches for me. I give him a clear warning-filled look and scoot as far away from him as possible.
He looks hurt by that, but fuck him.
“You’re in Kestrel City. You’ll be brought in front of the Syta as soon as your guard returns from taking a shit and realizes that you’re awake.”
“Syta as in Zeph?” I ask him as I rub at my ankles and the tender skin being rubbed away by the chains attached there. I realize that, at some point between being choked out by Ryn and arriving at this place, someone put a long shirt on me. It smells like Ryn, and I’m tempted to rip it off and throw it at him.
“No, you’ll be meeting, Lazza, the Syta of the Avowed,” Ryn explains, his gray eyes looking over me in search of something.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Ryn?” I demand, standing up and trying to tamp down the shiver working its way up my spine from the cold of the stone bench.
“I could ask you the same thing, Falon. Last I checked, you vowed to stay in the Eyrie until I returned,” Ryn snaps back, the concern dimming in his eyes as it’s replaced with anger.
“Fuck off, Ryn, you shot me out of the sky and then put me in a fucking choke hold until I blacked out. If anyone has a right to be pissed here, it’s not you,” I growl at him.
Ryn shushes me and then looks over his shoulder. We both go quiet as he listens for something before turning back to me.
“Do you think I enjoyed finding you naked in the middle of an Avowed hunting party? Falon, you attacked the worst possible target you could have attacked. I had to think fast. You’re lucky to even be alive,” he snarls back at me.
“Ryn! What the fuck are you doing here? Aren’t these people the enemy? Does Zeph know?” I whisper-screech at him.
He rushes forward and presses me back against the wall, his hand over my mouth. His massive body pins me in place and fury boils through me.
“Falon, I know you’re mad, but you have to be quiet. I can’t get caught down here, and no one can know that we know each other. Your life—and mine—depends on it. Do you understand?” he angry-whispers in my ear.
He pulls back and studies me, waiting for me to concede or acknowledge his warning.
I just stare at him, my gaze furious. Ryn huffs out a resigned breath and leans his forehead against mine. I really fucking hate that his mere presence still soothes me after everything that’s happened. What’s worse is that Pigeon is still down for the count, so I can’t even blame the warm and fuzzies on her.
“Zeph knows I’m here, Falon. I would never betray him. I’ve been spying for the Hidden for a long time,” Ryn confides.
I let his words sink in. I wish somehow this information made me feel better, but it doesn’t. He removes his hand from my mouth, the action a clear indication that he thinks it’s my turn to start explaining, and looks at me expectantly.
I debate what to tell him. He just said he would never betray Zeph. Does that mean if Zeph wants me dead, then Ryn is automatically on board with that too? I play back in my mind what happened and try to pick out the safe things to clue Ryn in on. Zeph reacted badly to my whole Oath Breaker news, so I decide to pluck that detail out along with several others.
“It’s a long story,” I start, “but the short of it is that Zeph told me to leave…and never come back.”
Ryn’s eyes widen with surprise, and his gray gaze bounces back and forth between my resigned lavender stare. He can see the truth there, and he shakes his head in disbelief.
“I’m going to kill him,” Ryn declares, and he steps away from me and runs his fingers through his light brown hair in frustration. “Why the rut would he do that?” he asks me, suddenly pacing around the cell like some caged beast.
A distant clanging interrupts my response, and he freezes. We both listen, although I have no idea what I’m listening for. Ryn steps back into my personal bubble and cups both of my cheeks.
“I have to go, Falon. When the guard comes back, he’ll check on you, and then you’ll be called up to answer to the Syta. You can’t tell them anything about me or the time you spent with the Hidden. If you do, we’ll both be tortured and killed.”
His warning and his gaze burn white hot through me.
“I wasn’t planning on doing that even before you landed on the beach and fucked me up,” I growl quietly. “I’ll stick with the I don’t know how I got here story,” I pause and realize there’s just one big problem with that plan. “Ryn, do they have anyone like Ami here? Anyone who can see that I’m full of shit?” I ask, a new wave of worry coursing through me.
“They do, but the seer that will be in there today will cover for you,” he answers simply, like it’s just that easy.
A soft bird-like whistle floats in from the hallway, and Ryn’s head snaps in the direction of the metal door.
“I have to go, but don’t worry. You’ve intrigued the Altern of the Avowed, and you’ll be fine. Just stick to the story, and I’ll get you out of here soon, okay?”
Ryn doesn’t wait for me to respond. His lips crash down on mine, sealing his promise, and I can’t help the moan that his mouth coaxes from mine.
Why do all the assholes here have to be such good fucking kissers?
He pulls away and slips soundlessly out of the door. I internally facepalm.
That was unlocked this whole time? What the fuck?
I reach for the handle and give it a yank. Screw waiting for Ryn to get me out of here, maybe I can be my own knight in Narwagh armor. Of course the fucking door doesn’t budge now. I release it, defeated, and then huff out a long irritated sigh.
Footsteps sound off in the distance, and I sit back down on the stone bed shelf and wait. I reach inside of myself to try and check on Pigeon, but there’s no indication that there’s anyone else inside this body other than me. I search harder for her presence. Could the fall have hurt her permanently? Is that even possible? I know that Pigeon and I are separate in ways that the other gryphons aren’t, but I have no idea what exactly that means for us. Can she die while I still remain? Can the opposite happen?