“That was too easy,” Phelan whispered as they walked down another short flight of steps.
“Who wants to get to the dungeon? It’s the getting out that’s going to be difficult.” Kiril counted the metal doors on the right until he came to the twelfth one. He looked at the door, and then at Phelan. “There are no locks.”
“Magic?”
“Perhaps.” Kiril tentatively touched the door. When nothing happened, he placed his hand on the handle and pulled it open. The door swung open with ease, making only a slight grating noise as metal rubbed against metal.
He looked inside the gloomy cell through the darkness to a form that was chained to the wall. A thick mass of tangled black hair hung over her face, but Kiril knew it was Rhi.
“Dear God,” Phelan mumbled. “What did they do to her?”
“You doona want to know.”
Phelan’s face was contorted with rage and helplessness. “Look at her! She’s…”
“Chained,” Kiril finished. “Shara didna say anything about chains.”
“They’re just chains. We should be able to break them.”
Kiril shook his head. “Balladyn wouldna put simple chains on Rhi. She has verra powerful magic, and he knows that. Those chains must be special or she would’ve already busted out of them.”
“I’m no’ leaving her,” Phelan stated emphatically.
Kiril swiveled his head to him. “Neither am I.”
He opened his mouth to say more when voices reached them, coming closer and closer. Kiril shoved Phelan inside the cell and quickly closed the door behind them. Phelan flattened against the wall on one side of the door, and Kiril the other.
“I don’t relish bringing you here, but it’s for the best.”
“Balladyn,” Phelan mouthed.
Kiril nodded grimly. He wished there was a window or something so he could see who Balladyn was bringing to the dungeons.
“Forgive me if I don’t believe your shite,” stated a voice Kiril knew all too well.
He felt as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. Balladyn had Shara and was putting her in the dungeon. Kiril could get Shara and Rhi if he shifted into a dragon.
But getting back to earth from the Fae realm wouldn’t be so easy. No one could see Fae doorways except the Fae because they didn’t want anyone to know where their realm was—or how to get there.
Kiril fisted his hands and tried to control the wrath that was rapidly building inside him. He met Phelan’s troubled gaze before he looked at Rhi.
“You shouldn’t have betrayed me,” Balladyn said to Shara. “I warned you what would happen.”
“You mean you’re a liar. Just like everyone else,” Shara said saucily.
“You’ll be in here until I can make sure every member of your family is wiped out. Only then will I know you aren’t trying to betray me.”
There was a loud bang as the metal door was slammed shut. Kiril squeezed his eyes closed at the sound. They had one chance to get out of the dungeon without being discovered. There wouldn’t be two trips. All he could do now was pray that Shara could walk on her own, because Rhi couldn’t.
Kiril opened his eyes to see Phelan next to Rhi. He walked over the rolling, rocky floor to them. He touched Rhi’s hand to find it as cold as ice.
“That’s no’ good, is it?” Phelan asked worriedly.
“Nay,” Kiril said.
“I tried to break the chains. I couldna even lift them.”
Kiril took a closer look at the chains and scowled down at them. “We’re fucked, my friend. Those are the Chains of Mordare thought lost. They were crafted by the Light Fae to hold the Dark. Once on, they can be removed only by the Fae who shackled her.”
“Balladyn,” Phelan ground out. “Rhi should’ve used her magic.”
“Every time she does, a jolt gets sent through her body. Another perk of the chains. They’re weighing her down, draining her of … herself.”
“Nay.” Phelan carefully moved Rhi’s hair so he could see her face. Then he gently placed a hand on either cheek and tilted her face to him.
What stared back were eyes that were empty … soulless.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“This isna Rhi,” Phelan said.
“It’s what’s left of her.” Kiril stood and walked away, unable to look at the shell of the vibrant Fae that had once been. “There might be a chance if we could get the chains off her, but that isna happening.”
Phelan shot him a scathing look. “I’m no’ leaving her.”
“I doona want to either,” Kiril said in exasperation. “Look around. You can no’ even lift the chains. What does that tell you? If we can no’ remove them, then we can no’ take her out of this shit hole.”
Phelan hung his head. “She wouldna leave me.”
“I doona have an answer.” Kiril put his hands on his hips and stared at the opposite wall. He wanted nothing more than to get Rhi as far from Balladyn as he could.
It had never entered his mind that Balladyn would have the Chains of Mordare. Had Kiril known that, he would have rethought his plan. As it was, he and Phelan were smack in the middle of an army that was on high alert.