“Let me at her!” he screamed. “Hurt…hurt…hurt…”
I could feel Talon’s fear escalate as he grasped me to him tighter, his arms weak enough that it only felt like a gentle tug. He had heard Ryland scream once before, but it had been nothing like this. Ryland’s panic at being awoken had opened up into a full blown attack. His messed up brain had unlocked, and he rambled and mumbled and pleaded and yelled.
“I have to save her,” he howled, his chains colliding with the bars of his cell loudly. “Protect her…I have to hurt her…”
“Leave him,” I heard Sain hiss through the dark, and my tension grew. I watched what little movement I could make out, Talons arms encircling me and holding me close to him, when a bright yellow light suddenly ignited the prison.
The light burned my eyes, and I shied away from it, my hands moving to cover my face in an attempt to keep the light out.
“Who woke him up?” Cail hissed, and I withdrew into myself even further.
No one answered him. We let Ryland’s continued screams eat up the sound. I kept my face away from him, my eyes buried in my shoulder as my ears perked to hear any noise.
“You hurt her,” Ryland screamed through the silence of Cail’s unanswered question.
I waited for the clunk of a chain, the hinge of a door. Nothing, but Ryland’s continued howls filled the damp air of our prison.
“Who screamed before Ryland did?” Cail asked again, the wicked pleasure in his voice evident even above Ryland’s screams.
Talon’s fingers dug into me as he tried to move me closer to him, the bars digging further into my back at his attempt.
“What?” Cail said, the mock disbelief in his voice unnerving. “No one going to answer me?”
“You killed her!” Ryland roared, the metal of his cell clanging once more before his screams turned to sobs. “Killed her…she’s gone…dead… Dead…”
“That’s all right,” he trilled, the wicked pleasure dancing in his voice. “I’ll find out anyway. More importantly, we have a new arrival in Prague. Did you know that?”
Ryland had all but stopped now. His sobs turned to whimpers as he rocked himself back and forth, his hands clasped through his long hair. I could hear each step of Cail’s shoes against the ground as he paced in front of us. I could hear the gentle clicks of his tongue as he contemplated what to say next. But I stayed still, knowing that Sain and Talon were doing the same, each of our secrets held inside of our hearts.
“Oh yes, our visitor has just come back from seeing Ilyan and Joclyn.” The single word woke Ryland up again.
He jumped up, his hands hitting against the bars as he lunged for Cail.
“Ovailia just saw Joclyn, Ryland, and I guess Joclyn wants you back…do you want to go?” Cail’s voice was quiet, and I felt my entire spine solidify. No. Cail was about to succeed, he had built a weapon and now was able to let it go.
“Yes!” Ryland yelled his voice cracking in desperation.
“What are you going to do when you see her, Ryland?” Cail asked. I curled inside of myself, not wanting to hear what was coming. “What are you going to do when you see her, when you see Ilyan’s arms around her?”
Ryland’s breathing picked up as Cail spoke, his breath coming in deep heavy spurts as he threatened hyperventilation. I listened as the sound of his breathing turned into yells. The word ‘kill’ repeated over and over.
“Good.” Cail sneered, the pride at a job well done evident in his voice.
I heard the click of Cail’s foot against the bottom stair, the sound barely audible over Ryland’s panic attack and continued panting. That one click clenched inside of me, my body rocking in on itself before it snapped, sending me to my feet. Talon gasped at my movement, his body too weak to follow, to defend me. Ryland stopped repeating his words, and Cail turned around, his dark eyes meeting mine as a sneer appeared on his lips.
We stood facing each other, Cail’s dark eyes taunting me, warning me of what would come if I opened my mouth and did what I was planning. I knew better; he would do it anyway. I took the warning, magnified it, and sent it back to him, my eyes narrowing in a taunt that I was sure I didn’t possess the means to follow up on.
I could hear Talon’s whimper, feel his weak fingers on my ankle, but I ignored them. For my idea to work, it had to be me against Cail. I needed to get the knife, and we needed to warn Joclyn.