There was blackness, and then strong hands were on me, closing in, crushing me. I didn’t remember anything before that, but all I knew was that I had to fight if I wanted to survive. I lashed out, hitting everything I could until I registered Konstantin’s voice, crying out in pain.
“Bryn!” he shouted.
And slowly, the world came into focus. Early morning sunlight streamed in through the open window of our cell. Konstantin stood with his back pressed against the wall, wedged in the constricted spot between where I knelt on the bed and the mossy stone behind him.
I blinked at Konstantin, trying to understand what was happening, and without warning he lunged at me, grabbing my wrists and pinning me back on the bed.
“What are you doing?” I growled and tried to push him back with my legs.
“What are you doing?” he shot back, his face hovering just above mine as he stared down at me. “You started attacking me.”
“I did not,” I replied instantly, but then realized that I actually did remember hitting at something. So I corrected myself. “If I did, I was just protecting myself. What did you do?”
“You were moaning and freaking out, twitching your legs like a dog having a bad dream,” he explained, his expression softening from accusatory to concerned. “I thought something might be wrong, so I put my hand on your arm—just to check on you—and you went ballistic.”
I lowered my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He let go of my wrists and moved over so he was sitting next to me. “Are you okay now?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I sat up more slowly and ran my hand through my tangles of hair.
Since there was only the one bed—a narrow, lumpy double mattress on a rusted iron bed frame—Konstantin and I had decided to share it last night. I’d honestly considered the floor, but there were centipedes and bugs of all kinds crawling all over it, and while the bed probably wasn’t a much safer bet, I knew I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep on the floor.
I’d slept as near to the edge as possible, rigidly on my side, and I was acutely aware of every breath he took and every time he shifted. Five years ago, if someone had told me that I’d share a bed with Konstantin Black, I would’ve been too excited to believe it, but now I had no idea what to think about any of this.
“What was the bad dream about?” Konstantin asked.
“I don’t remember,” I said honestly, but most of my nightmares were variations of Kasper dying, or of Kennet dying, or of me killing Cyrano, or of Ridley being ripped from my arms. None of them were pleasant to recall.
I got up and slid between Konstantin and the wall to the larger area of the room. My hair tie was around my wrist, and I pulled back my hair into a ponytail. My stomach rumbled, reminding me that it had been nearly twenty-four hours since the last time I’d eaten, and I had no idea when I’d eat again.
So, without anything better to do, I dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups. My jeans and tank top were both splattered with mud that had dried and become stiff, but I was hoping the more I moved, the more mud I’d lose.
“What are you doing?” Konstantin asked.
“I’m not just gonna sit and wait for the Queen to summon us. Assuming she ever does summon us.” I looked up at him as I worked out. “Besides, we might have to fight our way out of here.”
“And you think those extra twenty push-ups will help you fight off an ogre like that Torun guy?” he asked with a smirk.
“I’m doing a hundred,” I grunted but didn’t argue with him.
In truth, I had no idea how we could possibly escape from here. The Omte were much too strong for us to fight hand-to-hand. If they wanted us trapped in this tower forever, then that was what would probably happen.
Konstantin got up from the bed and walked over to the window. His arms were folded over his chest, and the rising sun cast a long shadow behind him that overtook the room. When I finished my push-ups, he was still standing like that, staring through the bars.
I stood up and wiped the sweat from my brow. “I can’t believe how hot it is for how early it is. How can people live like this?”
“It is actually kind of beautiful here,” Konstantin said.
I went over to see what he saw. Our room was just above the tops of the trees, and from here we had a stunning view of the trees and the water below. A few birds flew by, their wings like arcs in the bright sun, and I had to admit that he was right.
“Do you think you could fit through these bars?” he asked.
“What?” I’d been looking past the window and now I turned my attention to the three thick bars that held us in the room.