As Kyra moved into the lower levels, the smell of mold and human waste became stronger, and the silence was broken by the occasional shout or moan. Progress was slow. Several times, she had to dive into a niche or perch atop a doorframe to evade a passing Red Shield. But she did work her way little by little until she stood in front of James’s cell. She doubted that he would be unbound, but she readied her dagger just in case. Her key worked on the first try.
Her first glimpse of James knocked her back several steps. Kyra had expected to hate him. She’d steeled herself for memories of Bella and of her own near death at his hands. Those images did come back, but she also saw James as he was now, and it left her speechless.
He was shackled to the wall by short chains that connected to rings around his wrists. He wore the same tunic and trousers that he had been captured in, though now they were soiled and torn. James’s face was covered with bruises and cuts, as was what exposed skin Kyra could see. His white-blond hair was matted with what looked like blood.
He hung from his chains with his face cast down, and at first Kyra thought he was asleep. But then he slowly raised his head. His eyes were still the same cold, clear blue as they had always been.
“I wondered when you’d come,” he said.
She had nothing to say. James watched her, and there was a hint of an amused smile on his lips. “Surprised at the sight of me? The Council spares no expense in welcoming its guests.”
Kyra didn’t know why the marks of torture on James affected her so much. She had certainly known what the Palace did to criminals, though her own treatment while imprisoned had been nothing compared to this. Was it because she had cooperated early on? Or was it because the knights of Forge still held too much to their chivalrous notions to torture a young woman?
Kyra took a few steps closer to James, though not within his reach. He was still a dangerous man, and she had the scars to prove it. But she wanted a better look at him. Now that she had gotten over the shock of his appearance, she could see that James’s imprisonment hadn’t taken the glint of intelligence out of his eyes—nor had it broken him, she suspected. Kyra felt her old wariness return.
“Did they torture you for information about the Guild?” she asked.
“Did you come down simply to check on my well-being?” he asked. His eyes flickered over her dark clothing. “Why do I get the feeling that Malikel doesn’t know you came to see me?”
Yes, James was still definitely all there.
“I don’t have to answer to you anymore,” Kyra said.
James actually laughed, though the laugh ended in a cough. “And yet, you’re here. No, Kyra. If you’ve gone to this much trouble to speak to me, you want something from me. And unless you plan to add your own cuts to those your masters have decorated me with, then I’ll have something from you in return. Starting with the real reason why you came.”
Funny. Kyra had planned this break-in perfectly, from fashioning the keys to getting past the door guards. But here in this cell, her plans came up short. As she’d lain awake plotting, she’d known that she wanted to talk to James. But now she didn’t have the words.
“You’ve not given me away,” she said.
“Of course.” James’s eyes refocused on her face. “Your…surprising identity. Did you know what you were before the Demon Riders took you?”
Kyra didn’t answer.
“I’ll wager you didn’t. You didn’t have their bloodlust. And you still don’t.”
“You tried once to tell Malikel about me.” She had only barely convinced Malikel that James was lying.
“And you want to know why I didn’t continue to try,” he finished for her. “It was a mistake on my part even to attempt the first time, and I should thank you for not letting me succeed. It might have turned them against you, but it would have gained me nothing more than short-lived satisfaction. Information is power in my trade, Kyra. I hold on to it until it gains me something.”
“If you think you can blackmail me into letting you go,” said Kyra, “you’re wrong. I knew when I turned you in that I’d risk getting found out.”