I hadn’t found any proof of my theory, but I kept an eye out for anything while I worked with Bruns on strategy. He planned to expand to the other garrisons in Sitia, indoctrinating them, as well. I hated helping him, but at the same time, the challenge kept my mind from imagining my brother and friends starving to death in the jail.
I’d been sleeping in the side room of Bruns’s office and using the washroom in his suite downstairs. Every morning, Loris arrived and reinforced the magic holding me captive. Funny thing about that—for the next few hours, I couldn’t refuse a command and I enjoyed the work, almost existing on an I-love-Bruns high, but as the day wore on, the magic wore off. From what I’d seen of Bruns’s other minions, that didn’t happen, and from the conversations Bruns had with Loris, it sounded as if once a person had been fully converted, they no longer needed to be influenced unless they had magic.
Perhaps I hadn’t been fully rehabilitated yet. Or perhaps what had happened with Janco in the jail—that blocking power—had something to do with it. But I didn’t touch Loris. Unless the baby really was a void and was slowly siphoning off the magic. My head ached with the possibilities.
The desire to bolt once the magic released its hold on me was strong, but I wouldn’t leave without my brother, Ari, Janco, Dax and Hale. And I hadn’t figured out a way to rescue them. Not yet.
On the fourth day, everything changed. Bruns called me into his office. I’d been helping in the armory that morning.
Mara stood on the other side of his desk. I froze in shock for a moment. No guards bookended her, and she appeared healthy, despite a few cuts and bruises on her face. Pure determination radiated from her—a side of Mara I hadn’t seen before.
“You see? She’s perfectly fine and has joined me. Tell her, Yelena.”
“Yes, I’m assisting Bruns now. We have a lot of work to do in order to prepare for war.”
“And it will be the same with Leif, if you convinced him to eat,” Bruns said.
“He’ll eat. As long as we can work together,” Mara said.
He gave her a condescending smile. “Of course. I’m a businessman, and that was our deal.”
Bruns called for his secretary, Tia, and asked her to escort Mara to the magicians’ quarters to wait for Leif.
“It’ll take a couple days. In the meantime, please make yourself at home,” Bruns said to Mara. “All meals are served in the canteen, and if you get bored, the cooks are always looking for help.”
She nodded her thanks, met my gaze and held it a moment before leaving. Odd. The entire exchange was odd. Did I dare hope this was part of a larger scheme?
“You should be happy, Yelena. Now your brother won’t die of starvation.”
“I am.”
“But?”
“You didn’t seem to care if he lived or died before.”
“Ah, true. However, working with you these last few days has made me realize why you, Leif and the others locked below have been so successful all these years. The level of intelligence is impressive. Now all I need is for Valek to break, and the Commander won’t stand a chance.”
“Excuse me if I don’t believe you have him.”
“Figured you’d say that. When we’re done with him, I’ll let you visit.”
“Mighty nice of you.” I gave him a tepid smile, but inside, worry bubbled. Bruns appeared way too smug to be lying.
He laughed. “Return to the armory. The Weapons Master is excited about your ideas. When you’re finished, come back here.”
Being in the armory had its advantages—access to weapons was at the top of the list. I stole darts filled with Curare and hid them in my clothes and room. Bruns never specifically said I couldn’t. He was confident that his order not to escape included scheming, but it didn’t.
At night, when the magic wore off, I could sneak down to the jail, disable the guards and free my brother and the others—I refused to believe Bruns had Valek. Denial kept me functioning.
Rescuing them from the jail would be easy. The hard part would be leaving the garrison. Every entrance was well protected, soldiers patrolled around the buildings and magical alarms had been set on the walls. I could take Bruns hostage, put a knife to his throat and use him to get my friends released. Except it would only take one dart filled with Curare to neutralize me.
I sparked on another plan the morning of my sixth day. Simple, yet it just might work, if I had enough time to prepare. It would depend on when Loris intended to brainwash Leif and the others. I suspected soon. But it was the best plan I had so far.
That afternoon, Bruns ordered me to accompany him to the jail. By the way his chest puffed out and his eyes gleamed with glee, I assumed my days of denial were coming to an abrupt end.
When we entered, the first thing to hit me was the smell. After more than a week without bathing, the men reeked. I met Leif’s gaze. He stood next to the door to his cell. He’d lost weight.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “You?”
“Fine. The food could be better, though.”
Ah. They were eating. Has Loris been here? I signaled.