The guilt set in. He had ignored all those poor people . . .
He didn’t know how he could have stopped her, but he could have at least made it a lot harder and perhaps not worth her while. Not on his island, anyway.
At last Theodora waved the staff, breathing life back into the three men. They rolled on the ground, groaning in their agony.
Sometimes pain is good, he thought. It means you are alive.
Then Theodora shot him a piercing stare and hesitated. His breath caught. She had to bring back Rhianna. She had to.
Pointing the scepter toward Rhianna, Theodora called out to Katsu. “Old man.” He looked up silently, as if waiting for further instruction. “Bring the girl to my palace.”
Katsu nodded, though Aidan could see the man’s clenched jaw and the sadness in his eyes. Rhianna remained unconscious as he carried down the road. He disappeared into the woods, following the long trail that led to Theodora’s castle in the mountains.
Theodora must have been pleased with herself, her voice raised in jubilant eagerness as she announced, “A bonus for all!”
Immediately, a long table appeared down the length of the street. It was piled high with food in one long horn-of-plenty: platers of roast beef, lamb, ham, and poultry, with every sort of fruit and vegetable imaginable.
The people stepped back with hesitation, their eyes wide. When they realized this feast was meant for them the scene turned into a mob attacking the food both eating and storing what they could. A man removed his shirt to create a make-shift satchel. Other’s stuffed pocket and hats with goods.
Theodora peered straight over at where Aidan was perched, the challenge evident in her eyes. He read the message loud and clear...she was in control. Then she disappeared in a swirl of red smoke.
Aidan understood Theodora’s taunt. She’d taken Rhianna because she assumed that he’d come after her.
And she was correct. He’d go beyond this dimension...and to the end of the earth for Rhianna.
His heart pounded in his head, making it hard to think as he soared to the mountain range. At first, he thought to intercept Katsu and Rhianna en route. But when he didn’t encounter them, he realized Theodora must have already intervened and taken them to her palace.
He flew over the ridges, watching and ready. There was no telling what Theodora would do to stop him. She would not make it easy. That was part of the game. Yes, she expected him to follow her. He was only certain she would be ready for him. His first weapon to thwart her would be speed. If he could just get there before she locked him out—and he was sure she would—then he may have a chance.
He flew low, close to the treetops. As soon as he was within sight of the palace, he anticipated smashing into some sort of barricade or force she’d put up. What sort of trap had she laid for him?
But nothing happened as he approached. Perhaps he’d managed to get through before she’d set one up. Still, it made him nervous that he hadn’t run into resistance yet. His back and shoulder muscles tensed as he pushed his wings into an extended glide. He glanced toward the woods and saw nothing.
When he looked forward again, he noticed a cloud of roiling red smoke was heading toward him, moving swiftly before overtaking and enveloping him. He couldn’t see but a foot in front of him. Within seconds, he grew disoriented.
Panic began to set in. He couldn’t fly blind. So he descended, going slowly, hoping not to face plant into a tree or cliff. As he landed, he wondered if that was Theodora’s intent—to make him approach from the ground and not the air.
For now he called on his tiger to run and scale the high cliffs, maneuvering with the confidence of the big cat he was. The going proved much slower than flying, but thick red smoke still permeated everything. If he could find a trail up the mountain, the travel would be easier.
He knew one thing for certain: the castle sat at the top of the mountain. So if he kept going up, he was heading in the right direction. Relying heavily on his sense of smell and his superhuman hearing, he crept silently through the shadows, allowing them to conceal him. He didn’t actually expect Theodora to be in the woods, but he couldn’t be positive, either.
Near the top of the mountain, he finally came upon a path and halted, peering across a gigantic ravine to where he thought Theodora’s castle stood. He barely made out the suspended drawbridge and castle base on the other side. The rest of the structure vanished in the red fog.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he stared at an empty space in the middle of the bridge making it look incomplete. He suspected the space only materialized due to some mystical persuasion from Theodora, so that whoever tried to cross would think it was impossible, or they would risk ending up at the bottom of the gorge.
He sighed, and then a scream split the air. Jerking his head up, he heard another high-pitched cry.
Rhianna!
He ran off the edge of the precipice and transformed from tiger to eagle. He plummeted at first, then caught the wind beneath his wings and rose.
It was only a short distance more to the castle, and the closer he got, the easier it was the see through the fog.
Once he was inside the palace, he’d have to find a way to get Theodora to bring Rhianna back to life and then destroy the sorceress. He didn’t know how he would do that yet, what her weakness was, but he’d find one. And whatever it was, he’d use it against her.
* * *
Anxiety skipped along Rhianna’s spine. Her palms were sweating profusely, and she could hardly focus. At least Theodora had allowed her great-grandfather to be the one who stayed to guard her.
“Don’t worry,” Katsu told her. “You will be fine.”
Yeah, right. Easy for you to say.
She had died and been revived. To say she was shaken was an understatement. When air had filled her lungs again for the first time, she had screamed at the pain of it. But her great-grandfather had an easy way about him that reassured her.
“Aidan will be coming for me,” she whispered to Katsu.
He nodded, a shadow of sadness crossing his face. “Rest,” he said and then shut the door to her room. She felt his presence as he remained on the other side.
She inhaled several calming breaths before she turned and regarded the room. One thing was for sure: Theodora lacked an eye for beauty. Rhianna would have thought that there would have been some color in the sorceress’s own palace, if nowhere else in this world. Perhaps there was something wrong with her eyes. Was she color-blind?
The bedroom she’d been escorted to had sturdy Baroque furniture and a plump bed. The accommodations were far superior to the bare room she’d been given in town. She drew back the covers and climbed beneath them. She stared at the high ceiling. And while her body was more comfortable now than it had been in days, a single tear slid down her cheek. She closed her eyes.
Sometime later Rhianna was awoken by the sound of a scrape and a thump. She jumped and snapped open her eyes. It took a moment for the shape at the end of her bed to come into focus.
Aidan.
She tucked her knees beneath her, scooted across the mattress, and threw herself into his open arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked, touching her face gently.
She nodded, then took in a deep breath of his comforting, manly scent. “How did you get in here?”
“I came in the window in another room. It was a tight squeeze, but I managed. Katsu directed me here.”
“I guess my great-grandfather likes me more than I thought,” she said, offering a grim smile.
“His indifferent nature is just due to the culture and age in which he lived. Remember, he’s old, even though he doesn’t look it.”
She nodded again. She wanted to run away, to disappear beneath the covers with a book the way she had when she was small. “I wish I could forget all this. I wish we could be back at your island.”
He lifted her chin and kissed her, the tender strength of his lips on hers giving her hope. “Come on. We must
leave.”
She tried to stand but pain shot through her body, and she stumbled.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “Lean on me. I’ll hold you up.”
•
Aidan knew he needed to get Rhianna out of there. The problem was he didn’t know where to go, nor how to get her there in her weakened state? He could carry her without a problem, but how would they hide from the sorceress? Or how could he challenge Theodora without putting Rhianna at risk to suffer the consequences.
He could take anything the sorceress doled out . . . anything except seeing Rhianna hurt.
He didn’t want to push Rhianna too hard—she was human and had just been through a horrific experience. But something told him there was no time. He stepped from the bed and reached for his sword, forgetting it didn’t travel with him when he shape-shifted.
Theodora threw open the door and charged inside. She touched the ring on her right hand and brandished the scepter at him. The sphere glowed white. It was the first time he’d seen it turn any color but blue. What did that mean?
Rhianna straightened in his arms, her expression stoic despite the pain he knew she was in.
“I knew you would come for her,” Theodora crooned.
Suddenly, the walls and floor of the room began to move. The individual bricks shifted and rotated, moving and shifting into different positions like a colorless kaleidoscope. Both he and Rhianna were thrown off-balance, knocking their shoulders together then falling to the floor. Rhianna landed on top of him as the room settled into what appeared to be a dungeon.
With her open palm extended toward Rhianna, Theodora picked her up and sent her sailing into another cell across the hallway. Rhianna slammed into the wall with a moan. The door shut with a loud clack, and a key magically turned to lock the door before floating into Theodora’s hand.
Rhianna staggered to her feet and cursed as she ran to the door as best she could. She grasped the iron bars. “Let us out!1 Let us go home!” she yelled.
Theodora smiled, her lips peeling back from her teeth. “What’s mine stays mine. Unless . . .” She paused and glanced back at Aidan, as if considering something. “Unless you’re dead.”
Aidan narrowed his eyes at Theodora. What was she going on about? More than tired of Theodora’s games, he stood and charged after her, trying to grab the staff from her hands.
Theodora lunged forward and aimed the scepter at Rhianna. A lightning bolt shot from the orb and pierced Rhianna’s chest. Her eyes rolled up in their sockets again as she collapsed—again—to the damp floor. Her heart had even stopped beating. Aidan’s superhuman hearing could detect the silence.
“No!” Aidan shouted.
Theodora let Rhianna remain where she was, doubled over on the floor, in a cell across the hall. “Watch her rot, Guardian.”
“No! Do anything you want to me, just bring her back.” He frantically searched his brain for a way to appeal to Theodora, something to offer in exchange for Rhianna’s life and freedom. “Take me instead. Let her go home.”
“I already have you,” Theodora snapped, her face glowing. “And you had your chance.” She slammed and locked the metal cell door, a cage made up of heavy, thick bars. “Too bad. It would have been so much fun to have watched you in battle. It’s all about the game,” she mumbled as she headed for the door. “All about the game . . .” She turned with a swish of fabric and disappeared.
“Rhianna,” Aidan bellowed as he darted to the cell door. He grabbed ahold of his own bars and looked over at her fallen body. A wild, ferocious growl ripped from his lungs. Then he too a few deep breaths.
Calm down. Think.
He glanced around to find there were no windows. He beat his fists on the walls. Were they solid, or could this all be an illusion Theodora had created? Pain shot into his hand, and his knuckles came away bloodied.
This was no illusion. His gaze settled on the metal grid of the doors. Could he squeeze through in his eagle form? He gritted his teeth in determination.
Changing to his eagle, he chose one of the lower sections to try slipping through. He got his head through but his shoulders hung up. The space was too small. He compressed his wings against his body. Damn, he still didn’t fit. He pushed forward, wincing as shoulder feathers tore free. He took shallow breaths, looking across at Rhianna, who was still unconscious on the floor.
He needed to hurry.
Exhaling the air from his lungs, he pushed his body harder, squeezed smaller, so much so that his shoulder broke with a snap and his wing collapsed under the force. He clenched his jaw, trying to distract himself from the agony of the break.
At last, able to squeeze his broken body through the square space, he came out the other side into the hall.
Breathing hard but not willing to stop, he repeated the process of going through Rhianna’s cell door. It would be quicker this time, since his wing was already broken; it was only a matter of enduring the pain.
In her cell, he immediately took his human form again and began CPR. His broken arm was practically useless, but he stretched her out on her back with his good arm. He positioned his good hand on her chest and began compressions. Leaning over her, he placed his mouth on hers, breathing for her and forcing air into her lungs. He repeated the sequence several times until she responded with a sharp gasp. Her eyelids fluttered, and she filled her lungs several more times, then looked at him and smiled tremulously.
A wet, throaty laugh rumbled through him, he was so relieved.
At last, he collapsed against the wall, pulling her to him. He had never felt anything better.
•
The dungeon was silent except for the sound of their heavy breathing as they sat, leaning on each other. Thank God he’s okay. She reached across and placed her hand on top of his. “I’m not sure what happened, but thank you.”
Aidan twisted, groaning, and kissed her temple. “Theodora struck you with her dark magic and killed you. I revived you.”
She chuckled. “Leave it to you to give me the condensed version.”
He shrugged, his face scrunching in pain.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Are you hurt?” She angled away from him to get a better look.
“Broke my shoulder,” he said through clenched teeth. He came to his knees and stood, helping her to her feet with his good arm. “Now that you’re okay, I’m going to go after her. We have to get that scepter and get out of here.”
“I can help.”
“I’ll have to go through the door again. I’ll come back for you once I have the key.” Wrapping his uninjured arm around her, he kissed her with longing. When they parted, his lips tugged into a lopsided smile. “Just in case Theodora does permanent damage this time.”
She pulled him closer and kissed him again. “You figure a way out of this, and then we’ll to talk.”
“Deal,” he said, stepping back.
Rhianna sunk her teeth into her lip as he morphed into an eagle, made himself impossibly small, and squeezed through the bars of the door. On the other side, he changed back.
“Your arm,” she said. “How will you fight her injured like that?”
“I heal rapidly. It will be fine.” He gave her one last look of yearning, and then his hurried steps were echoing down the corridor. Eventually the footfalls disappeared altogether, leaving her in silence.
Rhianna stood in the middle of the empty cell. She hugged her arms around her middle and began to pace. At least it was better to listen to her footsteps than the silence. She paused at the door and glanced down the corridor. What had Aidan encountered when he’d left?
She jerked and pushed on the door, hoping it would miraculously open. It didn’t. If only she could unlock it somehow. Her eyes swept the floor of the cell, looking for anything she could use to try to pick the lock. She pursed her lips, then gasped. She’d had a bobby pin earlier!
Maybe . . .
She patted her hair, and her fingers struck the thin slip of metal. Yes! She pul
led the clip free of her hair.
Fiddling with the pin, she tied to recall the video about picking locks she’d watched years ago after locking herself out of her apartment.
First, bend the bobby pin back and forth until it breaks in half. Then, bend one of the halves at the tip.
Taking a deep breath, she reached her arms through the metal grates. The cold bars nudged her chest. Since the lock was on the other side of the door, she’d be working blind, just by feel.
She put the bent end in place first and then added the other half in the lock above it. She jiggled the pin. After several attempts, she had to stop and rest. Her arms were cramping from having to hold them up at an awkward angle. But it didn’t matter how long it took or how tired she got, she had to keep trying.
On the fourth attempt, the lock gave, and the door inched open. She could have squealed with joy. She’d done it!
But she had to be discreet. So she exited the dungeon cell as quietly as she could.
* * *
Once Aidan left Rhianna, he moved cautiously through the castle, taking his time to allow his shoulder at least some time to mend before confronting Theodora. He traveled along the main floor, peeking in doorways to vaarious rooms—kitchen, dining room, living room, library. The castle was cavernous and empty.
He moved up the curved staircase to the second floor. There was a surprising lack of artwork for a place this size, leaving the walls bare. His footfalls were muffled by the thick rugs as he walked along the hallway, again tipping his head through every doorway. Each time, he held his breath, knowing Theodora could be within. At the end of a hall, he came to a room with tall double doors. A distinguishing sign, he thought.
He hesitated, rotating his shoulder. It was still painful, but it was usable. Controlled and careful, he turned the doorknob and looked in. The lighting was dim, even yellowed inside. Pushing the door wider, he inched through the threshold.
She was there in her bedroom, standing in her undergarments. Thick slashes covered her shoulders, ribs, and back, scars that spoke of being on the losing side of a sword fight.
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