Pepper looks outraged while Solana is already pondering ways to get down there.
Lola asks, “How do we do it?”
“I have a potion that can melt locks. No key needed,” Solana rubs her hands together.
“That would be great if we didn’t want to make it obvious that someone broke in,” Rowan sighs.
“Also, you have nothing to make the potion with,” Lola points out and Solana curses. “I can see if there’s a spell that will turn locks. It shouldn’t be that hard.”
“Perfect,” Rowan smiles.
“And what if she isn’t down there?” Pepper crosses her arms.
“Then everything said about Shadow and Melani is true. They’re dangerous, they manipulated me, and they murdered Lottie.”
Even if Shadow was the only one at the scene and Melani is nowhere to be found and no witnesses saw her, Knot could still be right. Melani could have fled the scene, she could still be involved in Lottie’s murder. He claimed she moved Shadow’s shadows into her veins, killing her, that could possibly be true. But his witness account is false, Rowan is almost positive from what Pepper said that he was never there to see her murder.
There’s only one way to find out and that is to find Melani, wherever she may be.
* * *
Solana has always been independent, but she has never been vacant. Not like she is now.
She spent much of her life experiencing loss and pain. By that time she learned to stop caring, caring meant having unspeakable pain for losing those you love. So she stopped caring. And she also stopped loving.
Her life has been lonely, she has never taken a lover and has no interest otherwise. She bears no glances at attractive males or females, and strikes no conversations meant for flirting. With the decision to be by herself for the rest of her life, there has never been the urge for intimacy or long meaningful conversations.
Then she found Cirvka and she met Lola, and Shadow, and Pepper, and now Roe, and then Lottie. Suddenly her life became more complicated than she ever meant it to be. Sometimes she feels herself opening up, letting out a bellow of laughter or a cheek-hurting smile.
She couldn’t stop herself from going home to their tent every night or sitting at the same table every meal time. She keeps going back to them no matter how much she wishes she could stay away. They are her family and this is her home. A second chance after everything that meant something became nothing. A distant memory of a life that no longer exists and friends and family who no longer exist.
But with recent events she remembers why it is good to stay distant.
So she pulls back.
There has been too much death. Her heart aches with the thought of Lottie being gone forever. Meal times will never be the same. Night time in their tent will never be the same. She wants someone to blame. It is easier when you have someone to point your finger at. Someone to hate and curse.
Shadow is that someone.
She is conflicted between the facts thrown at her—the fact that he was standing over her body. The fact that she was killed by his shadows. But she is conflicted over the fact that she has known Shadow and despite his dark and scary exterior, he is a kind male. He is good and she believes—no, she knows—that whatever mess he has gotten himself in, is not one of his own making.
Shadow was a frequent customer at her booth. He came asking for tonics almost once a week. Tonics for pain. He never looked hurt, there was never a visible cut or bruise, but it was in his eyes that she saw his pain and it was in the way he walked, slow and careful. The first time he came to her he was in so much pain his skin was pale, his body trembling, and his breathing shallow. She doubled the dosage she would normally brew to give a more powerful effect. She didn’t see him for two days after that because he slept trying to heal.
It wasn’t until the fifth or sixth tonic that she finally found out what his injuries were.
Whip marks on his back. Deep, bloody, down-to-the-bone, whip marks.
He was too tired to put on a strong front. He frowned and allowed a tear to roll down his cheek. For the first time she saw the humanity in him.
As she pictures the scared, hurt, young male from that memory, she has a hard time believing it is the same as the vicious, murderous one standing over the small body he had just killed.
Remembering that there is no good in this kingdom, she lets go of her feelings toward Shadow, as well as the feelings she once held for Lottie, and allows her heart to become empty. She becomes the blank shell of emotions she has always meant to be for herself, vowing once again to stop caring and stop loving.
* * *
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Shadow is alone in his cell, hating himself.
Death is a better option than sitting here reflecting on all he was forced to do. They will try him for his crime, leave him there to rot, or his father will keep him there until his plan is finally completed. The gods above know his father probably has many orders he’ll manipulate his son to carry out. Shadow is a slave to his father’s word and as long as he wears his collar, there is nothing he can do.
The dungeon is cold. He deserves to live down there. He deserves suffering in the cold as his stomach rumbles with the need for food and while his mouth is dry and parched. He starts to wonder if there is anyone else down there—if there are criminals screaming to get free. The silence is slowly making him crazy, it always has but at least he could read a book or read lips. The lack of company is the most maddening because the only thing he is able to focus on, is the fact that he took an innocent life.
He took the life of a little girl he promised to keep safe. A little girl who looked up to him like he was the most magnificent male in the world.
He is ashamed.
He is weak.
He is a murderer.
When he was set free from his manipulation and his mind and vision finally came back into focus, he saw Roe standing there. Hate in her eyes. That’s when they took him away and she opened her mouth wanting him to tell the guards dragging him away that he didn’t do it. But he did do it, and he deserves to be punished.
His heart breaks at how hurt Roe looked. She must hate him and he doesn’t blame her—he hates himself. He loved her, that was all real, every piece of himself that he gave her was authentic and he holds every piece she gave him like it was a rare gem. He held it like he was afraid to break it. Then he did. He will never forget the way she looked at him.
It’s so dark that he can’t see his hands in front of his face. The smell of mildew and sewage makes his eyes water. The stone ground is damp, dirty, and crawling with unknown critters. His hands are chained to the wall. On his wrists are cuffs that chain not only him but his shadows as well. This makes it impossible for him to dematerialize out of there.
This is how his sister felt being locked in a dungeon all those years. Regret fills his stomach with a twisting pain. He failed at his job to protect her all because of an impulse decision to break her out. Everything seemed so hopeful when Roe showed him the key. He thought he could be a savior, instead he became something so much worse.
He has no idea what has happened to his sister. The last time he saw her was that night before him and Roe shared his bed together. The possibilities of what his father did to her are endless.
Is she even still alive?
He has used his sister as leverage ever since Shadow refused to do his father’s dirty work. That’s when she was thrown into the dungeon. He took away what Shadow loved most in the world, and locked it away. If he didn’t do as his father told, he would use his manipulation to hurt his sister. He knew it was a risk breaking her free, an idiotic risk, because when they freed her from the dungeon and the chains, she still had the collar on. No matter what, his father was always—and still is—in control. With those collars linked to his power, he can do anything.
Still, he broke his sister free and hoped for a way out of the mess he put them all in. He was going to talk to his father to prove his loya
lty even with his sister free. That he didn’t need to use Melani to make him do what he wanted.
His father took away everything, his sister, his freedom, his friends, and turned him into a monster with nothing left to live for. Not as long as he stays down here with the collar around his throat, and the female he was starting to love hating him. Not as long as he is still breathing while Lottie’s life was forcefully taken. She was only a child with so much to live for, so much to see and do.
And Shadow took that away.
Shadow watched as tears spilled down from her eyes.
Shadow watched her scream, glad of his deafness so he didn’t have to hear how horrible it sounded.
Shadow watched as her veins slowly turned black from his shadows intrusion until she took her last gasping breath and then stilled.
The guards roughed him up when they threw him in his cell. With every inhale it feels like glass shards poking at his lungs. The coppery taste of blood in his mouth is from when they punched him in his jaw. He wishes he had water to wash away the repugnant taste.
But he deserves this.
Shadow continues to be in his cell alone, hating himself.
* * *
Knoton’s footsteps echo down the long corridor of the dungeon. On either side of him are empty cells with the occasional few prisoners who smell putrid and sob softly. Aside from the small cries, there is an incessant dripping noise in the distance, the further he gets, the louder it is. He holds the lantern high in the air, the light giving him passage to Shadow’s cell.
Shadow is facing the wall, his back to Knot. He thought the light cascading on the wall would grab his attention, but Shadow continues to stare away from him. His arms are hugging his legs close to his body slowly rocking back and forth. Knot grabs a pebble from the ground and aims it at Shadow’s head. He turns around to reveal the reason why the light didn’t grab his attention. His eyes are swollen shut from a massive beating. He has to admit, he feels bad for him and looking at his bruised and bloody face, he feels a little worse. Especially because the only reason he came down here was to taunt him.
He brings the lantern closer to see Shadow trying to open his eyes. “Whoever is there, I can’t see you so go away,” he says with a lisp.
Knot sits down.
It’s okay, he will wait.
* * *
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
After everyone at Cirvka goes to bed and the place is silent, Rowan, Lola, Solana, and Pepper sneak out of their tent. The four of them quietly make their way across the grounds to reach the restricted section. The headquarters building in sight. Solana and Pepper stay back and watch while Rowan and Lola sneak in through the front.
Locked.
“Can you use your spell on this door?”
Lola shakes her head. “You said the door leading to the dungeon has many locks, plus the locks on her cell door—if she’s even in there. Using those spells already takes a lot of power out of me, I don’t want to risk depleting my energy.”
Rowan looks around for an idea. They can’t break down the door and wake The Overseer or Blade or Knot. They have to be completely silent. “I know which is Shadow’s window. Since Pepper is the strongest, she can lift one of us up on her shoulders and we can sneak in through his room,” Rowan suggests.
Since Rowan is smaller, she crawls onto Pepper’s shoulders and is able to reach Shadow’s window. She pulls the glass window open enough to slip inside. The room is dark, she lights her hand and looks around the room to see it is exactly as she left it the morning after. His shirt is still where she threw it on the ground. The bed is still unmade and smells strongly of his woodsy scent mixed with the vanilla scent of her shampoo.
Her heart breaks with memories of Shadow and the male she thought he was. Over her shoulder she watches as Lola struggles to get through the small window, eventually shimmying until she’s on the other side. Lola brushes off her dress while Rowan is still fixated on the memory of the night she spent in the room.
Lola gives Rowan a sympathetic and knowing look, as if she can read the hurt displayed on her face. Before Lola can say anything, Rowan shakes it off and they carefully open Shadow’s door.
They crack it open enough to see if anyone is in the hallway or if any doors to the rooms across the hallway are open. Rowan doesn’t see or hear anything suspicious, there’s nothing but a darkened corridor and the sound of silence. Lola grips onto the back of Rowan’s shirt tightly as her aflame index finger leads the way to the door at the end of the hall with three locks.
Lola mutters her spell as quietly as possible, “Sabazar lavkez parama vu sar okenja…”
The locks open one by one with loud clicks. She looks over her shoulder making sure the noise didn’t wake anybody up. Lola opens the door and Rowan follows, shutting it behind them. The only light is coming from her hand, Lola grips onto Rowan’s other hand. The two of them huddled closely together. She can remember so clearly the feeling of holding Shadow as they walked down these same steps to free his sister.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Rowan shakes her head. She doesn’t want to think of him anymore. It hurts too much.
They descend down the spiral stairs, the only sound is their footsteps echoing. She can hear her heartbeat in her ears, her breathing becoming more rapid and panicked thoughts start to fill her mind. She is nervous about the possibilities of what she can find down in the dungeon. Melani will either be sitting in that cell or not.
Entering the long corridor of cells, Rowan and Lola take their time stepping slowly and nervously. Lola’s grip on her hand gets tighter as they get closer. Rowan shuts her eyes before turning to face whatever lies there.
“Rowan,” a relieved breath sounds.
She opens her eyes to see Melani covered in dirt and bruises. The chains on her wrist and feet have cut into her skin so badly that she is bleeding. “What happened to you?”
“He stole me from the tent. I know I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere, but he hit me over the head and the next thing I knew I was back here.”
“Who? Who took you from the tent? Your father?”
“No,” she shakes her head. “He had very light blond hair. He was wearing nice clothes and a silver crown.”
“Arlo,” she whispers.
“Your brother?” Lola raises her eyebrow. “What was your brother doing here?”
“I don’t think he was called yesterday for the riot. He was already here.”
“Do you think it was planned?”
“Why would Shadow take part in something like that? Why would he kill…”
“Mikah would never do something like that!” She protests. “Not unless my father commanded it.”
“Couldn’t he just deny orders?” Lola frowns. “I mean how could he force him to kill Lottie?”
“His power,” she whispers. “Please, my brother is not evil. He would never hurt another soul.”
“I believe you,” Rowan murmurs.
“Roe!” Lola protests. “You can’t just easily believe her! What if she was caught during the raid and The Overseer brought her down here and she is lying so you’ll free her again.”
I will never be deceived again.
“How can we tell if she is telling the truth or not,” Rowan asks.
“I don’t know, but Lottie is gone and I’d rather not risk another one of our friends—or ourselves.”
“Open the door,” Melani struggles to stand.
“No way,” Lola crosses her arms over her chest.
“Just open the door, you don’t have to free my chains.”
“Yeah so you can use your chains to choke us from behind? No, thank you.”
“You want me to prove myself, well this is the only way I can do it.”
Rowan gives Lola a nod. She curses under her breath how this is a bad idea, but she repeats the phrase and unlocks the cell door. Lola holds her head feeling dizzy and starts to look pale from the energy of the spell. Rowan enters the ce
ll and stands at an arm’s length away from Melani.
“Closer,” Melani urges.
Her hands spark with fire energy ready to burn her if she tries anything. She takes a step closer and Melani leans her forehead gently against hers. Rowan’s vision goes blank and suddenly her mind is whirling until she blinks her eyes open to see that she has transported somewhere else.
Rowan is standing inside the tent Melani was staying in for the short time that she was free. Laying on one of the mattresses is Melani herself.
“What are we doing here?” She asks but Melani doesn’t move nor answer her.
Rowan is startled when a tall male storms through the tent. His smile curls into a vindictive expression. “I knew I’d find you,” his voice is rough as he lunges for Melani who looks petrified.
“Please, go away,” she throws her arms over her face to protect herself. “I mean no harm. My friends should be back soon.”
“We can’t have that. You’re going to come with me and I’m going to put you back where you belong,” Arlo strikes her over her head. Melani’s body slumps to the ground motionless and unconscious. He wraps her in a blanket, hoists her in his arms, and quickly exits the tent.
Rowan tries to wrap her head around what has happened. The next person to come through the tent is Rowan. She watches herself frantically look around the room. Murmuring a series of no’s to herself as a panic attack comes on. This is the exact memory of what Rowan did after her talk with Knot and Blade.
The vision abruptly disappears. Rowan is back at the cell, she is dizzy and close to falling over but a pair of arms grab her. She hears Lola screaming for her, but everything sounds muffled. When she regains her balance, she notices Melani is on the ground with her head in her hands, whimpering.
Lola has Rowan is her arms in a protective embrace. “What did she do?” She inspects her. “Are you okay?”
“What was that?” Rowan ignores Lola walking out of her grip to kneel down next to Melani.
Fight for the Crown Page 21
