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“Good girl,” Mylena adds, putting the lid on top and plunging me into darkness.

It doesn’t take long for my joints to hurt, begging me to shift my position. Less time than it takes for Mylena to leave the room and meet the guards in the kitchen.

Minutes trickle by, marked by muffled voices of arguing men. Soon, my aching joints are no longer my primary problem. A cramp builds up in my abdomen, the sting of it bringing tears to my eyes, but I forget all about it too when the door to the laundry room bangs open. Shouts in the kitchen are no longer muffled. I can hear Mylena argue with soldiers, but my attention is on the pair of dragging footsteps circling through the room.

Cabinets around me open and close. The guard makes another tour of the room, his steps drawing ever so closely.

I was never so afraid of the light as when the captain lifts the lid.

Maker protect me. Shield me the wrath that is to come.

Another pair of footsteps echoes through the room, and the guard drops the laundry back on top of my head without even lifting it completely. I clasp my hands tighter over my mouth not to let the sigh of relief slip out.

“He isn’t here, captain.”

“Then why did Numair run?”

The guard is smart enough not to answer the question, and the captain sighs so close to me, I can hear his smoker’s lungs rasp from the effort.

“Bring the girl.”

A clank of armor marks each of the soldier’s steps as he goes to do as asked.

“First Rev disappearing, and now this?” The captain bangs shut the cupboards’ door so hard I can hear the hinges split. “Can’t I have a moment of peace in this town?”

Mylena’s struggle is obvious as the guards huff from the effort of bringing her into the room.

“My dear, Mylena,” Togar murmurs in a honeyed voice. “I’ve missed the times we’ve spent together.”

“I don’t remember them being pleasant.”

“Always so insolent.” His voice becomes a sharp command. “Leave us.”

The guards clack their heels together and march out of the room. When Togar speaks, his voice is so soft, I have trouble discerning the words. “I should have taught you some manners back in The Dust Hills.”

“It’s a shame it’s too late for that now.”

The sound of a slap rings through the room, followed by Mylena’s pained gasp.

“I don’t want to hurt you. You have a son now to look after. So, tell me why Numair came here, and I’ll be off.”

“It’s as you said. His swift marriage isn’t as joyful as he wants it to appear.”

I don’t know what he does to her this time, but her struggles and whimpers launch my heart into a race.

“Tell me, and I’ll stop. I promise you don’t want me to call Gavin in to ask him the questions instead.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Another slap comes. “Don’t make assumptions based on what little you know of me.”

I cover my ears. Shut my eyes. Lock my brain.

Another second, and I’ll spring from my hiding place. Grab my swords from my belt and run them through his back.

To eternity with consequences.

“Captain,” a guard’s voice disrupts Togar’s interrogation. “We’ve found him.”