Page 18 of Claimed By Shadow and Blood (Of Fae and Wolf Trilogy #2)

“Feeding?” My fingers curled tight against my palms, digging into already raw flesh. I ignored my discomfort and leaned closer to the crack. “What does that mean? Is that included in their tortures?” Even if I didn’t know exactly what it meant, it sounded horrible.

The tip of his tongue darted out and moistened his cracked lips.

“Both my blood and my magic are compatible with whoever they’re feeding.

When she needs more magic to replenish herself, they drain blood and magic from me.

They’ll continue doing it to me until I cease to exist.” His breaths grew more ragged.

“We’re all dead already. It’s just a matter of how we get there in the end. ”

"Who is 'she'?" I pressed closer to the crack. Something skittered across my hand, and I jerked back. An aching blade of pain spiraled through my body as it protested the movement, and a grunt escaped me.

He tipped his head back, and the wall blocked my view of him. “I’ve never seen her. She takes my life but has never deigned to see me. All I know is that two members of the Aureline Council are involved in this. Probably more. What of you? Why are you here?”

I rubbed my hand, still feeling the scratchy legs of whatever had run across it.

Was there any point in keeping secrets from him?

I wanted to tell him just to remind myself of the truth and push away the false memories further.

"They think I killed the Shadow king. But I didn't. I was framed. They’ve been trying to put fake memories in my head and change my perception of what happened while pretending they’re getting a confession. "

“Ahhh, the tender mercies of Colm.” His voice shuddered, as if he’d tried to laugh and failed.

“Be careful with him. As careful as you can be. He’ll twist everything you think you know.

But you can hold out. Just…hold on to the truth.

Tell yourself what you must remember over and over again for as long as you can.

” He scoffed, but his voice sounded even more strained, as if he was verging on breaking into some combination of hysterical laughter and sobs. “What do they call you?”

“Briar,” I said softly. “What about you?”

“I was Elias. I suppose you can still call me that.”

Was . I shuddered. He’d pretty much acknowledged that he was never going to be the same person again.

My throat tightened as I tried not to contemplate what might happen to me if I had to stay here much longer.

If I had to endure days like this for an extended amount of time, there was no doubt I’d be feeling the same way.

I might be determined to persevere, but everyone had their breaking point.

“It’s so cold.” He wrapped his bony arms around himself, and the veins near his chest throbbed along the dark tubular bruising.

“It’s always so cold. They don’t even have to use much heat to torture you with temperature later.

And there’s a point where the cold burns too.

” He dipped his head forward into my view.

“You have to hold on to every good memory you have, Briar. Especially if they take you to the Whispering Veins.”

“The Whispering Veins?” Goosebumps prickled across my arms, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees. As bad as today had been, somehow I knew that what Colm had in store for me would get far worse.

He lifted a hand and traced a design in the air.

“It’s this tall, narrow chamber. There are spikes on one wall at uneven intervals and of irregular sizes.

Sharp enough to wound and maim but not enough to kill.

Believe me, I’ve tried to die there. It’s arranged in such a way that it’s silent as death.

So silent that your ears strain for any sound, and you can hear your own blood as it pumps through your veins.

Your mind and body become starved for any sort of stimulus because it’s pure darkness.

Not even shadow sight can grant you vision in that place.

Time becomes even more meaningless, and the air starts to hurt.

But then…even worse, sometimes void vermin slip inside.

They’ve cast spells so you can’t hear the vermin when they approach.

The only way you know they’re there is when they’re on you…

clawing, biting…” He doubled over, hugging himself tighter.

I could make out half his face through the crack now.

His silver eyes blazed as he continued, “I tried to escape once, and they locked me in there, but Colm had them attach the draining tubes to my veins while I was in that wretched place. I could hear my life draining from me, and he said he had half a mind to just let it spill out until I met my end. I was a fool to think he’d ever have that kind of mercy. Still…”

“That’s awful, and to go through it alone...” I trailed off because words were useless. It didn’t change a damn thing.

His eyes took on a stormy edge, the rawness of his horror like looking in a mirror. Bile rose along the back of my throat.

Elias struck his palm against the wall and came so close that I could see only a sliver of him through the crack.

“Colm will take you there. If he’s trying to break your mind and force you to confess, he’ll trap you in that space and keep you there until you pray for torture.

If you can’t escape, then kill yourself the first chance you get.

But not on the spikes. They’re enchanted.

They’ll wound you, but never enough to kill you.

” He laughed darkly and flinched back while covering his face. “Don’t let them take you there. Don’t!”

My breath hitched, and I lurched back, even though he couldn’t possibly touch me.

His struggling gasps turned into frantic sobs as he dropped down to the wet ground of the cell.

He lay there, trembling and holding his head.

“You can’t go in there, Briar. You can’t.

If they can’t break your body, they’ll break your mind.

And sometimes, they do both. Do whatever it takes so you don’t go in there.

” His voice became a series of muffled wails as he gripped his head tighter.

I swallowed hard as panic ripped through me. My lungs couldn't fill with oxygen. Leaning forward again, I pressed my hands against the wall, searching for a weakness or a bigger crack that I could use to get the hell out of here.

“Any chance you know how to get out of this place?” It wasn’t as if I could just tell Colm Nope, the Whispering Veins is a no-go for me. And as for escape, I’d have to get out of this cell first, then figure out the rest. “We could work together.”

He dragged the back of his hand over his face.

Blood trickled from his cracked lips. “Don’t waste your time on me.

If you get a chance to go, leave me. I have days left at most. As long as they don’t put you in Whispering Veins, you’ll make it a couple weeks at least. If they do, you’ve got days at most before your mind is gone. ”

His words punched me in the gut. “You tried to escape before, and it didn’t work. What didn’t work about it?”

“I attempted to make it to the tunnels. Used to be able to command stones to move, but here they’re charmed in most places.

Didn’t see the sigils. They hide them under stones and masks.

” His voice shook. “They have so many spells and sigils we can’t see that they don’t worry about our attempts.

Is anyone looking for you? If they can find a way in, you might have a chance.

Your best hope, meanwhile, is to find a natural indentation, a tunnel, a crevice, and hide there when things get bad.

They’ll send someone in to get you if you don’t come out, but it’s better than being out in the open cell. Especially when the shaking starts.”

My heart sank. Many-Greats-Grandfather said he and Ember were working on rescuing me, but who knew how long that would take.

If only Vad or Thalen were trying to find me.... My heart skipped as I wished that were true.

But I knew better.

Having hope was stupid. Vad thought I’d killed his father. He’d want me to pay for that.

I swallowed a whimper, and my eyes welled with tears. Vad must be thinking of me like that. I closed my eyes and drew in a shaky breath.

No. I wasn’t going down that road. There was no time to think of what had been ruined. I had to find a way out of here and save myself. His voice sounded odd as if it was coming from a more confined space.

“What happens in the cell? What makes it shake?” Was my cell like his? There didn’t seem to be any crevice or tunnel or formation on mine.

He whimpered. “I don’t know. Sometimes, the entire cave system this prison is built in shakes, and stalactites will crash to the ground, killing anyone in their path.

Either the guards cut these chambers out of the rock, or the spaces opened on their own.

Who knows? But the guards don’t do anything to make them safer.

This tunnel is part of my cell. I stay in here because it’s harder for them to reach me, and there aren’t any stalactites. No chance of getting out though.”

The broken stalactites now made sense. I glanced over my shoulder and counted at least ten that had fallen in here. Holy shit. I had to get out! This was equivalent to sitting in a minefield.

“Come on, Elias,” I said, trying to force strength into my voice. “Let’s figure something out. How long do we have before they come to get you?” And how long before they come to get me?

He muttered something, but his voice remained muffled, and it didn’t sound like he’d answered me. I forced myself to my feet and nearly dropped to my knees again due to my wobbly legs.

My feet burned and ached, and blood wetted my every step.

But I was going to find something in this pit that I could use to escape.

Based on the number of bones lying around, at least five fae had died down here.

There were five skulls scattered about this space and many more bones strewn in the hay.

None of the femurs or rib bones looked strong enough to withstand more than scraping the algae and mold or stirring up the muck.

They were demineralized and cracked, making them useless for digging my way out.

I picked one up, and it fell apart. The others weren’t in any better condition, and accidentally stepping on one made it crumble.

There were more cracks in the walls and floor, so dark I couldn’t see much beyond them. The consistent dripping of the water confirmed that I'd be in a lot of trouble if there were ever a flood.

A scorpion scuttled out of a crack and vanished beneath the pile of rotting hay. The cell opening they’d pushed me through was over twelve feet above me. Even jumping didn’t get me close. At least not yet. There weren’t enough loose rocks to create even a crude platform.

Elias continued to moan, but the words had become less garbled. “No way out if no one’s looking for you too. If you disappear, you’re gone. No way through.”

I froze. His words were poisoning my mind, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I needed to redirect his thoughts, as much for him as for my own well-being. “Tell me something about yourself.”

“Can’t take any more. They’re not looking for me. Gone. Drained forever.”

If he was right that Colm and his minions were so confident in their spellwork that they assumed no one could get out, I could use that to my advantage.

I pressed my palm against the stone wall, trying to find any purchase, any weakness. Cold claws of panic stabbed my chest. "If there's anything they missed, I’ll find it. There has to be a way out."

Elias’s sobs quieted and were replaced by a hollow chuckle. "They don't miss anything. That's what they do. They find every weakness, every crack in your armor, and they exploit it until there's nothing left of you."

I gritted my teeth. My wolf paced restlessly, pushing me to find a way out. If only Ember were here. She’d know exactly what to do.

I shook the thought away. Fortunately, my sister was safe on Earth. “Tell me who they’re keeping alive with your blood, then. What do you know about her?”

“Not much. No one is looking.” His voice moved as if he were trying to stand. “Ironic, isn’t it? She won’t die, but I will. Then they’ll find someone else.”

I stepped on a loose stone, and as I put my weight down, it shifted, and I twisted my ankle.

Chest heaving, I held back a whimper, not wanting to freak out Elias any more than he already was.

I couldn’t stop just because I’d gotten another injury, so I hobbled around the cell until my ankle swelled up and I could barely feel the bottoms of my feet.

My fingers burned from pressing so hard against the icy stone and the trickling water. My body felt heavier, and my clothes were almost entirely drenched.

Did having someone looking for me count if they weren’t in this realm? Did Many-Greats-Grandfather really understand the issues of this place? I couldn’t help but wonder if he truly understood the dire situation I was in.

He might wait too long to try to do something about my situation.

No . I couldn’t let my thoughts become negative. That wouldn’t help anything. I knew my sister, and she’d keep looking unless she physically couldn’t any longer. I needed to channel her strength and determination.

There had to be a way out.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been looking. Time moved weirdly, with no light to indicate its passing. I glanced down and saw blood trickling from under my feet. I was in worse shape than I realized, which meant I’d been exploring the cell for longer than I thought.

The ground began to tremble, and Elias whimpered, “It’s time.”

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but the entire cave shook around me, so hard that my ankle and feet gave out. I dropped hard on my butt and looked up just in time to realize that all my pain was about to be over.

I was going to die.