Page 113 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

“And barely survived them.”

“I am surviving them,” I yelled. “This is about my sisters. Gods! I have to try. Please, get me out of here. Please, we’ll figure something out.”

Rhyan grabbed hold of my wrist, turning over my palm. “Do you see this? See his marks on you?”

I stiffened.

“That’s just the start. This—” His voice broke. “This is killing me. And I know him. I know him so fucking well. This is nothing. Nothing compared to what he’ll do. What he’s capable of. Do you think I could stand it—seeing him hurt you?”

I pulled my hand from his, fighting back the tears in my eyes. “No more than I could stand to see him hurt you. But we only have two weeks to get them back—to cross the Empire and Glemaria. And if Mercurial isn’t answering our calls, if he’s gone or he’s in trouble, we’re out of options. It took me months to learn this much information.” I wiped at the tears blurring my vision. “I hate this, hate that he has to be involved, but he is. Gods know why, but he has the key, and we need it.”

Rhyan’s eyes glazed over, his expression slack, like his mind had gone somewhere else—somewhere painful. The muscles in his jaw worked. “I can’t let you do it.”

“Rhyan, I have to.”

“No. No deal,” he growled.

“Rhyan!”

He had a strange look in his eyes. His jaw was set and his mouth firm, like he’d made some decision. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his forearm veins straining.

“It’s already decided,” he said, his voice low and strange. Then he was gone. He’d traveled without even saying goodbye.

“RHYAN!” I yelled into the stone. It remained white. I yelled again and again.

But he didn’t answer.

An hour passed. I nearly lost my voice screaming into the stone, trying to get Rhyan to come back, to talk to me, to work something out with me even if it wasn’t a deal with his father. I couldn’t think straight. I was too scared and worried, and myself to Moriel, he’d left me alone. I didn’t know what to do anymore or what was right. I just knew I needed to do something. I was Asherah. My sisters had been taken to get to me because of some power I had, some leverage I was in possession of.

And I couldn’t do a fucking thing.

I read the note again and again, my fingers gripping it so tightly I nearly ripped it to pieces, before I shoved it inside my cuff with the first one and returned to pacing the cell.

There was only one thing I knew for sure: whoever had done this, whoever had taken my sisters, whoever had hurt them, I would find them. And I would kill them.

“Partner,” Rhyan said.

I sucked in a breath, my hands forming fists. I’d never been so angry with him in my life. Never so hurt. Or betrayed. I was shaking with it. “Now you answer!” I cried. “A fucking hour you left me here—and don’t you dare call me partner because I’m clearly not!” I shouted into the stone. It was only afterward I realized that the stone in my palm was clear—not glowing, not blue. Not even remotely warm.

“Lyr.”

I whirled around and found Rhyan standing behind me with two large bags over his shoulders. He was holding his weight unevenly, putting extra pressure on his left side, like his right leg was injured. His eyes were wet and red and had a haunted, distant look to them. Looking more carefully, I saw he also had a cut on his cheek that would turn into a black eye within a few hours. A bandage covered his hand. He grimaced as he stepped forward.

“Lyr, don’t say that. You are my partner,” he said softly, out of breath. “Always. I’m sorry I took so long. I had to complete a few errands first.”

“You’re hurt,” I said, reaching for his face. He looked like he’d been punched multiple times. Red splotches on his neck signaled he’d been choked. “Who did this to you?”

He winced, shifting his face away. “Doesn’t matter. A minor scuffle. Worth it.” His throat worked as he swallowed, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Rhyan, what the hell happened to you? This doesn’t look like a minor scuffle.”

He gave a mirthless laugh. “Maybe minor was the wrong word. But I got you this.” He reached for his belt and removed a red star with rays curved like those of the sun.

I gasped. “Gods! You went to your father?”

“Nothing like a family reunion,” he joked, but his voice was shaking.

“Rhyan.” I took his hand, wanting to soothe him, to tend to his wounds. “You didn’t….” My eyes searched his. “You didn’t make a deal, did you? Please, tell me you’re not concealing a blood oath.” Or ropes secretly binding and torturing him.