Page 8 of Shadows of Ruin (The Broken Prophecy #2)

Chapter 7

Ian

D rip.

Drip.

Drip.

The dripping hadn't stopped in years.

No matter how much time passed, the noise still haunted me. The echo in the frigid dungeon as the water splashed against the cold stone crawled along my spine. Not because of fear for myself.

No. The dripping meant she needed me. It meant she was hurting.

But I was no longer a young Fae. This time I was older, stronger.

I knew what it took.

I was not some pawn. Certainly not his pawn despite the way he ranted on and on in front of the Fae of Ellevail.

My body twitched against the cold stone. I blinked, letting my eyes acclimate to what my mind already knew—I remained in the dungeons.

Images flashed one at a time, but in the same repeating loop. This room and the torture Andras had bestowed on Lana .

Fates, Lan.

I had to get out of here and find her.

I balled my hand into a fist at the thought of the betrayal she must be experiencing. I’d failed to protect her when she needed it most. All of us duped by Kade and Storm, their friendship a farce for a bigger plan we couldn’t possibly have seen.

Never again.

The darkness of the dungeon didn't reveal much, but I knew all too well I’d been thrown into the same cell we had always been tossed into after being tortured.

Andras’s anger over my lack of information had caught up to him too many times now. I had lost track of the ways he inflicted pain on me. The last round, he tried to skin the flesh off my back with a whip. But nothing would make me talk.

Maria’s tears were almost too much as she’d tried to heal me after the last time. Her jaw tightened when I reminded her to stay strong, and her hands stopped trembling enough to succeed in her ministrations.

It was thanks to her I knew Kalliah was safe. As safe as she could be, hidden away with the queen.

While Andras spoke true of her mourning, she wasn’t looking for revenge on Lana by his side as he’d made the Fae of Ellevail believe. She was a prisoner in her own palace. I discerned that much from the guards as they did rounds past my cell.

I rose onto my arms and twisted until I faced the metallic bars holding me captive. Thankfully they could bear weight again after being tied up for so long yesterday.

I reminded myself staying awake and alert mattered. Lucien might make an appearance, and I needed to ask more questions of the pugron.

Great , I thought. My entire chance at escape boiled down to trying to communicate with an animal who came and went as he pleased .

Distant footsteps grew louder. The distinctive click of the heavy-booted heel gave away his element of surprise. Andras was here .

“I will give you one last opportunity to spill your secrets before the real fun begins. Whips and sticks may break your body, but I can break your mind, Captain.” Andras seethed as he came into full view in front of the cell. “Where is she?”

“As I’ve told you before, I. Don’t. Know,” I spit toward the coward of a man. “And even if I did, I would never tell you. You are a disgrace to this kingdom, Andras. You will not win this war you’ve waged.”

Andras’s lips twitched and he waved his hand, roughly slamming my body forward against the metal bars, pressing me against them forcefully.

“You choose pain and suffering? Why am I not surprised? You always were a martyr. Always pining for the affections of a princess so far beyond your societal rank. You worthless, insignificant nobody.”

My body seized suddenly. I felt him. Felt Andras clawing at my mind. Inside my damn head. What the fuck?

“Tell me where the princess hides and you’ll live,” he purred. “Continue to lie and I’ll take my time skinning you alive.”

“How could I possibly know where she is when I’ve been trapped here for days?” The strength it took to keep the talon-like object out of my head made my voice quiver. I didn’t allow the fear to consume me, determined to stay strong.

“Still not talking?” A voice came from the shadows beyond Andras.

Lord Casimir West stepped into view. My lips curled back, seeing the pathetic excuse of a man. Lana never would have chosen him. I didn’t bother suppressing my grin at the thought.

“I’d wipe that smirk off my face if I were you, Captain ,” Casimir taunted. “I’m on the hunt for your pretty little princess, and I will ensure she comes back home. You don’t want to be on my bad side.” He paused. “For Lana’s sake.”

I scoffed. “Doubtful you are up to the challenge, or I wouldn’t be bored to tears with Andras’s questions asking me of her whereabouts.”

Andras still magically held my body pressed against the bars with such incredible strength, I knew there’d be bruises. Casimir stepped forward, his hand lunging out, wrapping around my throat.

His white teeth glistened as he grinned, gripping me tighter.

Andras held his index finger forward as though pointing at me. An enormous onyx gem rested garishly atop a gold setting. I swear if he told me to kiss his ring, I might vomit on it.

“I don’t have all day, Casimir,” Andras hissed.

Unlike the first time Casimir had siphoned magic from me during the marriage trials, I realized his intentions instantly. He grinned as he took hold of my magic.

I tried to fight, thrashing against his hand while he continued to pull my abilities, zapping them from me effortlessly. As my magic left me, my body slumped forward. Andras released the magical bindings on both my body and the assault on my mind all at once, and I fell to the ground. My face collided against the bars, bouncing back painfully.

I didn’t react. I refused to let them see weakness, taunting me now that my magic had been drained from my body. I couldn’t let them think they were winning.

Casimir touched the ring, and it smoked as the air around it pulsed and glowed.

What the fuck?

Andras’s head shook wildly, lending a deranged air to his already unhinged demeanor.

“I feel it,” he said. “It’s working.”

Finally, the pulsing magical glow settled into the ring .

“It will be nice to question him without all of that bravado hiding behind his meager power,” Andras said, sounding bored. He held up the ring in the dim torch lights of the dungeon. “And to do so with his own magic working against him.”

Andras pulled me toward him again with just the flick of his wrist.

This time, the hold he had on me felt insurmountable. How was this possible?

He grinned. “Ah yes, the power is there.”

Grabbing my arm through the bar, his fingers elongated. His nails became pointed and sharp, almost like the claws of a hawk. Andras cocked his head to the side, then twisted my arm.

The crack of snapping bone would have been more prominent had I not shouted in agony.

He released my arm, touching my forehead, and a searing pain radiated throughout my body, throbbing over the pain of my broken arm. “Your defenses will be nothing now,” he whispered giddily.

The agony in my head lessened almost immediately.

“No,” he snarled, pulling his hand back. I collapsed to the floor again. “No, it’s gone already.”

He slammed Casimir into the wall. “Figure out a way to make it stay. I know it works.” He pulled Lord West toward him and then slammed him back again. “He told me it would work.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I will not fail you again,” Casimir promised, bending on a knee.

“You’re disgusting, groveling before a mad man.” I grimaced through the pain, refusing to let them keep me down.

Casimir stalked toward the cell again, squatting in front of it. “When I discover where your princess is, I’ll have my fun with her. Did you hear that, Captain ?” He smiled, licking his lips. “I can’t wait to taste her. To see what you and Kade were so worked up?—”

“I’ll kill you,” I shouted, raging against the bars between us. “I’ll get out of here, wrap my hands around your neck and enjoy every second of watching you beg for mercy if you even think about looking at her.”

Casimir didn’t say a word, just wriggled his fingers in a wave and walked away.

“No!” I screamed again. I was losing. Failing at all of this, with no way to protect Lana.

Especially not when Andras had some plan to siphon others’ magic. It hadn’t worked today, but what was to keep them from finding a way to make it last? How unstoppable could he become?

With Casimir on the prowl, searching for her, I prayed she hadn’t left Brookmere by herself. I didn’t want her with Kade and Storm, those traitors. But if she were with them, it would make it more difficult for Casimir to capture her.

I refocused my breathing, refocused my mind on surviving. Gathering what I knew in order to use everything against the man still standing in front of me. I might be failing Lana right now, but I wouldn’t forever.

“It was I who gave the blessing for him to do what he wishes with Illiana,” Andras said. “As long as he ultimately brings her to me for my uses.”

I clenched my teeth.

“I do love to watch the hope fade from my playthings,” Andras chuckled. “Now the real fun can begin.”

A shout from down the corridor forced Andras’s attention away from me to acknowledge the intruder. A flurry of whispers, too quiet even for my superior hearing to pick up, passed quickly before Andras returned from the shadows.

“Prepare yourself. I’ll be back later for some quality time together.”

I grasped the bars and shouted at the man receding down the hall. “You will never be king. I will make sure of it. On my father’s grave, I swear I will kill you.”

Andras stopped midway down the hall and laughed. An evil, sinister laugh. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, boy. I’ll be king before the year is up either by using the queen or forcing Illiana to ascend by my side. Once the crown sits atop my head, I’ll destroy her. And you. Just you wait.”

The click of Andras’s shoes slowly retreated. I remained kneeling on the cold floor. Alone again.

He’d never get to her. I wouldn’t allow it. I needed to escape from these dungeons. Somehow.

Shuffling scraped on the stones down the hall. More than one pair of feet made their way toward me. I stared into the darkness, watching until Corbin emerged with a cup of water and a tray containing bread and soup. Guards flanked him, one on each side.

Finally , a familiar face. I scrambled to the bars.

“Corbin,” I said, unable to keep the relief from my voice despite the guards. Knowing he survived instilled hope that the others were okay too.

One of the guards stiffened at his side. Corbin clicked his tongue. “Don’t bother speaking, Captain. Our friendship ended the minute you chose those filthy traitors over your kingdom.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” he snarled. He shoved the tray through the small opening in the metal bars, designed for feeding prisoners.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded.

His cold eyes met mine. I frowned. It was impossible. Corbin would never follow Andras. Even without knowing the details of what the monster did to Lana, to me, he’d never betray his friends.

“You would do well to obey, Ian,” he said, his voice sharp and condescending. “The sooner you accept you will never succeed, the sooner we can all get on with the inevitable.”

The guards at his sides snickered.

“Oh, how the mighty fall, eh, Corbin?” The man to Corbin's right nudged him in the ribs, like they were sharing a joke between old friends.

I stared dumbfounded at the man I thought I knew. My stomach twisted in defeat, hope shriveling in my chest at his words. His demeanor. “How could you, Corbin? I trusted you.”

What happened to my friend?

Corbin’s eyes darted to the tray before meeting my gaze. “Enjoy your meal. Who knows when you will be allowed food again, traitor.”

The guards laughed, and before I could respond, the three of them marched down the hall to leave. Andras must be using his mind magic to influence Corbin. There was no other explanation. None I would accept at least. He would never say such things otherwise.

If he’d gotten to Corbin, had he gotten to Leif as well? Kalliah? I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.

Escaping this prison had been a necessity before, but it was even more critical now. There was more than one person who needed saving. Andras's brand of insanity would poison the entire castle otherwise. I’d already witnessed him poison Ellevail with such lies, turning the Fae against Lana. That shit would spread, quickly too, given how powerful Andras’s magic seemed to be getting.

I didn’t remember it seeming so insurmountable before.

Frustration overtook me, and I shouted into the darkness, screaming until my throat went raw. Stumbling back from the bars, I let myself fall to the cold floor beneath me.

How had things gotten so fucked?

I let go of the bottled-up reactions once the door shut, growling out my frustration and the pain .

I lay on my side, facing the space where Lucien had appeared the previous night. Blinking slowly, fighting passing out from the unrelenting pain, I watched the corner.

A feminine gasp echoed in my mind.

I frowned.

“Hello?” I asked. At least, I thought I did, but my mouth didn’t move. I tried to sit up and groaned.

A foreign presence lingered inside my head, somehow here with me. I wasn't alone.

Had Andras’s magic finally infiltrated my mind?

“Who’s there?” I tried again, knowing I was most likely talking to myself, presence or not.

I refused to believe I’d gone mad. Think.

“I know someone is in here. What are you doing?”

No response. A figure lurked in my mind, not at all hateful like the talons. No, this feeling was the opposite in every way. Something familiar, though, seemed impossible. I squinted, as if somehow I could see whoever, or whatever, was here.

After a few moments of continued silence, I gave up, choosing instead to give in to the dreamlike state completely and let my body mend itself. Rest would trigger my magic to heal. Maria would have less to worry about when she arrived.

No one was in my head. Even accepting that fact, it didn’t stop me from whispering into the recesses of my mind.

“Tell Lana I’ll find her.”