Silas ordered Hendry and Roland to hoist Edmund into one of the carriages, Elowen climbing up with him where she began to repair his wounds. He then motioned at Roland, who stepped towards me with a pair of those evil cuffs. I didn’t fight it; I simply held out my wrists while Roland attached them. His expression was unreadable.
“We have one more day until we reach Fort Laith,” Silas called out to his men. “Keep your eyes peeled in case any more of those creatures decide to show up again.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
FortLaithwasamonstrous place, a building made of stone with two large watch towers, one on either side. With the number of soldiers that were part of our capture, plus the ones stationed on the outside of the fort and an amount I could only imagine on the inside, escaping here would be nearly impossible.
Despite my fear of what would occur in these walls, my knees nearly buckled at the thought of sleeping somewhere—anywhere—that wasn’t the cold ground.
We were led toward the massive iron doors at the entrance, soldiers bowing to Silas as he and his men rode forward. Silas and the handful of soldiers that rode horses began to dismount, and after a few words were exchanged, two soldiers hauled Edmund out of the carriage he was in, Elowen being pulled with him.
I gritted my teeth. I hated how they tugged at her, sweet Elowen, who had never hurt a fly. I hated how I wasn’t with her.
Us Mages followed through the doors, revealing a spacious stone hallway lined with more militia. Within a few footsteps, we were led down a stone staircase one by one. Sconces added hardly any light, but enough that we could see.
When we reached the bottom, my people were already being crammed into cells. The doors were made of what appeared to be iron, just like the entrance, and each had a small, barred window at the top. There seemed to be around twenty or so cells, so a handful of Mages were placed in each one.
Except for me. When I was pushed into mine, the door shut immediately. I turned slowly, my cuffed hands held close to my body. The room was plain with nothing but a stone “bed”, similar to the one I slept on in Castle La’Rune, and a single toilet.
I decided to lay down, realizing the ground outside was far more comfortable, and quietly cried myself to sleep.
What felt like seconds later, after being startled awake, we were taken one by one to get cleaned up. I guess I could appreciate that. There was a line of showers in the basement where we were to get rinsed. While being watched, of course. The idea of being stripped humiliated me, but the grime that covered me was begging to be washed off.
I was one of the first to shower, and, to my dismay, Roland was the one overlooking.
“You smell like shit,” he said plainly.
I gave him a scowl. “What the fuck do you expect?”
He chuckled as I unhooked the Queen’s necklace and handed it over; the ring Silas gave me years ago remained on my right ring finger. I went to remove my clothes, which I realized proved difficult while wearing the cuffs.
“You’ll need my help,” Roland stated. My entire face flushed as he used a knife to tear my dress, pulling the tattered material down until it dropped to the floor. He then unhooked my bra, and when he went to pull down my underwear, I stopped him and said I could do it myself. He backed off, and when I was completely exposed, I refused to meet his eyes.
If I reeked before, I certainly did now. The mix of red and cursed blood and body odor was completely overwhelming.
“There’s soap inside the shower, and there is no heat, so the water is going to be cold,” he said.
My shoulders sank.
Of course, there’s no heat.
I had grown accustomed to warm water in Ames. I stepped in and twisted the handle, and ice-cold water sprayed out, causing me to let out an embarrassing squeal. Roland let out a loud laugh in response.
I turned and gave him a death glare.
“What?” he said with a half-smile. “I bet you’d laugh if it were me squealing like a pig.”
I gave him my middle finger, his smile broadening, and I winced as I stepped back into the water stream. A mixture of blood and dirt began swirling at my feet, the white tile beneath me disappearing quickly. My teeth started to chatter, but fuck, it felt good getting this muck off me. I reached up and pulled out the hair tie that secured my braid and handed it to Roland.
“I’m surprised these can be in the water,” I mumbled, motioning toward the cuffs.
“Wouldn’t be a very good contraption if water could break them.”
I was surprised by how Roland kept his eyes trained on anything but my body.
Thanks, I guess.
I pulled apart my braid, then dipped my head under the water, gasping at the cold. I turned to where the toiletries were kept—well, where a single bar of soap was.
