No, little one. You will not die. You will survive.
The creature ran for me, and I scrambled back as it hissed, teeth bared. It struck, its claws slashing down in a smooth arch, and searing paincarved a path over my right eye. I cried out, my hand rising to my face as I rolled away and ducked into the nearest tunnel.
The sound that peeled from the monster’s throat could only be described as pure, frustrated fury, and it left me all the more desperate to get away. I couldn’t let it catch me, couldn’t let it do to me what it did to the child who hadn’t stood a chance. My hands clambered over the stone as I crawled into the tunnel in a blind path to wherever it led.
Don’t look back!
Sounds of scraping claws reached my ears, and I twisted back despite the beast’s warning. I gasped as the creature forced its way into the tunnel, its body crammed too tightly, its claws tearing into the rock as it fought to get to me.
My vision blurred, my right eye burning as blood pooled within it. Sobs broke from my lips as I crawled, farther and farther, the tunnel growing tighter until I barely fit before I stuck my head through the exit. I struggled, my body going nowhere.No.It was too tight, and my heart skipped a beat as the creature grew closer. The stone cut into my shoulders as I forced my way through the tiny opening, biting back a cry as my skin was cut and split. I spilled onto the stone floor as the creature’s paw shot through the opening, claws grazing my ankle before I could scramble away.
Its cries and hisses echoed through the chamber as it swatted at the air before me, unable to get through, unable to get to me.
“Excellent work,” Arden’s voice startled me, and I twisted around to find him standing with several guards. Hands grabbed me before I could do anything, and I fought against their hold as they hauled me to my feet and guided me toward him.
His golden eyes trailed over me, and my skin crawled at the odd look of pride within them. It was nothing like the pride Father showed when I did good, though—it was more like greed, a hunger for something of value. He reached out and I pulled back, but the guards held me in place as his hand grasped my left shoulder.
“You will serve me well,” he whispered before blinding pain shot out from where our skin met, agony like a wildfire snaking down my left arm. The beast cried out within me, my voice somehow drowned out by the sound of its own pain as what felt like chains encircled it, tethering it—me—to Arden. My body recoiled on its own, fighting to escape the pain, and just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, he released me.
I slumped in their hold, head lolling forward, saliva dripping from my lips to pool on the stone below. The guards dropped me, and I collapsed, my body too weak to support itself. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and my eyes trailed over my arm, covered by the now-shredded coat the boy had gifted me, to the exposed skin of my wrist, where inscriptions in the old language inked my skin…the same as those that marked Rhyas’.
Arden stared down at me, a sickening smile spreading across his face. “You are mine.”
15
BARRETT
Eyes like storm clouds, churning with the promise of destruction. Something familiar tugged in the back of my mind.
Where had I seen them before? Or…had I ever?
“We’ll go in in teams of four,” Damien said, and I blinked, drawn from the thoughts that had overshadowed all else since I’d sparred with Micah’s bonded the day before.
Thalia.
I’d never heard that name before, couldn’t place any possible connection to my past. I wondered what family she came from, if they might have known mine. Her scent of black spruce and wintergreen had hit me so hard, it left me fucking speechless.
And the way she fought... It wasn’t like the warriors of the Order. It was raw, more instinctive than training.
Damien continued, and I watched him, still weary, his face lingering in my mind from when he had watched on high as I wasthrown to the wolves. “Ansel, Jasper, and Eunice’s teams will man the perimeter. Focus on bringing down any guards before they can alert anyone of our approach and keep watch while we’re inside.”
“We have limited knowledge of what’s happening within Nastra’s walls,” Lucia started, and every set of eyes shifted to where she stood at the wood table in the center of the room. A map was laid out, detailing the location of the fortress we were to infiltrate. “There is no telling how many guards are present, who is in charge, or whether they have successfully revived The Pits. The team we sent to observe noted some activity a week ago. We take no chances; everyone comes home. If there are captives, we get them out.”
I raised my hand, and Lucia’s brows rose. “Yes, Barrett?”
“Given I’m a bit new to the mission, can you explain exactly what The Pits are?” I asked.
Some turned to her, brows rising in curiosity, but some dropped their gazes, and I wondered if they knew.
“Some of you were with us the last time we brought them down, but for those of you who weren’t, The Pits were an illegal underground fighting ring operated by a group of criminals in Erebus’ territory, Tenebria. They focus their efforts on kidnapping children from both realms, binding the children to the Pit Master’s will and forcing them to fight in The Pits.”
Micah’s body tensed next to me, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes the coldest I’d ever seen. He’d been in a foul mood all morning, and for some reason, Lucia’s words seemed to feed his anger.
Lucia continued, “It’s a den where cruel souls go to gamble, bet on fighters, and purchase warrior slaves. The Pits are no normal fighting ring; they not only force captives to fight against each other but against terrible creatures.”
I couldn’t imagine a child being forced into something so terrible.
“When we found The Pits ten years ago, we discovered they had taken some of our own,” she said, and I blinked. How had our own children been taken?
