The sound of the door slamming, and the delightful smell of meat, woke me from my sleep. Rey and Krin stood just inside my cell. Krin held a tray of food. I jumped up and snatched it from her. Before I sat back down, I squeezed her in a quick one-armed hug. Steak and cheese-covered potatoes. Warm saliva filled my mouth.
My gaze darted back and forth between the plate and my friends. I was unsure which I was more excited to see. Krin flopped down beside me. I wrapped my arms tightly around her in a more proper hug. Then I rose to my feet and jumped in Rey’s arms. As we embraced, he ruffled my already disastrous head of curls. I sat back down and pulled Rey down next to me.
I turned my attention back to the food. The smell of cooked meat teased my nose. I couldn’t resist any longer. I picked the steak up from the plate with my hand.
“Wait,” said Krin.
I glared at her. “You know my last two meals have been salads? I’m starved!”
She reached into her pocket and withdrew a plastic-wrapped fork and knife. “I have to take these away when they come to fetch Rey and me in about ten minutes.” I snatched them from her and ripped the plastic off.
“You’re a goddess,” I told her.
She shook her hair out of her face in mock narcissism. “I know. Feel free to worship me.”
“Hey, what about me?” asked Rey.
“You weren’t the one carrying my food.”
He grinned. “But I was the one who insisted you get a steak.”
My mouth packed with food, I bowed my head in his direction. “Then you, sir, are also a goddess.”
“Good of you to notice,” he said, flipping his dark ponytail over his shoulder in an imitation of Krin.
“So what’s going on out there?” I talked around the food stuffed in my mouth.
Rey’s lips pressed together into a thin line. “The Mages are closing in on Vallara. We’ve spent most of our time keeping them out of nearby cities.”
Krin reached across me and flicked his shoulder. “We said we weren’t going to worry her.”
“No,” said Rey, reaching across me and flicking her back. “You said we weren’t going to worry her. Ash and I have been buddies since we were in diapers. If I lie to her, she’ll know. And then I’ll hear about it every day for the rest of my life.”
“Twice a day,” I promised.
“Well you could have just said nothing,” Krin grumbled.
I cut into their argument. “Rey’s not very good at saying nothing. I keep encouraging it, but he prefers to run his mouth regardless of whether he actually has anything worthwhile to talk about.”
“Thanks, Ash. That’s sweet,” he said.
“No problem.” I gave him a wide smile.
“We had some more casualties,” Krin whispered. “Several more in Rey’s task force, which was a lot bigger than ours to begin with. And . . . Elis died.” Her eyes watered as tears threatened to spill. I set my empty plate aside and rubbed her shoulder. “I thought he was a pain,” she continued, “but I didn’t want him to die.”
“I know.”
“And he was kind of brave. A Mage had hold of Mauryn. Elis attacked the Mage’s back until he let go of Mauryn and went after him instead.”
“It was a good death,” Rey said, his face solemn.
The three of us sat in silence, thinking about those who had given their lives for this cause.
When I couldn’t stand the quiet any longer, I asked, “And Loken?”
“Is a mess!” said Krin. “He’s irritable. He snaps at us all the time. He almost got himself killed trying to dispatch a Mage earlier today with sloppy sword-work. He hacked at that thing’s neck three times before the head came off. When did Loken get so sloppy? He’s the most graceful and effective fighter I’ve ever seen. Well, he was.”
The sides of my mouth tugged downward. “Has he mentioned me?”
Rey raised an eyebrow. “You’d like to know if Loken has publicly discussed his feelings? Is that something he does in private much even?”
“I guess not. So when do I get out of here?” I glanced around at the cage where I’d spent the past two days.
“We could break you out.” Krin looked at the time on her comm. “We still have five minutes before the guards come back to get Rey and me. We could be long gone by then.”
I shook my head. “I think it’s impossible for Breathers and Ethereals to get out of here.”
“How do you figure?” asked Rey.
“The Mages who were here before. An Ethereal and two Breathers. If they couldn’t escape, I doubt we can.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Rey stood and felt along the edge of the cell where the glass connected with the concrete sides. “They may be more powerful with respect to how much ether they can move around, but they’re bound by their limited intelligence. All instinct. No finesse.”
I let Rey and Krin satisfy themselves by searching the nooks and crevices of my cell. I’d had days to do that. Eventually, they flopped back on the floor.
“It’s useless,” Krin said.
I nodded. “Uh-huh.” I grabbed Rey’s comm from his belt and pressed the command button. “Contact Loken.”
“Calls are currently blocked,” said the robotic female voice.
I tossed the comm back to Rey. “It was worth a try.”
Light streamed into the room from the basement door. My heart sank into my stomach. “I think it’s time for you guys to go.”
We exchanged hugs and said our goodbyes just as four jailers opened the door to escort Rey and Krin outside. They disappeared up the stairway. The light streaming into the basement went out.
I stared up the steps, longing to be away from this cell. This was the last place I wanted to be if the world ended.
Light filled the stairwell again. A familiar silhouette came into view. Loken’s face became visible halfway down the stairs. I pressed my hands against the glass.
“Loken!” I shouted, even though I knew he couldn’t hear me without the intercom.
He strode to the door and tinkered with the panel next to it. The door slid open.
His gaze swept over me, from my feet to the top of my head. I guessed my face was as dirty as my dust-covered hands, since I hadn’t had a shower in the days I’d been locked in this dusty cell. I pushed my hair out of my face and tried to look like I wasn’t a complete mess. I doubted I succeeded.
Loken wasn’t much better. A thin layer of stubble covered his chin. His eyes were bloodshot like he hadn’t slept. They were also duller than usual, more of a flat gray than the sparkling silver they turned when he smiled. Still, he was beautiful.
My eyes followed the line of his jaw and landed on his lips. I licked my own, wanting to press them against his. They’d been so soft when I’d kissed him. It was amazing how much I could miss a person after only a few days. My heart fluttered in my chest.
Loken reduced the space between us and wrapped me in a tight hug. We held each other, and I breathed deeply to take in his scent. I wanted to remember it when he left.
“What’s going on?” I asked when we stepped apart. I brushed his hair out of his face. “Have you slept?”
His arms circled my waist. He pulled me down to the floor. “No,” he mumbled. He nuzzled into my neck. “I’ve spent my days fighting Mages and my nights arguing with the elders.”
“About me?” I tangled my fingers in his hair, which was coarser than usual.
“Mm-hmm,” he mumbled, not lifting his face.
“Is that why you didn’t visit earlier?” I poked him in the bicep. It didn’t seem to bother him, but it hurt my finger.
“They wouldn’t let me. Elder Kohler threatened to lock me up too, which I know he doesn’t want to do. But if I defy him publicly, he’ll have to follow through.”
“So what’s changed that you can visit me now?”
“I think he just got tired of me asking.” Loken pulled his face away from my neck, so I could see him. One side of his mouth twitched with a private joke. “Plus, I reminded him that there are cameras all over this basement, and that I couldn’t possibly help you escape with all his fine security in place.”
“Is he going to let me out?”
“I don’t think so.”
My eyebrows shot upward. “I’m supposed to stay here for the rest of my life?”
The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched. “I think that’s their plan, yes.”
Panic wrenched my chest. It felt like the cell was shrinking around me, becoming more confined. I wriggled from his grasp and jumped to my feet.
“Let me out of here!” I shouted, banging my fist against the glass. “Let me out!” The glass remained as solid as it had been these past two days. My hand throbbed where I slammed into it.
“Hey, hey,” Loken said softly. He grabbed my hips and turned me back around to face him. “That’s not going to help.”
“It helps me feel better,” I grumbled.
Loken pulled me back down to the floor. He placed my head on his chest. His T-shirt smelled of sweat and metal and soap. That and the steady rhythm of his heart calmed me a bit. I concentrated on matching my breath to his, steady in and out. I needed to figure out exactly how to get out of here.
I hesitated to say what I was thinking because I didn’t want him to get into more trouble. I knew how important his job was to him. But I didn’t see any other options. I said it anyway. “You know the door is metal. And the glass is part metal. You could—”
Loken stopped my lips with a kiss. At first, I tensed. I didn’t want to be distracted. I wanted to get out. But his soft lips worked mine until they were pliant, until they molded with his. His tongue invaded my mouth, exploring me. I sucked on it, drawing him deeper into me.
My fingers clutched at his shirt. I wanted so badly to rip it off him, to reveal the hard muscles of his chest that pressed against me as he rolled me onto my back. His hands explored my stomach and inched higher. Cloudiness filled my head. There was nothing else in the world. Nothing except me and Loken.
Something hard pressed against my hip, and I reached for it—Loken’s comm unit. Fighting against my baser emotions, I nudged Loken off me, so I could get a better look at the time.
I shoved him fully away from me. “We have less than four days left!”
He raked his hair off of his forehead. “Yes.”
“I need to get out of here. I can’t die in here, and I want to help. Tell them I can help! You can get me out.”
“I was planning on it.” His smile brought out the dimple on his right cheek.
“Then why aren’t we gone yet?” I shouted.
Guilt painted his features. He flashed me an embarrassed grin. “I got a little distracted.”
“Well, get un-distracted!”
He nodded and pressed his hand against the biometric panel next to the door. “Let’s go.”