Page 150 of A Liar's Twisted Tongue

Gray, dirty stairs meet my eyes, then they meet my feet while I travel down.

It smells like bodily fluids and rain, and it’s not a basement. There are tons of cells. Why would a school need cells? At least they’re empty.

But the last one isn’t.

Chapter 30

Facing What I Turned Away From

DESDEMONA

A man is huddled in the corner of his cage. One little window sits at the top of the stone wall, the sunlight reflecting dimly between the bars, just enough for me to see his auburn hair. He looks at me and exhales shakily, saying something like, “For fuck’s sake,” under his breath.

“Freyr?” I don’t think I’m doing a very good job of restraining the visibility of my emotions.

“What’s your name?” he asks unkindly.

“Desdemona.” I sound unsure of myself. Like maybe my name isn’t Desdemona.

So, what now? I can’t just ask if he’s my dad, can I?

Light fills the room—the trap door is opening. Against my will, heat rises through me—power. My hands tingle with barely tamed flame.

But it’s only Lucian.

It’s Lucian. He feels safe in this scenario and like the most dangerous person in any world in every other.

The reality of the situation is this: we are not safe around one another, and he’s one wrong move away from becoming my next human torch.

What am I thinking?

I shove my hands into my pockets, and it does nothing to ease the burn.

Lucian points at me, the door slamming shut behind him. “You found him.”

Was I supposed to? “You didn’t give me much to work with.”

“The plan was for you to come with me.” He walks closer to me.

“Plans change,” I say, but the words feel more emotionally weighted than I mean them to.

“That would be the first time you told me the truth,” he says slowly while he walks up to me, stopping only a few inches away.

Only then do I realize that Freyr is locked in place by shadows. “What are you doing to him?” I ask, with a certain amount of terror in my tone that I don’t deserve to take up. It was only a few days ago that I killed a boy and took another one’s arms.

The heat in my pocket begins to feel very real. And very dangerous. But if he tries to choke me again, it will become my saving grace.

Lucian looks into the cell. “Would you answer her questions, Freyr?” His smile is on me now, and I can feel the chill of his shadows when one caresses my cheek, too close to my neck. I swat at it, and my hand goes right through.

“She shouldn’t be here,” Freyr responds to Lucian.

“Well, news flash,” I wave my hands at him, “I am here. So maybe you could?—”

“Why shouldn’t she be?” Lucian cuts me off.

“There’s a reason Isa raised you in the septic,” Freyr says, finally looking at me.

“Other than to escape punishment?” I hear Lucian say.

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