Page 162 of Love & Heart Braking

A face appeared between the bars just below the height of my hip. “Cerys.”

The person was masked, though obviously Mantel.

I edged closer.

She said, “I am a secret crime fighter. My mission is to protect Nepos. I have come to help you.”

Uh… She was wearing a cape. I had to squint to be sure, but yep, the brownie was wearing a saggy red top and flared jeans that nearly covered her black sneakers. Her cape and mask were both black too.

I had no words.

Literally.

The brownie slid food and a bottle of water through the bars. Bread and fruit. Perishable. That hopefully meant no Shade. I accepted the food, then smiled at her.

She peered closer. “Huh, siren got you.”

The brownie touched a finger to my arm. A sigh left my lips as a cool sensation trickled over me from the crown of my head.

“Thank you,” I said, making sure not to use her name. “Where’s the water from?”

The brownie frowned. “The tap.”

“The Cinereses drink from it?”

“Yes.”

Good. I downed the water and wiped my mouth before handing the bottle back. “Thank you.”

“My plants told me what Acribus did to you. Here’s something to help take the edge off the burns. Don’t use too much. If your burns are healed, then Acribus will know you have help.”

If she was trying to stay anonymous, she wasn’t doing a great job of it with the mention of “my plants.” I accepted the tube identical to the one in my tote. “Why are you doing this?”

Mantel drew herself to full height. “Nepos needs me.”

And she’d decided on a way to remain a brownie and still be loyal to her place of birth—the back streets of Nepos. “What can I call you?”

“Oh. Uh.”

I smiled. “How about The Renegade of Nepos?”

Mantel tilted her chin. “Yes. That’s my name.” She swirled her cape. “I was never here. Don’t fear. I will watch and protect you from afar. And sometimes closer, like now.”

She disappeared.

I cracked a grin in the dark, half amazed that mirth could find its way into the dungeons of the Cinereses’ estate. Twisting off the cap, I added a thin layer of the balm to my burns, then ate every bit of the food—afraid to leave traces for the guards to find. Feeling along the wall, I found a gap in the stones and squeezed the balm inside, scraping moss over the top.

I wavered on my feet after.

So tired.

I crawled onto the mattress, uncaring that this thing had more lumps than a ghoul’s behind and a musty smell that’d scare even the most territorial boggart away.

And I drifted—half alert for signs of danger and too uncomfortable from the ache in my ankles and the cold to go fully under.

“Cerys,” someone hissed.

I groaned, curled in a ball to stay warm in the thin medical gown they’d given me. I hated the cold.

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