Page 3 of Cold Heir

He offered his hand and I took it, following him as we quickly approached our next post—a low point on the cliff’s edge, where we stood with Blackthorn Sanitorium at our backs.

In a matter of seconds, Aaric’s guards would find Tomas unconscious outside the open door of our cell—even if the commotion we causedhadn’talerted them. However, what theywouldn’tknow was that it had all been staged, a collusion that took place right under their noses.

Tomas himself had been a key player, but so had fate. With Jax suddenly placed on a new assignment, his presence was scarce most evenings. That meant we were left in the care of his young protégé, and compromising Tomas had been far simpler than most would have imagined.

Not even Levi fully understood how I’d gotten one of our captor’s henchmen to aid in our escape, but I found a way.

My hunch about the purple band Tomas’ wore on his arm turned out to be right. I spotted it the first day we arrived, and it provided the exact leverage we needed. In exchange for him turning a blind eye, I made him a promise.

One I fully intended to keep.

In my line of work, the operation was all about subtle codes. One such code was the tying of a purple band around the bicep of a Drifter—someone deeply connected to an evacuee who’d been taken to one of our offshore encampments. These individuals often had very little information as to where their loved one had settled. The purple bands acted as a beacon, a discreet invitation for anyone within the cause to approach in secret, and possibly offer information. This system had made it possible for families to eventually reunite, or in the least, it allowed for written correspondence to be passed along within the network.

Most Drifters I encountered were men, but never Ianites. Which meant, despite his dealings with Aaric and his hooligans, Tomas once had strong ties to a human who’d been freed.

While on one of my daily, shepherded bathroom excursions, I convinced him to open up to me. We made an agreement, but it forced me to divulge a bit of my secret. For instance, I shared that the princes were unaware of my involvement with the underground network. I was also forced to admit that I recognized the symbol he wore, and that I had a means of communicating with those taken offshore.

I couldn’t guarantee the safe delivery of a written letter, but I listened as the young guard poured out his heart. There was a girl. They met during his brief stint working security within a harvesting camp. She chose the name Elaine for herself, but was legally known as HIN-243947. Whenever Tomas spoke of her, there was an unmistakable glimmer in his eyes that told of his fondness for Elaine. It told of how deeply his feelings ran, told of his desperation.

So, I seized the opportunity. The moment I was certain love finally triumphed over Tomas’ loyalty to Aaric, he divulged the simple message he wanted me to pass along.

‘Wait for me, Elaine. I’ll never give up.’

The rest was history.

With renewed hope, Tomas was beyond cooperative. In fact, the idea to let Levi hit him so it would appear he’d been overpowered washis.It wasa means of ensuring he wouldn’t face dire consequences when the others realized we were gone.

Yet, whatever the circumstances, what mattered most was that we were free, bathed in the silver glow of moonlight as a fresh breeze moved over our skin.

“This should work. It seems to be the lowest ledge of the cliff—on this side of the island, at least.” I panted after coming to an abrupt stop. We’d run like our lives depended on it, because they did.

Levi gave a nod, and the confidence in his expression let me know he trusted my judgment.

“We’ll scale down from here,” he suggested. “I feel stronger. My abilities have mostly been restored.”

I turned to face him when he proposed that we climb, staring as he opened and closed his hands to measure the potency of his strength. It had taken some time to rid his system of the mystery substance being slipped into his daily blood rations. For a while, I was able to help supplement with myowncontribution,but thanks to Aaric’s untimely—and downright invasive—bond initiation, I wasn’t a viable source for the several days that followed.

However, Levi’s level of ability was not why I questioned the idea. I questioned it because time was not on our side. Those hounds had just proven as much. There was no way to know how many lurked about out here.

“It’ll be faster if we jump.” The words flew from my mouth without so much as a second thought. “I mean, Aaric and the guards are probably already on the way to look for us, right?”

My tone was frantic as my eyes darted back and forth, scanning for shadows that moved in closer. There weren’t any yet, but I knew it wouldn’t be long until we were swarmed. If we allowed that to happen, we would be taken back to that cell to rot.

“It’s too dangerous.” Levi spoke as if the statement was to be taken as law.

“It’s too dangerousnotto,” I countered, holding his gaze.

A long stretch of silence passed between us and I knew he wouldn’t budge. To the princes, I was weak and fragile, a delicate possession meant to be locked away and protected.

“If that wicked current doesn’t kill you, the jagged rocks just beneath its surface will,” Levi insisted. “It’s too risky. If we climb down, we can swim out from—”

The sound of wind whooshing past my ears as I went airborne swallowed the last of Levi’s warning as I freefell, totally vulnerable and at nature’s mercy. Too much time would’ve been wasted if I hadn’t gone for it. He would’ve pissed away valuable seconds worrying about my safety, not realizing he jeopardized it even more by simply standing still.

Yes, there was a fifty-fifty chance I’d die entering the water, but those odds were better than waiting for Aaric’s men or more hounds to find us.

So, I jumped.

Chapter Two

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