Page 123 of A Promise so Bold and Broken

Merrick’s eyes brightened with understanding at what swirled in her mind, and she could almost hear his voice.

You’ll get your revenge.

She would.

If it was the last thing she ever did, she’d get her revenge.

Merrick’s forehead creased the longer he watched her, and something she didn’t fully understand flickered across his features before he moved his eyes to Raine and Kerym.

“We need to get out of here. I’m pretty sure there is a kill-on-sight order for me and Lessia, and I doubt Loche will listen to either of you brutes if we die,” he said as he flicked some tangled strands of hair out of his face.

Raine dragged a finger down the wall, grimacing as he brought the white dust to his nose. “I’m pretty sure they’ve figured out a way to cover the walls in Vincere. I at least still cannot wield my magic.”

Kerym frowned as his eyes landed on Lessia, but she didn’t sense the energy pull—the slowing of her thoughts—that she usually did whenever he decided to train her to stop him from siphoning. “Me neither.”

“None of you Fae bastards are going anywhere. Especially the traitor. We have special plans for you.”

Raine and Kerym froze at the voice drifting through the door, but Merrick moved quicker than should be possible, with him being injured and in a room he wouldn’t even be able to stand upright in.

Chains screaming, he moved into a crouch before her, his entire being vibrating with the growl leaving him. “The only plan you’ll have is walking right into the arms of your dead loved ones if you touch her.”

A glacial laugh bounced between the stone walls. “Oh, we won’t touchher. At least not yet. We saw her during the election. She responds much better to others’… suffering.”

A chill raced over her skin, but she didn’t let her mind linger on his words.

Instead, she tried moving so Merrick wasn’t blocking her—although he immediately shifted as well, so that proved entirely useless.

Shaking her head at him, she cleared her throat. “We need to speak to Loche. He is in danger. All of Ellow is in danger.”

That laugh rang again. “You just won me one silver. We were betting on what your excuse would be to see Loche.”

A hand tapped the door, the rhythmic thuds quickening Lessia’s pulse. “We know you’ve come to kill him, and unlike you, we don’t need a blood oath to be loyal to our leader. You won’t get anywhere near him.”

“Please!” Lessia called. “We’re not lying! Just bring him here—you can keep him outside the door, but we need to speak to him!”

“No.” The voice sounded farther away, receding footsteps joining it. “We’ll be back in a while… I would say stay up, but I think I’ll let you stay in here for a few days. Even with the handy powder to block your abilities, I’ve heard of your companions. The Death Whisperer… Tsk, tsk. We will not take any risks.”

Another door slammed somewhere outside, and as icy silence layered across the cell, Lessia desperately pulled at her chains again, but it was of no use.

They were fastened with the thickest bolts she’d ever seen, deep beneath the stones lining the floor.

Noting that none of the males even tried, she finally gave up, allowing Merrick to nudge her back into the spot beside him.

“That went well.” Kerym closed his eyes as he rested his head on the wall. “I’m taking a nap.”

“Damn chains,” Raine snarled as he twisted his arm in what looked like a very painful angle. “I can’t even reach my flask.”

“They took it anyway, you idiot,” Kerym scoffed.

With a deep groan, Raine struggled into the spot next to Kerym, banging the back of his head against the closed door a few times before his eyes angrily squeezed shut.

Lessia flicked her gaze up to Merrick’s. “What are we going to do?”

He captured her eyes. “Survive. Escape. Kill Loche and his guards.”

Despite the situation, her lips twitched, and she pursed them so not to smile. “We can’t kill him, Merrick.”

“Why not?”

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