Page 10 of When Storms Ruin

If this was the end, Tess and I were in this together.

Always.

When a figure came into view, their face was obscured by the cover of their hood. A black face covering sat barely over their nose leaving only their eyes exposed. Green eyes met mine in the low light, then fell on Tess before rushing forwards, pulling the mask down.

“Puck,” Tess breathed, scrambling to her feet beside me.

I rose as well, cautiously remaining at the back of the cell. It had been weeks since we had seen Puck. What was he doing here? Had Zion sent him?

Tess grabbed Puck's forearm through the bars of the cell as a tear ran down her cheek. She softly wiped it away, a humorless laugh escaping her.

“Where have you been?” she asked, gripping Puck tightly.

He gave a firm shake of his head. “We don’t have time for that, we have to go.Now.”

Puck turned, and for the first time we saw another figure standing behind him, obscured by his broad frame. Before us stood an older woman with freckled cheeks and rosy, golden hair that appeared to have been dipped in copper. Her unruly curls flowed down her back to her hips. She handed Puck a set of keys and he fumbled with them, unsure of which one would open the cell door. It appeared to be a master set of some sort, each key almost identical. Had they stolen it off one of the Nightshade soldiers, or did the keys belong to this woman?

She was dressed as if she were a servant, her white shirt crinkled and dirty, her brown shift dress that she wore atop it plain and falling to her ankles. But her eyes were alight, bright and blue beneath the glow of the lantern.

Who was this woman?

Another pair of footsteps approached the front of the cell and my breath caught in my throat as he came into view. His nose and mouth were covered by the same black mask, but I would recognize those piercing blue eyes anywhere.

I swallowed hard as our eyes met, and Nik gripped the bars of the cell with both hands, knuckles turning white. His eyes traveled down my body, and when they locked with mine again, his expression was one that would haunt me until my end of days.

He hadn’t known.

It was clear in his expression he hadn’t known the torture Donika had subjected us to. That she had been starving us. Burning us with her shadow magic. A hot tear escaped and spilled down his cheek, catching in the fabric of the black mask.

“Diana—” Nik started, his raw voice cracked as he shook his head back and forth.

He pulled the mask down to reveal his face.

It appeared as if he hadn’t slept in days, dark circles ringing his eyes. His face was gaunt, his skin pale. He looked like a ghost. Apparently he hadn’t fared much better in The Stone City, despite not being held prisoner in the Stormvault as we had been.

I caught myself, setting my jaw and crossing my arms over my chest under his gaze. I would not appear weak. It was Nik who had left me to this fate, after all. I hadn’t seen him since that first day.

Puck continued to fumble with the keys and Nik never took his eyes off me, a pleading expression in his sorrow-filled gaze. He wiped away another tear as it escaped, silently slipping down his cheek. If this was our only chance at a jailbreak, I would take it, but that didn’t mean I trusted them.

Tess shot me a glance over her shoulder, her expression unreadable as the lock finally clicked and the door swung open with a loud screech. Puck winced, his eyes searching the corridor as if the sound might have drawn unwanted attention from nearby guards.

“We don’t have any time for pleasantries or apologies, we have to move,” Puck instructed, ushering us out into the corridor.

I followed without hesitation, anxious to be out of this cell. Whatever they had planned…it better be good. I couldn’t imagine escaping this castle when it was crawling with Donika’s guards.

As soon as I stepped over the threshold of the cell, I expected to feel my magic surging forth, free of the iron bars and ash shackles for the first time in weeks.

But what I felt wasnothing.

No magic sparking at my fingertips, no warmth in my core where I had once felt the magic reside. Absolutely nothing.

I didn’t have time to think on it further. Maybe it had simply been such a long time since I had reached my magic. Maybe I would need to learn how to grasp it all over again.

Puck ushered us down the hallway, Nik silent on our heels with the nameless woman following closely behind. Nik and Puck both pulled the black masks back over their faces, leaving only their eyes exposed once more. They both had swords and daggers strapped to them, prepared to fight any guards we might encounter.

We ascended the steep stone staircase as quickly as we could, Tess and I greatly weakened by the time we had spentlocked in our cell. When we reached the top of the staircase, we burst through another thick, wooden door. The corridor beyond was dimly lit with torches hanging against the wall, softly illuminating the path before us.

Puck led the way down the corridor, up another set of stairs. We weren’t approaching the main level, were we? I wanted to avoid being seen or catching the eye of one of Donika’s guards at all costs. Once the alarm was sounded, there would be no going back. We either made it out alive, or we were dead. I was surprised to find that there weren’t any guards manning the door at the top of the staircase. Had Puck and Nik disposed of them?

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