Page 97 of Tell No Tales
Vadim's jaw clenched at the thought of Hugo being hurt on his behalf. He tried to resist the guard at his back, but the man was tall, almost seven feet, and he lifted Vadim off the ground by his shoulders and shoved him forward. Vadim stumbled another three feet before regaining his balance. If Martiz had been good for anything, it was this. Vadim had spent many nights in shackles like these. He hated them, but he could tolerate them better than Nola, who was swearing up a storm as she wrenched her shoulders from side to side.
"The more you struggle, the tighter they become," Fanidra reminded her. "I wouldn't want you to lose your hands."
"Fuck you!"
"Maybe later." Fanidra shrugged. "First, you need to speak to Coryn."
Yvette scoffed at that, and Nola let out another howl as the cuffs cut into her skin, drawing first blood.
Vadim focused on the backs of Klaus's feet as his guard shoved him forward again. He'd been caged before. He could do this again. He was surprised when Fanidra led them to a holding cell just off the throne room, meant to hold prisoners before their executions in the nearby courtyard.
"I'll take this one to Coryn myself," Fanidra said, pointing to Martiz, who was still bound in his ropes. "She might go easy on you, but I doubt it. You made her kick her favorite puppy."
"If she's hurt a hair on Hugo's head—"
"Oh, he's still got his beautiful hair and his pretty face. Coryn would never hurt him where anyone could see." Fanidra grinned at Vadim as the guards shoved him into the cell. "See you all in a bit." She shoved Martiz toward the throne room.
Nola tried to break free at the door, but the guards wrestled her inside. She finally stopped grumbling, and the rest followed without issue. A guard locked them all in a single cell barely big enough for them to sit on the floor facing each other. Trin, Roy, and Ray all had tear-streaked faces. Yvette and Nola had gone quiet and sullen.
Only Klaus didn't seem the least bit concerned. The bratty fucker was smiling.
∞∞∞
Klaus
Klaus couldn't help it. The more Vadim glared at him, the happier he felt. The hairpin fitted over his waistband at the small of his back always went unnoticed under his long tunics. This time, the guards had taken his dagger and lockpicking tools from his boot, but they'd missed the hairpin, even after the death weaver's warning.
Klaus carefully worked the wire pin up and over the hem of his pants, catching it in the palm of his hand. From there, he twisted it around and open enough to stick the longer end into the cuffs' lock. After a few scrapes, he had it open. In two clicks, he readjusted the bands so he could slide them on and off.
Next, he went to work on Trin's gold cuffs so she could free Nola. "I've never seen this much gold at one time." He motioned toward the twins, who had matching restraints.
"They must have melted down one of the banquet plates," Vadim said.
Klaus resized the cuffs so Trin could slip them on again. "Help her." Klaus pointed to Nola.
"I don't know how! I've never broken anything made of solid wood before."
"Don't break them," Klaus warned. "We don't want them to slap on another pair. Expand them so they'll slip off."
Trin frowned. "That's even more impossible!"
"Come here," Nola said. "I'll talk you through it."
"Quietly," Yvette said as the three bowed their heads together and began whispering furiously.
"I should have known." Vadim's glare had improved to a look of awe as Klaus approached him.
"Aye." Klaus grinned at his back as he twisted the pin in the silver lock. The metal locks were far easier than the twisted metal and wood used to bind spectral weavers. As with the gold, Klaus had them off Vadim in one twist and resized before Vadim finished rubbing feeling back into his hands. "Hang onto this pair," Klaus whispered. "I like the look of them on you."
Klaus knew more than he wanted to know about Vadim's past with silver cuffs, especially in Martiz's care, but he still wanted to see Vadim completely undone without a single care in the world, which was impossible while Vadim could access his magic.
Instead of fear, Vadim met his gaze with pure lust. Then, he hesitated, and uncertainty clouded his gorgeous green eyes. Klaus wanted to reassure him, but there wasn't time. He heard footsteps in the hallway.
He motioned for Yvette to turn her back to him, and he carefully unlocked her cuffs and repositioned them as a guard swung the door open. There wasn't time to free the twins. He slipped the pin back over his waistband and tugged his tunic down over it before slipping his right hand back inside the iron cuffs.
"Did you get it?" he whispered to Trin as her shoulder was jostled against his by an overzealous guard.
"One."
