Page 43 of Storm of Fury
His eyes narrowed. “How heavy do you think he is?”
“Too heavy. Fuckingdreki,” Haakon growled, shouldering his way through the open cell door.
“You’re the one who married one of them!” Tormund called.
“A decision I currently regret.”
* * *
“She’s in here.”Marduk rested his hand and forehead against the stone wall, closing his eyes and breathing slowly. His fingers flexed on the stone as though he was soothing it.
A rock skittered past. The entire tunnel shook.
Clearly it wasn’t working.
Bryn stepped forward and jammed the key in the lock. The second it clicked, she shoved the heavy iron door open, the hinges squealing loudly. Rust shivered from the thick bars as if the door hadn’t been opened in some time.
“This sister….” She crept forward into the darkness, willing her sword to shine brighter. “Precisely why is she locked away in here? How long has she been down here?”
“Since she was ten and her powers began to overwhelm her,” Marduk replied, peering desperately ahead. He paused at the edge of the pit. “Ishtar?”
There was no sound from within.
Bryn exchanged an uncomfortable look with Tormund. What if the prince was mad? And were they even certain hewasthe prince? None of them had seen Marduk in the flesh. What if this golden-haireddrekiwas leading them into a trap?
“I’ll fetch her,” Marduk said, stepping off the ledge and simply vanishing into the darkness.
“Shit.” Tormund snatched at him, nearly overbalancing.
Bryn grabbed a fistful of his sleeve and jerked him back off the edge of the ledge. Tormund wrapped his arms around her, but from the way his heart was thundering, she didn’t think it some ploy.
“I’ve got you, princess,” she whispered, as he slowly released a thick breath.
He didn’t even joke about it, which meant he must have been aware of how close to the edge he stood. His fingers dug into her elbows a little.
Together, they peered down into the darkness.
“It could be a trap,” she whispered.
Tormund looked at her sharply.
“None of us have seen this Marduk,” she continued. “How do we know it’s him?”
“It’s him,” Haakon replied in a quiet voice behind her. “I’ve been communicating with Árdís. She can see him through my eyes and she assures me this is a typical Marduk ploy.”
See him through my eyes?
Tormund offered her a faint smile. “’Tis a strange world he’s dragged me into. When Árdís saved Haakon from death, she bonded him, and he tells me they can talk at any moment, even if miles separate them. No thought remains unguarded.”
That sounded horrible. She’d thought marriage enough of a shackle as it were, let alone not even owning the privacy of ones thoughts.
But she had other concerns.
“He’s not telling us something. Why would this Ishtar be down here?” she whispered. “Marduk said Queen Zorja stole her from theZiniclan at birth and brought her here, but why keep her in the cells?”
If the queen had stolen the child in order to save her life, then why lock her away like this? What kind of overwhelming power did she have?
Bryn’s gaze tracked toward the darkness. “What does your wife say about this Ishtar?”
