Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles Book 1) (38 page)

Kyrin slipped them off and pushed them toward Aric. The cold, damp cell floor leaked up through her thin stockings and chilled her toes.

Clothing under his arm, Aric stepped out of the cell. The door shrieked shut and locked with a finalizing clank. With one last look at her through the bars, Aric strode away with the guards. For several long seconds, Kyrin just stood in the dark, her uneven breaths all that broke the stillness. Nothing moved, but the thick air settled cold on her exposed skin and sent a shiver up her arms and across her back. She looked around. The darkness hid even her own hands. Reaching out, she felt her way to the back of the cell and sank to the floor.

For the first couple of minutes, a cool numbness encased her, her mind sorting through everything she’d just faced, but then the trembling took hold and tears spilled from her eyes. It hardly seemed real, yet as reality fully settled in, small choking sobs tore at her chest.

“Kaden,” she cried. She would probably never see him again, at least not in Ilyon. Neither him nor her father. If only she could see them, just once, and explain what happened. What would they do when they found out? What would Kaden do? This question ripped through her.

“Please, Elôm, don’t let him do anything foolish.”

She wept until her tears dried up and leaned her head back against the wall. So, this was it. Less than three weeks at the palace and she faced execution. Just how would her death come? Would Daican have her killed in secret or publically? Scenes from the ryrik executions flashed before her, and she put her hand to her throat. What a gruesome way to die. She closed her sore eyes.

“Elôm, if there’s a way out of this, please provide it. But
…if not, please help me stand strong…right to the end.”

Supper would start any minute. Kaden was cutting it close tonight, but he’d made good progress in ensuring their escape route from the city. It was almost
time. All they needed was the information about the group Sam had mentioned. Only another day or two. Then they would run and never look back.

When he reached Tarvin Hall, he hurried up the steps and let himself inside. A few groups of students lingered in the halls. Maybe it wasn’t so late after all. At least he wouldn’t have to sneak down to the kitchen.
Like he’d told Kyrin, it was best to lie low these days and avoid unnecessary trouble and attention.

He passed a couple of his classmates, who just stared at him. Nothing so strange about that. With Kyrin gone, it was starkly evident just how few people even acknowledged his existence. But with every blank stare he passed, a warning tickled the back of his mind. What were they all
looking at? Usually they just ignored him. He glanced down at his uniform. Nothing wrong with it. He frowned at them, but by the time he reached the dining room, his stomach clenched, and it had nothing to do with hunger.

The first person he spotted was Sam. The talcrin’s tense expression clamped a slowly tightening vice around Kaden’s gut. He questioned him with his eyes, but his attention shifted to Master Zocar, who approached. Two very alert-looking guards trailed him. Kaden’s heart punched his ribs.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice not as strong as he intended.

Master Zocar grimaced. “I regret having to tell you this, Kaden, but
…your sister has been arrested.”

Kaden took a step back as if he
’d been struck. Arrested? No, not yet. She couldn’t be. His mind nearly fuzzed out Zocar’s next words.

“She renounced Aertus and Vilai and tried to attack the emperor.”

“What?” he gasped. “No…she can’t…she wouldn’t…”

Kyrin wouldn’t attack anyone. Certainly not the emperor, and not just before their escape.

“Kaden.” Master Zocar’s voice reached out to him gently and with as much sympathy as he’d ever heard it. “I know this is difficult, but you must be calm about it.”

Kaden shook his head. Forget calm. He had to get to Kyrin. He had to do something to get her away from the emperor. The man would surely kill her, given the chance. He backed toward the door, but the guards rushed in and grabbed his arms.

“No!” He jerked against them.

“This is for your own good,” Zocar told him. “You’re not thinking clearly. You need time to calm down.”

But Kaden fought to get away, yanking his arms against the guards’ strong grips. Between the two of them, they were able to restrain and drag him out of the dining room. Master Zocar followed along and tried to calm him, but he didn’t hear a word of it through his struggles. They couldn’t do this to him. His sister was a prisoner somewhere, and he should be with her.

Despite his resistance, they managed to take him to one of the studies. After pushing him farther inside, they closed the doors behind him. Spinning around, he slammed his fists against the doors.

“Let me out!”

He hit them again to no avail. Finally, he turned around and ran his hands through his hair. This couldn’t be happening. Everything was nearly ready. Their escape, their new life
…He paced the room, and his mind raced. He had to get to Kyrin. But how? Could he even find out where the emperor was holding her?

Chest heaving, he balled his fists and let out a strangled groan. “What do I do, Elôm? I have to help her.”

For a very long time, he wrestled with the image of Kyrin as a prisoner and the fire burning inside him to do something about it. Hours passed before the doors unlocked. He jumped up, prepared to do anything to get out, even if he had to face every guard at Tarvin Hall. This time he’d be ready for them.

The door swung open. Master Zocar entered first, followed by Sam, but Kaden set his eyes on the two guards who stood firmly in the doorway. If only he had a sword from the training building.

“Kaden,” Zocar drew his attention. “I know how difficult this must be for you, but you’re going to have to accept it.”

Tensing all over, Kaden’s eyes jumped back to the guards. He would never just accept this. Sam’s voice was the only thing that kept him from acting.

“Kyrin made her choice, Kaden. Don’t do anything foolish because of it.”

His gaze swung around to the talcrin. In those gold eyes, he found both a warning and a plea. “Just be calm and get through tonight. Things will get better.”

Kaden stood, torn. Kyrin needed him. Even if it meant being arrested himself, he had to find her. But what good would it do in the end? They’d both be dead with no one to rescue either of them. At least if he played along, he still had a chance to save her. Yet how could he just leave her, even for one night, at the mercy of the emperor? The heavy weight of the situation pressed down. He hung his head and let his tense arms fall limp. For now, he had no choice.

K
yrin awoke shivering. Darkness still surrounded her, and the cold stones had drained the heat out of her body. She wrapped her arms around her chest, but her left shoulder was stiff and burned with the slightest movement. Tremors ran through her muscles. Head drooping on her chest, she’d drifted in and out of sleep, though for how long was impossible to guess. The empty squeezing of her stomach suggested hours. She hadn’t eaten much for breakfast or lunch. Certainly a mistake now, looking back. They had probably been the last meals she would ever have. Her stomach pinched more painfully, and she forced that thought away.

When her teeth began to chatter, she couldn’t stand it anymore. How could they just leave her down here like this? Couldn’t they, at least, have left her properly clothed? None of the warmth of spring penetrated this stone prison. In desperation, she groped about for anything she might use to get warm. Her fingers found only grimy, rough stone, but then, in the opposite corner, they came upon something softer. She felt around the crumpled heap and discovered it was a large piece of cloth, perhaps an old blanket. Grabbing one edge, she lifted it from the floor. The reek of mold overwhelmed her. Gagging, she turned her head away. The damp cloth hung heavy in her hands, most likely covered in mildew and who knew what else.

Tears poured into her eyes. She was desperate to get warm, but this? The hot teardrops rolled down her cold cheeks. She had to do it. With a grimace, she pulled the cloth over her shoulders and wrapped it around herself. The smell of rot burned her nose, choking her, and the cloth clung to her like a filthy rag, but she forced herself to endure it. At first, it brought no comfort, but slowly, she warmed up and the shivering ceased. In time, she drifted back into another uneasy sleep.

Kyrin rocked slowly and squeezed her eyes shut. The darkness in her head somehow felt better than the smothering darkness of the cell. At least in her head she could lose herself in memories of the past—good memories. Anything to keep the chilling, claustrophobic tide from drowning her. It was as if she
were trapped in an empty, black void and cut off from any other living being. She craved contact with her brother, if only for a moment.

Hunger pains gnawed at her stomach, and her mouth barely produced the moisture to swallow. Lack of nourishment encumbered her limbs. Any attempt at movement grew harder, slower, and her head pounded to match the rhythm of her heart.
What if they just left her here to die? To just fade away? She shuddered, and tears leaked out from beneath her eyelids.

“Elôm.” The weak whisper broke the silence. She couldn’t force any more words through her throat, but they flowed from her mind, desperate and reaching. And the more her cries flowed out, the more comfort flowed in. Sam had once told her Elôm was a shield for His children. She imagined a shield of protection around her in the midst of the darkness. She clung to it, trusting it, refusing to let fear push it away.

The inability to tell time frayed at her mental grip, but through prayer, she prepared to let it just slip by until it simply ran out for her. After all, Elôm would be waiting for her at the end of it. Maybe one of these times she would fall asleep and it would be done. That didn’t seem so bad. There were plenty of worse ways to die.

The distant echo of footsteps startled Kyrin. A flickering glow appeared and rolled away the darkness. She squinted as it grew in strength and illuminated the shapes of men. She pulled the tattered old blanket more tightly around herself, not sure whether to feel relief or the desire to be left alone.

Aric reached the cell first and opened the door. Two other guards walked in. Kyrin moved away, a useless act, but instinctual. They grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. Her legs wobbled, and her head spun even as she fought to strengthen her mind to face whatever was coming. Metal clamped around her wrists, securing them behind her back, and the guards led her out of the cell and through the underground dungeon. They did not stop at any of the rooms along the way. Instead, they came to the stairs leading out of the dungeon and climbed them.