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“Holy fuck,” one of the brother’s muttered under his breath.
Like either of them had any room to talk. I was sure they’d both done some shady shit in their time before they hooked their stars to Ariel’s. Especially given that Rain was so fond of them, he didn’t really like the straight laced types.
Take myself for example.
I shrugged off the backpack I had been carrying and unzipped the main pouch. I rummaged around until I found the flashlight in there. I turned it on and had to shake it a bit before the beam of light appeared.
I hated it when flashlights did that. It always made me nervous that the light could go out on me at any second. And I really did not want to be stuck down there in the dark. I knew I had my magic, but I had a hard time believing I could rely on it since it had been taken from me once before.
I dropped the backpack on the ground and walked around the edge of the hole until I found the metal ladder.
“You want us to come down there with you?” Ariel asked quietly. For the first time since we started this little adventure she sounded nervous.
I started the climb down the ladder but paused in my descent to look at her. She actually looked nervous.
I hadn’t seen her that way since her wedding day.
It hit me that maybe she was more afraid of going down into the hole than I was. I hadn’t been the only one chained up by the Council and forced to endure their particular brand of water torture.
Was she living out her own nightmare in her head because I’d brought her here with me?
I felt like the world's biggest asshole.
“No. I need to do this part on my own,” I lied to her. The last thing I really wanted to do was go down into the hole by myself again, especially while the enemy was down there waiting for me.
Of course, Ariel saw right through my lie and she tried to be brave for me. She straightened her shoulders and drew in a calming breath. “No, I’ll go with you. Rain would never forgive me if I let you do this on your own.”
I wanted to roll my eyes but refrained. Rain was the reason I was dealing with this fool in the first place.
“No. He’d be proud of me for facing my fears head on and conquering them.” Maybe. Okay, so, he was probably going to be pissed because I’d gone off on my own once again.
“Leave her be, Ariel,” Quinton said as he appeared out of nowhere behind his wife. “You’ve clearly helped her with enough. If she needs your help she’s smart enough after everything she’s gone through to ask for help. Besides, wife, you ought to be worrying about yourself right about now because your ass is in deep shit.”
I took that as my cue to get the fuck out of there. Domestic disturbances weren’t for me, at least not when I didn’t have popcorn on hand.
I climbed down the ladder.
There was no possibility Quinton had shown up here on his own. My men were likely not far behind. I didn’t need my very own lecture with an audience.
It was a long way down the ladder and I hadn’t been lying about the cold or the dark. The cold seeped through my hoodie and felt like it settled into my bones. The beam of light from the flashlight bounced around the dirt wall in front of me as I slowly climbed down.
Something overcame me on the way down and I was no longer afraid.
I wasn’t so sure I was doing the right thing but I still needed to do it for my peace of mind.
Not everything was always about right or wrong. Sometimes the gray area came into play and things like morals went out the window.
This was one of those times.
My boots scuffed across the dirt as I jumped down from the last rung on the ladder and landed on the ground.
It was the only sound down here.
The screaming had stopped.
I wasn’t afraid. That man could no longer hurt me. The damage to me had already been done.
I turned around and waved the flashlight around in front of me, sweeping it from side to side.
