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Another guard comes up beside me and opens the cell, while a third walks up behind me. I feel his torso as it presses up against my back. I hold my breath as stale hot air slithers across my neck, and the rage inside me reaches a peak.
“If there is anything left of you when the Breaker is finished, we will tear you apart, piece by piece, until the birds have only your bones to pick at.”
I wait until he has finished his little speech before slamming my head back into his face, hearing the crack I intended. I glance to my right and watch as the amber-eyed guard stumbles sideways and out of my way.
The other two guards grab me from each side, ripping my bag from my back and shoving me into the cold, dark cell before slamming its door swiftly behind me. I turn around, giving each of them a distant look, but on the inside, I feel anything but.
The amber-eyed guard I headbutted gives me a feral smile as he wipes the blood from his broken nose. There is a deranged look in his eyes. One that makes me wish I could break a few other bones to go along with it.
“Good to know you like it rough.” He dips his head at me and shares a look with the guards before they leave.
Finally alone, I take in my new surroundings. The floor is full of dirt, the smell worse than the stables covered in manure, and the air is frigid with an icy chill. It is disgusting, but nothing I can’t make do with.
I look down at my hand and the tendrils of darkness that swirl around it, a smirk tilting my lips.
Amaro might have muted my Sidus powers, but I still have my shadows.
Finding a suitable spot to sleep near the barred windows, I glance out at my new home for the next while, my smile growing as the shadows dance along my skin.
If they thought I would be a meek, frightened captive, willing to obey their threats and torture, they will quickly learn just how hard it is to bend and break me.
Because I bow to no one.
CHAPTER 9
Ashard of morning light breaks through the small rusty-barred window at the end of my cell. I stand up, stretching my stiff body from the awkward position I slept in while trying to stay warm last night.
With the absence of my Sidus power, the cold has turned bitter. A hollow space has taken up inside me, feeling unnatural, like a missing limb.
I glance down at the gold bands, fisting each hand.
Many Sidus view their power as a form of light that encases them like a cloak of protection, one that can also light up their way in the dark. While that is true for most Sidus, mine has always felt like white flames, ready to erupt out of me at any moment.
Reaching inward, I search for an ember of the wildfire that was once there but find only frozen, muted flames, the stillness and silence deafening.
I try to push past the strange suspended barrier holding my abilities hostage, and drag them up. But it’s like pulling against solid rock.
I pull harder, my stubborn nature not giving in yet, when pain, sharp and electric, shoots across my body, forcing me tothe ground. My breath comes out in sharp small pants as the jolt of pain slowly ebbs and eases.
Looking toward the small window causes me to wince, the slight shard of light now feeling like a hot spike against my sensitive eyes.
Glancing down at the bands, I watch a slither of glowing symbols move before disappearing once again.
Foolish.
I should have known there would be some sort of defense to inhibit someone from using their abilities. I will not be attempting anything so rash again, not until I figure out how to remove them without the guards finding out.
After all, I have to keep up appearances for what I have planned.
A few minutes pass with no sign of the guards. I have not eaten anything since yesterday morning, and my sluggish body is starting to feel the effect from lack of nutrition. But I know they need me alive, at least until I can compete in the first trial. They will come soon; of that, I am sure.
It will take me a couple of days to get used to their routines and watchful eyes before I figure a way around without them noticing my absence. I need to be able to roam the palace and find what I’m searching for, and soon. Every day I spend away from the Sidus is another day the dark creatures have a chance to attack and take another innocent life.
Everything has its weak point; I just need to figure out what and where they are and then use it to my advantage.
A clang echoes down the chamber, forcing me to my feet. Taking one last moment to myself before the guards come, I center my mind, feeling a wave of calmness settle over me, and the last edges of pain float away.
Heavy boots meander down the hall, getting louder each step. I listen intently, making out two guards.
