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I hold on even when the room slips away, becoming patches of darkness and hazy figures. I am about to slip into a peaceful darkness, when the pain begins to ebb and release.
Barely conscious, I sway sideways. The only thing holding me is the guards’ shadowed chains.
The Breaker takes a step back, a frown on his blurry face. What felt like hours was possibly only minutes.
The sweat clings to my face and body as my breath rushes out in sharp pants, and I fight against sweet oblivion and dark’s warm embrace.
“Tell me how you managed to enter the guard’s competition.” The Breaker’s harsh words are searing.
I try to form words, any sound, but nothing comes out.
“Tell me and you will be free.”
A lie. One so clear I can taste it on my tongue.
“Again.” The Breaker chuckles before moving back a step, not waiting on a reply any longer.
The guards pull their shadow chains tighter, and pain once again becomes my friend and tormentor.
Just as the pain reaches a peak, a sweet darkness embraces me.
What feels like a moment later, I wake to slices of pain scraping down my back as the Breaker’s men drag me along the harsh ground, back to my cell. Every bump and knock sends a jolt of sharp pain throughout my tender body. The rough ground and small stones run along my taut skin, pulling it tight. I clench my jaw, concealing any gasps. They continue on, their handling having no softness or care, their grips hard and punishing.
They dump me on the cold ground and discard me without so much as a glance.
A moment of peace settles over me when they leave my sight, and a stolen gasp escapes my lips as I drag my body into a sitting position.
Though the Breaker did not cause any physical injury, his form of infliction feels exactly that. I glance down at myself, looking for any substantial evidence, but find nothing. My body feels drained, similar, if not worse, to the aftermath of too many training sessions and nights out guarding the Sidus town. Though one where I have lost every single fight.
The Breaker has shown me exactly what I will be spending my time doing here between the trials and how far they were willing to go to stop me from succeeding.
I know I can’t keep up his form of torment forever. I need to figure a way to come and go from the palace, and soon.
CHAPTER 11
Night creeps across the small cell, gliding over the last of the daylight to blanket it in night’s dusk. I wait a few moments before complete darkness encases my cell.
Standing up, I stretch my tense muscles, loosening the phantom pain from the Breaker’s cruel administrations. Testing my body, I notice the pain is quickly disappearing. It must be because the Breaker’s form of torture is not physical. I can only hope that any furthersessionswill bring about the same result. It will make getting through them a little easier.
Bringing my shadows to the surface of my skin, I pause when I remember the shadow void block in place at the palace. Using the void would be easier than having to sneak in and out of my cell. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the guards used it purely as a fear tactic to hoard over all those who believed it.
The cool, dark tendrils of my shadows curl inside me as I reach down to the deepest part of them. Beginning to take a step into the center of it, I imagine myself on the other side of the cell.
But the minute my foot hits the floor, I feel it. A solid barrier that obstructs my way through the void to the other side. I try to push against it, hoping to feel the rush of cool ice flood my veins, but I can’t reach beyond the barrier to get to it.
I open my eyes and sigh as I glance around my cell. Although I’m disappointed that the barrier is not a lie fabricated by the Caligo guards, I’m glad that they also cannot use it.
After listening for a few minutes and hearing nothing but silence, I form a small shadow in my hand, pushing it through the lock and manipulating it to open my cell door. A low click brings a smile to my face.
While I slept and healed from the Breaker’s session over the last couple of days, I made sure to give the guards no entertainment and to ignore them completely. They quickly grew bored with me and soon left to do whatever they usually do when not attempting to watch me.
Today they showed up as usual to give me my slop of a meal before checking on me once more. If my presumption is correct based on the last two nights, I should have most of tonight to search for what I’m looking for.
On limber feet, I ease the cell door ajar and slip out, closing it softly behind me. I listen again for any sounds before moving down the hall to where the guards brought me before.
I pass the empty brick cells, and my gaze falls on the odd door from when the Breaker paid a visit. Making my way over, I listen up against it for any sound on the other side. But only silence greets me.
I hesitate before pushing it open as a sliver of doubt creeps in. This door could be deceiving, containing any noise behind it. For all I know, the entire guard could be concealed behind it, ready and waiting.
