Page 113 of Fallacies

I whirl around at the frail voice—a man in his later years, glassy eyes soft on mine.

“You’re Esme’s girl,” he says again. “Look!” the man demands of those in his cell, gesturing to me, “Look! She’s here!”

Silence falls. Quick and absolute.

My illusion slipped.

There’s a ripple of hushed murmurs, but despite the continuous coughing, everyone remains silent. The man’s attention slowly drifts from me to the space behind me.

In the neighboring cages, everyone else does the same, sunken eyes drifting to the cage at the end of the aisle.

I squint into the darkness, noticing a shadowed figure moving up to the bars in the cage everyone is staring at. Whoever it is straightens—a man judging by his tall and wide build.

“Hello?” I take a cautious step forward, pulling up more magic to illuminate the dark aisle before me.

The echo of my voice hasn’t even finished ringing out when a door slams open and the sound of heavy footfalls comes stomping down the stairs.

“Wakey wakey, little lambs,” the guard's taunt ricochets off the stone. “Bed check.”

“Shit,” I curse, scrambling to put my illusion back in place.

Finding Alesi down here is certainly better than finding Lucina.

As I morph into the servant, I move quickly down the line of cages. There has to be another way out of here. Another hidden passage. Something.

“Down there!” A young woman whisper-shouts through the bars beside me, pointing to a small gap between the cages ahead. “Hurry!”

I nearly trip over my feet as I run, making it all of two steps when a blinding beam of light hits my back.

“HEY!” the guard shouts.

I’m pinned in place. The light he shines is…unnatural. It burns into my skin, and I grit my teeth to keep from squirming under the intensity of it, willing all my focus into maintaining my illusion.

Chains rattle as the Sol scramble away from their bars, evading the guards’ light. They cringe against the farthest walls, shrinking away from the aisle.

It takes everything I have to turn around and face the guard, skin burning as I squint back at him.

“The fuck?” the guard snorts, clicking off the light, and I sag in relief. “Alesi?” He approaches slowly, yellow eyes narrowing as he nears.

“The Umbra sent me,” I rush out, swallowing against the fear and panic sloshing through my veins.

The Rogue’s head tilts, a slow, greedy smile spreading across his pale face. “Sent you?” He takes another menacing step forward. “Here? To do what, Alesi?”

“She wanted me to⁠—”

“She’s never sent anyone down here before…”

I retreat a step. “To give their rations.”

“They’ve already had their rations.”

New plan. I need a new plan.

Halting in his pursuit, his smile widens, and then he surges forward, snatching my wrist before I can stop him.

The Rogue yanks me to his chest, sharp canines inches from my ear. “I didn’t know the Baron’s whore was such a terrible lia⁠—”

A sharp crack echoes through the space, and I gasp when the guard’s head twists all the way around his body. It all happens so fast, his grip on my wrist faltering as he slides to the floor with a thud that silences the room.