Page 178 of Of Iron and Moonlight

“How long have you been here?” Elara asked, reaching for connection.

“In this block?” The woman glanced toward the ceiling. “Perhaps a week longer than you. Before that, I was kept with what they call the rare specimens.”

“Rare specimens?”

“Those whose eyes show more fae than human.” The woman studied her carefully. “They believe the drug binds more cleanly in them. So they test variations on them first.”

The Amethyst of the North.

Elara felt her stomach tighten. “Then why bring you here?”

“I am not certain,” the woman said with a distant shrug. “They began taking the others, then the removals stopped. I was transferred here instead, before I ever tasted a drop.”

“Do you know where they kept you?” Elara pressed, hope flickering against caution.

The woman’s expression thinned. “You think they showed me a map? I know the chamber I was held in and the corridor that led here. Nothing more.” She lifted a hand in faint dismissal and turned onto her side, signaling the end of it.

Gavriel’s eyes opened. They found hers. For a heartbeat she saw recognition. Then it faded. He curled tighter, shoulders folding as though even awareness cost too much.

Lacing her fingers together, Elara pressed her knuckles to her lips. “We will escape,” she whispered to the air. Then she closed her eyes and tried not to think about how much she missed Njall, or what might have happened to him and Kalaetzu. “I promise.”

She flinched as the cell block bolt drew back with deliberate force. The door swung open and a guard stepped into view, severe violet light smoldering from his eyes. Several more guards stood close behind him.

“Not the usual clatter of trays and dull ritual of rations.” The blonde woman lifted her head, then let out a resigned sigh as she rose and moved closer to the bars. “It’s our time.”

Elara’s pulse pounded at her throat. Were they being taken to the mainland? The laboratory? Somewhere worse? She did not know which possibility unsettled her more. She lowered her hand and closed her fingers around the iron ring. Then the silver band.

The cold suggestion of Norrelian magic skimmed across her mind, and the change in the captives was immediate. Bodies that had been slumped or pacing drew upright. The woman across the passage straightened, expression draining into vacancy. Gavriel unfolded from the floor and stood with relaxed obedience, his face emptied of thought.

Elara rose with the others as the guards began unlocking each door with a wave of the hand.

“Move.”

The humans obeyed, forming a line without confusion, steps falling into cadence, guided by a single unseen will. Elara lowered her head and took her place behind Gavriel, matching the pace exactly toward the exit and whatever waited beyond it.

Halfway down the outer corridor, she noticed a shallow recess in the wall where old sconces had burned out, leaving a pocket of unlit stone. She flicked her eyes to the guard at the front. Then to the other lagging behind, distracted by his boot strap.

The best opening she was likely to get.

As they drew level with the recess, Elara tightened her grip on Gavriel’s sleeve and pulled him sharply sideways. His body jolted and a sound began to rise in his throat. She covered his mouth, dragging him until shadow engulfed them both.

The line continued past without interruption, feet shuffling.

Thirty breaths later, the final guard disappeared around the bend, and the corridor exhaled into stillness. Elara withdrew her hands from Gavriel slowly, bracing for him to crumple. He swayed only slightly, breath catching in uneven pulls. Whatever daze had held him in the cell seemed frayed, snapped by the sudden break of the compulsion.

“You’re free,” she said softly, her palm rising to cup his cheek. He flinched. Tears slid down his face and gathered in his beard. “I will find us a way out. Do you understand?”

His throat bobbed.

“Listen carefully,” she said, leaning close enough that her breath barely stirred the air between them. “We will go to the laboratory first. Perhaps Kalaetzu left something useful behind.” She paused, studying him. “If you feel yourself slipping, look at me. Stay with me. That is all.”

A weak nod. He dragged the back of his hand across his face and steadied himself.

Elara let out a breath. Now she only had to find the laboratory. Without directions. Or walking straight into a patrol. Her fingers slid into the hidden seam of her dress. Cool glass pressed against her skin. She tightened her grip for a heartbeat, then let it rest.

Gavriel mirrored her movements, edging along the wall. A short distance ahead, a door hung slightly ajar. Light spilled from within in a wavering ribbon that traced a curve across the floor. Elara hesitated, then leaned just enough to peek inside.

The chamber beyond was unexpected.