AISLIN | I

CHAPTER SEVENTY

DUST PUFFED out from beneath me as I dropped to the floor. The dust rose from the floor and up into the air, allowing me to inhale the debris. A sharp pain plagued both of my knees, forcing me to shift my body weight onto my hip. Pain flared within my lungs and every muscle in my arms were strained as pain became their primary sensation.

As the blood rushed back into my arms, my veins burned as they came back to life. My wrists had been clamped within the metal cuffs for so long that they were raw and bloody. My arms felt weak as they trembled back to life again after being left unused for so long.

I swallowed my pain as I looked around the dungeon for a way out. Divya had left mere minutes ago, and I knew she'd be coming with everyone else. I needed to be ready for them and our escape.

The sound of the door on the top of the stairs caught my attention, but the sounds of Elowen's sarcastic laughter sent a wave of panic creeping over my body. I quickly drug myself into a dark corner of the room as Elowen and Juniper emerged in the light at the bottom of the stairs. I sucked in a deep breath in hopes to calm myself down and slow my breathing so as to not be heard.

I watched as Elowen's grey eyes swept the dungeon and grew with displeasure at my absence. She turned to Juniper abruptly and in a low, almost deadly tone she asked, "Where is she?"

Juniper shrugged carelessly and leaned against the stone wall behind him, "How am I supposed to know? She's your pet project."

"She is a prisoner that WE needed for leverage! How could you have lost her?"

Juniper's eyebrows furrowed as he lifted himself off the wall, "How is this my fault? I'm only ever by your side. I don't even dare sneeze without permission these days."

A thick silence filled the room. Elowen's face was stone cold, not one emotion to be seen. She took a step forward slowly, and then another, and another until she was nose to nose with Juniper. He quickly began to size her up seemingly surprised to be perceiving her as a threat and stared down at her. She swiftly placed her hand on his neck and gripped it. Her nails dug into his skin, causing him to hiss in pain and blood to rise from beneath her nails. "You should know better than to talk back to me, Boy."

He wrapped his hand around her wrist and leaned forward against her, pushing her back some and leaning over her. "Once our plan is complete, I am to be King of Aberystwyth. I demand the respect that comes with my name."

Elowen pushed Juniper back into the wall, releasing him from her grip. "I will give you respect when you have earned my respect." She hissed. She turned around and stared at my once-occupied shackles in annoyance.

Juniper placed a hand on his now punctured throat and tried to soothe it. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Well, if your pet project is so important to the plan, what do we do now? The entire Syndicate is on their way for her as we speak."

Elowen sighed as she thought allowed, "They have already started their rescue mission. They don't know that we don't have her. They will come. Give it time."

As if she had been timing it all along, the door opened and Divya and the Syndicate entered the dungeon. Elowen stood tall, with Juniper standing at her side. She had locked eyes with Leland.

Leland. I hadn't allowed myself to hope that he would come for me. I knew my team would not rest, but the weight that lifted off my shoulders on seeing him made me feel like I could walk on air.

She ran her fingers through Juniper's hair and gripped his hair and forced him to his knees.

"I knew you'd come for her," she chuckled darkly, "So predictable. Her friends and her lover scour everywhere to find the lost girl. Oh, whatever would she do without you?" she feigned a gasp, "I guess the real question would be whatever would you all do without her?"