Zaine has lost what is most important to him: the one and only girl who held his heart. After a year of searching for her and her Xelloren kidnappers with no luck, he closes off his heart and forces his hopes of ever seeing her again to die.
But one...
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When I was about nine years old, Meghan almost tripped into our campfire, but I'd reached out and stopped her fall with my arm. I'd received burns all along my forearm and the feeling of the fire licking at my skin hadn't dissipated for weeks.
Yet that was nothing compared to the feeling of the blazing room around me against my burnt cheek.
I wasn't sure how long I was unconscious for but when my eyes opened, sticky because of the humid air around me, I'd been stripped down to my under blouse and leather trousers. My ankles were restricted with chains locked to a metal pole behind me and my cuffed hands hung above my head at the crossbar on top of the post.
A headache radiated from my cheekbone back into the rest of my head but I bit back my groan of pain and lifted my eyes to look around. Where was Meg?
I found her to my right, in a similar position as I was, her hands and feet chained and her clothes stripped down. She was still unconscious, her head lolling forward and her chin nearly touching her collarbone. Even in the shadow, I could see the similar burn and on her cheek as I felt on mine. It looked bad. And it wasn't even the side where she'd been whipped.
Looking around the lava room—the only thing I could think to call it—I didn't find any warriors lurking in the shadows, so I looked up to see if there was a way to get out of these shackles. At least at my hands. Once my hands were free, I could get out and help Meghan.
We were getting out of this.
Despite the streams of sweat draining my body of energy, I grunted and used my upper arms to pull myself up. But the chains around my feet only allowed me to raise a couple inches.
I deflated back down and turned my eyes down. Not only were the shackles around my ankles wrapped around the post behind me, but they were bolted to the ground with a loop and lock.
Though I wasn't sure how, I had to bust that lock. Then I could raise myself and figure out how to get my hands free.
Letting out a weak sigh, I raised myself again and tried yanking at it. Of course that didn't work. It just made a loud rattling noise that echoed off the walls and ceiling.
A squeaky groan emanated from my right and I lowered myself and turned my head to see my sister. She stirred, her brows furrowing in pain. After a long second, her eyes squinted open and she raised her head. The movement pulled a wince from her lips.
"Zaine...?" she whispered, working through the pain to find me.
"Here."
She swallowed, her mouth most likely just as parched as mine, and turned her head to meet my eyes. I kept my features neutral. If she didn't see me panicking, she wouldn't panic. Hopefully.
"Where are we?"
"Still in the lava room at the abandoned fortress. They've trapped us in here."
Her gaze took in the rest of the room and the situation we were in. "How..." She released a pained breath, readjusting herself to the best she could even with her chains. "Where did they come from? How did they know we were here?"
