Destined (Darkin World Book 2)

Chapter Twenty

Rapidly blinking her eyes, Breqlynn began to make out structures within the dim interior. The space around her felt empty. Bringing fire to the fore, she wrapped it in a ball of air. Her makeshift torch hovered before and above her.

"Thank you, Kala," Breq whispered as she made her way out of the stone-walled room and into a hall.

The air was chilled and the floor nothing more than packed dirt. Breqlynn was thankful for the barrier her bunny slippers afforded. As they navigated the stone and earthen halls, she willed Wolfrick to hang on just a little longer.

"Breqlynn?" a familiar voice up ahead called.

Hurrying, Breq and Kala stopped before a cell carved out of the rock wall. A heavy, wooden door barred her way. Through the thick, metal bars, she saw Gideon's ruined face.

"Stand back," Breqlynn told Jaeger's Second. Once he complied, she sent a strong burst of fire and air into the lock. Hot slivers of slag burst from the door. Some landed on her bare arms, but she didn't have time to take note of the injury. She brushed them off as best she could.

"Everett is further down," Gideon said by way of greeting.

They soon found Brice. His cell door was given the same treatment. By the look of them, both men had been tortured. A slow burn built in her belly as Breqlynn looked them over.

"Which way is out?" Breq demanded. She'd avenge them, but first and foremost was her destined. "Wolfrick needs us now."

Gideon led. There was only one way in or out of the dungeon, he informed Breqlynn. This was why there were no guards present in the bowels of the fortress. At the top of the stairs, she unleashed her magic and made short work of the two men stationed there. She strung them up as she'd once done to Kaylee. Tying off the threads of air, she led the way to where the bond told her Jaeger was. It, or maybe Wolfrick himself, was fast deteriorating. She sent a surge of strength through the tattered remains.

"That's an interesting uniform you're wearing," Brice spoke from Breq's right. "What does the shirt say? There are burned spots, and I can't read it." Walking backward, his eyes squinted and his head tilted at a jaunty angle.

Breqlynn was wearing a black tee with a giant, white rooster in the center. The lettering above and below the graphic read: I-heart. Cocks.

Brice laughed low when Breq said it aloud. Their brief foray into joviality helped to keep her grounded. She was thankful to the man for that, even though she knew the letters were perfectly legible.

Soon, all mirth fled when they turned a well-lit corner and came upon two more guards on either side of a door. Breqlynn knew without seeing that Jaeger was being tortured on the other side. Shoving gags of air in her enemy's mouths silenced them. Gideon and Brice surged forward and incapacitated them. They were then tied up with her strongest element for good measure.

Breqlynn's hand was on the knob of the door when a group of men and women rounded a corner further down the hall. They looked to have already been in a fight. Gathering her magic, she waited for them to come closer. They were eight in number, but if none were witch or shaman, she and the wolves could take them.

"We're Keilynn's friends," a tall, red-haired woman, decked out in tactical gear whisper-shouted.

"And Sin Bae's," a large, dark man with a thick accent added.

After giving them a quick nod of understanding, Breq turned the knob. Naught but a thread linked her to Jaeger. She could give him no more strength, as she could barely feel his presence. Another realization struck; her wolf's torment was no longer weakening her. No longer could she feel it as if it were her own. This was troubling proof that the shaman was close to severing their bond.