Threatened [W&W Book 2]

Chapter 33

The next time Anya opened her eyes it was dark outside.  There was no light in her cell except for the faint flickering of the light from the guard's room and the sliver of moonlight that managed to reflect into her room.  She realized that she was hungry.

Using the scant light Anya managed to find not one but two trays of food.  Someone had brought her supper.  Anya wondered if it had been Ildri and was glad to have been spared seeing her if it had been.

Anya carried the newer tray back to her cot and ate in the dark.  The food was surprisingly good.  Missus Allendale seemed willing to make decent food for prisoners.  It made Anya feel even worse.

Since Anya had slept most of the day, she found herself unable to go back to sleep.  She wandered around her cell in tight circles, and tried hard not to agonize over all the problems looming over her.  Every time she managed to divert her mind away it circled straight back to her siblings or Thorne or her lord and lady or the king's prison.

The guard came around the corner carrying a lantern.  She could see by his face it was her first guard.  "Marvin?" she asked, just wanting to hear another human voice.

"Yeah?" he responded.  He sounded really tired.

"Do you have to stay awake all night?" she wondered.

He grunted what might have been in agreement.

"Do you like this job?"

"Yeah."  He shuffled off.

Anya nodded.  He obviously did not want to talk to her.  Normally she would leave him be, but being confined was incredibly nerve wracking.  She decided to try again.  "We are at Wildwood, aren't we?" she asked.  There was the smallest possibility that they were not.

"Yeah," his voice came from around the corner.

"Do you know how long I'm going to be kept here?" she wondered.  He probably would not know, or be willing to tell her, but it was worth asking.

"Until they get word from the king or until you confess."

"They sent a messenger?"

"Yeah.  It'll be a few days."

"Oh.  Well.  Thanks," she said.

Marvin grunted what might have meant anything.

Anya stood up and walked around.  She supposed that it was good to know that she at least had a few days left to live.  Of course those few days promised to be filled with guilt and persistent questioning.  But somehow, that her victim knew that she had no desire to harm him made it all seem a little less unbearable.

Anya lay down on the bed again.  She tried to think of some way to occupy the uneventful hours but was largely unsuccessful.  It was not until the first rays of the sun began to rise in the sky that Anya finally fell back to sleep.

* * * * *

It was the most horrible scene imaginable.  Anya had already done what she had to do and she arrived at Thorne's castle only to discover that he had already killed Damani and Kallie.  Thorne was nowhere to be seen.  Anya held their bodies in her arms and screamed her rage.  She would kill him, rip his body and tear the magic straight from his soul when she caught him.

* * * * *

Anya lay on the cot panting, her face wet and her heart aching.  It took her a moment to realize that it had all been a terrible dream.  Lord Wildwood was still alive, and so were her siblings.  Thorne enjoyed tormenting her too much to kill them off so quickly.  He would extract every ounce of sadistic enjoyment out of it.  It had just been her mind pulling out her worst fears.