Sadie

I came to with my hands bound in metal shackles behind my back, too tight for me to break, even with my strength. Whoever had tied me up was either incredibly cunning or had detained Wolves before. With my arms in such a position, shifting would probably rip me in two. I’d seen it happen and the thought still made me sick to my stomach—a soldier panicked during a training exercise and had shifted, tearing a whole arm and part of their torso off in the process. No amount of shifting back healed him of that—even Wolves don’t survive after losing a leg. He bled out in the forest of Highwick where we were training. I’d been thirteen at the time.

My feet were also shackled and a gag bit into the corners of my mouth. My head throbbed, an aching pain shooting out from behind my eyes, and I swore to the fucking Gods that if I passed out one more time, heads would roll.

I tried to focus my eyes and take in the room. It appeared to be an underground cave . . . probably a dungeon below the grand building above. The walls were all curving sandstone, the ground made of dark grit. The whole enclosed space was built along the natural rock formation apart from the iron bars at one end. No one guarded my cell. The only cell, it appeared . . . which told me this place didn’t make a habit of taking prisoners, not enough to need a whole dungeon at least. There was still a cell in the basement, though, so they certainly weren’t entirely benevolent either . . . and definitely not toward Wolves.

Sunlight shone from the long narrow stairwell up ahead, the only source of light. My snarl was muffled by my gag as I pulled my feet under me and tried to find a more comfortable position. I still only wore Navin’s shirt, the V of the neckline gaping to the point one breast was almost spilling out of it. I could have cared less about that; if anything, I’d rather have been naked than wearing anything of his.

More than the shackles, Navin’s shirt made me feel like I was actually trapped.

I heard a clank from up ahead and I honed my senses to the sound. Footsteps echoed on the stairs, the sunlight shadowed by the figure who descended the steps. My heartbeat picked up speed as I saw two leather sandals appear, then linen trousers, then a hand holding a skin of water. Those hands . . . I knew then who it was before his face even appeared.

I turned away from the bars, staring at the cave wall.

“?”

Navin breathed, his voice cracking. His pace quickened and he ate up the distance between us. When he reached the grating, he paused and let out a whistle—two long notes punctuated by two short ones—and the door groaned, the rusty hinges swinging open.

What in the Gods’ names was that? My heart leapt into my throat, my shoulders lifting in fear. Navin rushed to my side, spinning me to face him. His eyes were bloodshot and pleading as he untied my gag.

The second the gag left my mouth I spit in his face.

He frowned. “I guess I deserve that.”

“You guess? You’re married?”

I barked. It was the wrong first question. There were so many other more important things I should’ve asked first: Who the fuck are you? What is this place? Why am I chained in a cell? But the words flew out of my mouth before I could rein them in.

“We were young,”

Navin said, shaking his head. “We were coming up in the guardianship together in Olmdere. Two boys who looked Valtan in a town of Olmderians. He was my only friend and . . . as we grew older, we fell for each other. But then life and work pulled us apart.” He watched his hands as he uncapped the waterskin, seemingly unable to meet my eyes. “Our reunions became less frequent and less cherished until we realized we had grown into two people not meant for each other. That was many years ago.”

“How quaint,”

I snarled as Navin lifted the skin to my lips. I turned my head away and he reached for my cheek. I jerked farther from his grasp. “Now untie me,” I demanded.

“I can’t yet, but I will find a way soon,”

he vowed. “I’ll get you out of this. But first, here. Drink.”

I snapped out at him, trying to bite his hand before he snatched it away with a bitter laugh. “Esh.

“You’re going to bite me now?”

“You expect decorum from me?”

I hissed. “How about I tie you up and leave you in a cell until you have sand caked in every fucking crevice and then you tell me if I’m being unreasonable.” I kicked grit at him. “You’re a liar.” I tipped my chin to the bars. “And apparently a magic wielder of some sort. And you’re married. Apologies if I don’t believe you when you say you’re going to get me out of this.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him.”

I hated that he heard the venom in the word “married.”

It made me almost want to laugh. I was a soldier and a Wolf; I was used to brutality. I knew being his captive was far more pressing than the fact he had a husband, and yet I couldn’t let it go. Maez was right—I was the goddess of stubbornness.

“Humans aren’t bound to marriages the way Wolves are,”

I growled. “You have choices. You could’ve ended things.”

Navin shook his head. “I never had a reason to,”

he said quietly. “Rasil is the Head Guardian and I am one of Galen den’ Mora. It looks good to the Songkeepers that we are united if only for show. All my other lovers were quick passing sparks. They never knew who I truly am.”

Ah, there was the true question we were dancing around. I cocked my head, wishing I could gouge out his eyes and rip out his lying tongue. “And who are you, Navin Mourad? What is a Songkeeper?”

His eyes lifted to mine, and he whispered, “I am a keeper of the eternal songs.”

“How cryptic. What does that even mean?”

I glared at him. “I’ve never heard of such a sect.”

“As well you shouldn’t have. We worked very hard to make sure no Wolf had ever heard of us,”

he said. He frowned at the waterskin. “Please just drink and I promise I will tell you everything.”

“I don’t bargain with traitors. How long are you going to keep me here?”

I demanded, ignoring the offering of water again. I didn’t care that my throat was bone-dry. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “Are you planning on killing me?”

“No.”

His voice dropped an octave. He had the audacity to almost sound offended.

“It sure seems like your husband would like to kill me.”

I dealt him a bitter smile. “If he’s concerned I’m your lover, you can assure him you’ve never been between my legs.” My lip curled. “Nor shall you ever.”

“He will free you, . I just need time to convince him.”

I let out a rough bark. “Why should I believe anything you tell me?”

His eyes bracketed with pain. “Please,”

he said, lifting the water to my lips again. “Not everything between us was a lie.”

“That only makes it worse then,”

I snapped. “How can you open doors with a whistle? How did you survive that fall? How did you get behind us when we were trailing you in Taigos?”

How the fuck could you do this to me?

He waited, his mouth tight, his hands still hovering, waiting for me to drink. I scowled and took a sip from the skin. I had half a mind to spit that water at him, too, but my mouth was so parched and the cool liquid revived me. My body refused to waste a single drop and I gulped it down. When I pulled away, I leaned back against the cave wall.

Navin reached out and adjusted the shirt to better cover me.

“How chivalrous,”

I said, and he pulled away. “Now tell me, how can you do all of those things?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing again to the stairs as if afraid we might be overheard. “Magic.”

My eyes flared. “Are you a sorcerer?”

“Gods no,”

he said, one cheek dimpling. “I am just as I told you—a musician. It’s just that our magic is far more ancient than that of the sorcerers and monsters and even Wolves.”

My brows pinched together. “Wolves roamed this land long before the humans.”

He shook his head. “Your history has twisted the truth to suit your own beliefs.”

“And how do you know that yours hasn’t done the same?”

“I can take you to the library.”

He anxiously smoothed his hands down his trouser legs. “Once Rasil and his men are gone. I can explain everything.”

“Will you untie me?”

His eyes turned sad and I lifted my chin. “Ah. I see. You aren’t allowed to unchain me, are you? Did your husband order that, too?”

“I will convince him to let you go. Believe me,”

he implored, inching closer to place his hands on my shoulders. Fury burned through my veins. How dare he try to comfort me! This lying piece of shit. How dare he act like my friend when he had just imprisoned me. “I will talk to Rasil. He will learn that you aren’t a threat.”

My lip curled and I flashed him a wicked smile. “That, Navin, is where you are very, very wrong,” I said.

Before he could recoil, I lashed out, smashing my forehead into his nose. He let out a pained grunt as he toppled backward, and I followed, bowling him over as I rose to a stand. I planted one manacled foot on either side of his head, the chain crushing his windpipe. His eyes bugged as his hands scrambled for the chain at his neck. He scratched at my bare legs, trying to move me, his flailing growing weaker by the second.

I watched the panic and fear as his face turned bright red and his eyes rolled back, but I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t watch the life leave his eyes.

I ran through the still open door, leaving him gasping and sputtering in my wake. The chain between my feet was too short to get a good gait, but I stumbled and tripped my way up the stairs and into the open-air corridor. To my right, it led out into the heart of the heptagon to what appeared to be a tropical oasis, thin trails of waterfalls and lush greenery. To my left was the rolling desert and the road up to Sankai-ed. I bolted to the left, scrambling to keep my feet under me as I descended the steps and hit the burning sand.

Fuck it. I’d rather die being cooked on the hot sand than in the cell of this secret society. The second my feet hit the sand, however, two hands lurched up from below and grabbed my legs. I screamed as three more skinny bone-white hands appeared and pulled me downward. My shins disappeared into the hot earth as the hands pulled me under, grasping and groping their way up my body. I flailed and thrashed against the translucent fingers that clawed up my torso, the crushing sand rising to my hips.

“You see, my love?”

Rasil’s voice sounded behind me, and I twisted, spying him casually leaning in the tiled archway of the building just as he’d done the night before. Beside him stood a panting and bleeding Navin. Blood trailed from his nose, a bright bruising red line around his throat. “She’s only a beast.”

“She’s a trapped animal—of course she ran! Besides, we need her alive, you fool,”

Navin spat, not even looking in my direction. My pulse quickened even further. I’m just an animal to him, aren’t I? And what did that other part mean? Why did they need me alive? “Call off your samsavet.”

Rasil rolled his eyes and lazily picked up the long whistle hanging around his neck. He blew into it three short, shrill notes, and the hands released me. I wriggled out of the sand, falling face-first into the gritty ground, my hands still bound and unable to save me. I clambered to my feet and stood there, swaying, already dizzy from the heat as the two men stared at me from the shade.

“My samsavet patrols every corner of the guardianship border,”

Rasil said. “A mouse couldn’t run across the sand without her knowing. There is no escaping here without my say-so. Remember that, Wolf.” He said the word “Wolf” with such disgust, as if I were the abomination. I snarled back at him, and he only smiled and gave me a wink. “Now go back to your cage like a good little dog and we’ll bring you a treat.”

My eyes flared, and I was about to barrel headfirst into him, samsavet or no, when Navin cut him a sharp look and said, “Rasil, stop this. There’s no need to be this cruel.”

“Have you looked in the mirror, love?”

Rasil smiled as he scanned Navin’s brutalized face. “She just tried to kill you and you call me cruel?” He looked up to the cloudless sky and let out a deep, bellowing laugh. “Fine. Have your puppy love if you are so desperate to be killed by it. The Songkeepers leave for Allesdale in the morning. You will have two weeks with your pet to bring her to heel before we return.”

He looked me over and inclined his head. “But the samsavet will have no master to recall her,”

he warned me. “So make sure you have chosen death before you step on this sand again.”