Chapter 30

30

Arya was uneasy moving about the fort with shadows after Priya found her. She would rather be in disguise, but that wasn’t an option. The way they had so easily gotten into the compound was frightening. Jai had been right. Getting in was easy. Too easy.

His lips moved close to her ear. “ There’s a room on the third floor toward the back on the right. Go there first.”

She followed his directions. When the shadows fell away, she saw the room filled with uniforms.

Jai didn’t waste time stripping off his blood-spattered shirt. “ Give me a moment. We can’t walk around while I’m in those rags.”

Her gaze followed him, watching how the muscles in his back rippled. But the raised white scars crisscrossing his back shocked her, making her heart skip a beat. He’d said he was tortured, but she hadn’t imagined…hadn’t wanted to believe. But the proof was there.

Should she mention them? Ignore them? What was the protocol? Dain never spoke about his scars. She had never dared ask about them, and he hadn’t volunteered any information. But Jai wasn’t Dain . For many years, he had blamed her for his captivity and torture. Had he cursed her? No doubt, he had imagined all the ways he could cause her pain. And she didn’t blame him for any of it.

Jai shucked off his boots and pants, then went to a table with a water bowl and turned on the tap. She belatedly realized he was using a cloth to wipe away the last of the blood from his body. Then he returned to the racks of uniforms. She ran an appreciative eye down his tight backside to his muscular legs.

He found some dark gray trousers and stuffed his legs into them, leaving the pants unfastened as he sifted through the black shirts until he found his size. He yanked one off the hanger and turned to her.

Arya had felt the strength in his arms, but now she got to see the impressive cut of his broad shoulders, the corded sinew of his arms and chest. Then lower to his chiseled abdomen. Her gaze slowly rose to his face. The heat in his eyes made her wish they were anywhere else. It had felt as if something were conspiring to keep them apart from the very beginning.

He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms for a fervent kiss. She tasted his hunger, his desperation. His need. It was an ache she felt to her soul. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with just as much passion.

The sound of someone approaching broke them apart. Jai yanked the shirt over his head, hurriedly tucked it into his trousers, and fastened them. He shoved his boots and soiled clothes into a corner to hide them, then found new boots and tugged them on. Before she knew it, he was in front of her once more, his arm wrapped low around her.

“ Time to cause some chaos,” he said.

Arya swallowed and forced herself to not look at his mouth. “ Where , exactly?”

“ We’ll have to stay outside the kitchen. It’s a large room. The ovens might be the best thing to take out.”

“ It’s too obvious. And they might be able to fix them.”

“ You have another suggestion?”

She grinned up at him. “ They’re like any place that feeds many. They need supplies. If they don’t have them, they can’t cook.”

“ By the gods, you’re brilliant,” he murmured, his gray eyes heating once more.

“ Milk and eggs should be our targets.”

He nodded while his hand flattened on her back and held her firmly. She felt his arousal against her belly. Her sex clenched with need. She had reacted like this the first time she saw him, and time hadn’t dulled her attraction.

Or her feelings.

“ The larder is on the northwest side of the kitchen.” A muscle jumped in Jai’s jaw as he stared at her mouth.

“ It needs to look like an accident. We don’t want to raise any suspicions.”

“ It would be better if we were in the kitchen.”

Arya shook her head and smoothed her hands over his chest. “ We can’t be seen inside.”

“ If you want an accident, the best way to do that is by someone’s error. A fall, a trip. Something like that.”

“ They’ll get blamed and likely harmed because of it.”

He met her gaze and nodded once. “ If our plan works, they won’t be hurt for long.”

“ And if we fail?”

“ That isn’t an option.”

Nay , it wasn’t. Shaldorn was a win, but it had come close to being a colossal disaster. Arya blew out a soft breath. “ An accident it is, then.”

“ Can you do that through the wall?”

“ Let’s hope. Ready ?”

Jai slid his gaze to the door. “ Perhaps we should walk. We won’t draw as much attention.”

“ I’m wanted, remember? And they think you’re dead.”

“ I doubt anyone will recognize either of us.” He slid his hand into hers, closing his fingers around her hand. “ Trust me.”

She leaned toward him, wanting another kiss. “ I do. I’d like to get closer first, though. The less time I’m walking the halls, the better.”

“ All right. Just remember, once we’re clear of the shadows, walk as if you belong.”

“ It unnerves me that we’re able to move about so freely.”

She listened as he told her where the kitchen was located and a safe place for them to arrive. Arya called up the shadows as he brushed his lips over her forehead. They didn’t let go of each other. They arrived in the secluded hallway Jai had described. Once they knew no one was near, Arya dropped the shadows. They separated and started walking away when a door behind them opened, and a female guard stepped out. Jai bowed his head in greeting as the guard passed. She didn’t look Arya’s way once.

“ That was close,” Arya whispered.

Jai grinned as they fell into step together.

They walked for a short distance before she asked, “ Why didn’t you get the coat to complete the uniform?”

“ Some will think I outrank them because I’m not wearing it. Others will believe I’m off duty. It gives us options if we need them. Plus , I hate the bloody things.”

Her grin died swiftly as Jai took her down one hallway after another. They all looked the same: plain stone with iron doors. Each had a small window to see inside the room, much as her cell aboard the ship had.

“ Were you in one of these?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

Jai nodded, and a muscle jumped in his jaw, letting her know he didn’t like being here any more than she did.

“ All of these hold elves?”

“ Most . A few are used for…other things.”

She swallowed, glancing in his direction. “ Interrogation ?”

“ Aye .”

“ Torture ?”

He paused. “ Aye .”

“ I don’t hear anyone. I thought there would be wails and screams.”

“ Their voices are taken from them.”

Arya tripped at the news, but she quickly righted herself. Not only were the elves yanked from their homes and families, but they were also stripped of freedoms, made to endure agonizing torture, and all without the ability to scream or shout because that small bit of liberty had been stolen, as well.

“ It’s a tactic used to break them,” Jai said.

What he really meant was that it had been used to break him . Tears burned her eyes. Arya blinked hastily to keep them at bay. He wouldn’t appreciate them. Not now. Nor did she want him to think she pitied him.

“ At least they don’t take children,” Arya said. All those on the ship had been adults. It was a small mercy.

Jai’s silence told her she was wrong.

“ Nay ,” she whispered.

He shot her a quelling look as they encountered more guards. They turned a corner, both quiet. Each door they passed held someone, maybe more than one. She hadn’t dared to ask how many. What she knew hurt too much already. The fact that anyone thought they had a right to take another and force them into servitude infuriated her. Her anger simmered, festered. No matter how long it took, no matter what she had to do, she would stop it all.

A door opened as they neared. Arya told herself not to look inside, but she did anyway. She saw two men. One was curled into a fetal position on the floor, and the other sat in a corner, staring off into nothing.

“ Don’t look,” Jai whispered.

But it was too late. She couldn’t unsee the horror within. Worse , she imagined the men were Jai .

Suddenly , she was pushed against a wall, Jai’s body blocking her from others. His pale gray eyes held concern as he searched her face. She turned away when her eyes welled with tears. Now wasn’t the time to give in to emotion.

She got herself under control and looked at Jai . “ I’m sorry you suffered so.”

“ I survived.” When she parted her lips to say more, he shook his head. “ We can’t think about any of that now. We’re outside the kitchen.”

The mission. She knew better than to forget her objective.

“ What do you need?” Jai asked.

She shrugged. “ Time .”

“ I’ll do what I can.”

He stepped away. She immediately missed his nearness, his warmth. Arya flattened her hands on the wall and reached out with her magic. The wall was thick, and while it absorbed her magic so no one could see that any was being used, that also meant it wasn’t as easy to wield.

She gave up after a few moments. “ I need to see inside.”

“ That’s risky,” Jai replied.

“ We don’t have a choice.”

He nodded and motioned for her to follow. Jai took her to the end of the corridor and around another corner. She heard the noise of people cooking and cleaning before she saw the large, open doorway. Elves were dashing in and out of the room with trays—some empty, others filled.

Jai didn’t stop until they were past the door. Then he motioned for her to lean against the wall nearest the entrance. He faced her and slid his gaze to the side, straight through the doorway and into the kitchen.

“ I see the larder,” he said in a low voice. “ There are two women near it.”

“ Keep describing things to me,” Arya urged, pushing magic into the stones again.

She let them absorb her magic this time before moving it through them along the wall and over the doorway until it was inside the larder, coiling and waiting like a viper. Jai’s voice guided her when someone went inside the pantry, mentioning who else was near it and what was nearby that could be knocked over or spilled.

When someone neared them, Jai’s voice raised slightly as he dropped his chin to his chest and begged for forgiveness, giving the impression that she was scolding him. It all happened so fast that Arya didn’t have time to do anything. Then , they were alone again.

“ There are three in the larder now,” Jai whispered.

Arya gave her magic a final push. A gasp came from the kitchen, followed by a crashing noise, cursing, and then panic. She halted her magic and straightened.

“ Come ,” Jai said.

They retraced their steps to the hallway, and she immediately called the shadows.