Chapter 35

35

Jai kept replaying his conversation with Priya in his head as he leaned against the wall and stared at the floor. Dain and Ravi had left some time ago. He didn’t know how long ago, and he didn’t care. His mind was on other things. Particularly , Arya .

Where was she? Why wouldn’t the stones give Yasmin her location? He knew about a lot of places in the fort, but not areas the Masters might use. Jai closed his eyes. Arya would be dead now if Priya didn’t need her. That gave him a smidgen of hope.

If only he had his magic. Instead of pulling on the hated band again, he curled his hands into fists. And to think he had spent years hating Arya , dreaming of ways to dole out his revenge. All because Priya had lied—lies he had believed without question.

“ You’ll go mad if you keep that up,” Yasmin said, breaking into his thoughts.

He met her gaze. “ What are you talking about?”

“ Thinking of all the ways you should’ve caught on to what Priya was doing and how you wish you could go back and change things.” She shrugged. “ We’ve all been there. There is no going back. There’s only forward.”

He shoved away from the wall and ran his hands down his face. “ It’s my fault.”

“ Nay , it isn’t. That falls to Priya . She’s the one who chose to lie. She’s the one who pretended to be your friend while forcing you into slavery because she wanted you to herself. None of what she did or the consequences of her actions—including Arya or us—has anything to do with you. That’s her.” Yasmin blew out a breath. “ Though I can’t lay the entire blame on her for everything. Ravi , Dain , Arya , and I are here because we dared to take a stand against these bastards.”

Jai shook his head as if maybe all of this was a dream and he might wake up at any moment. “ I need to fix this.”

“ There’s nothing for you to do right now.”

“ Because of this.” He snarled, yanking on the gold.

Yasmin sat back against the wall. “ Who are you, Jai ?”

“ Excuse me?”

“ It’s a simple question. Who are you?”

He gaped at her. “ I’m a Dark Elf .”

“ That’s your race. Who are you ?”

He threw up his hands in irritation. “ I don’t know.”

“ Aye , you do. You’re the elf who stayed alive in a cage in the falls with a monster waiting to devour you. You chose to take a stand and free Arya . You chose to align with us and take down the monsters selling others. No magic was involved in any of that.”

“ Elves are magic.”

She tugged on the end of her braid before flicking it over her shoulder. “ Magic is a part of your life, just as being a Dark Elf is, but it isn’t what makes you who you are. You’re much more than magic or your race. Would magic make things easier? Aye . But you don’t have it. The quicker you stop lingering on that, the quicker you’ll figure out how you’re needed.”

“ Can’t just tell me, can you?” he asked.

“ That would defeat the purpose.”

He briefly looked down at the floor. “ Thank you.”

“ You’re welcome.”

He cleared his throat. “ Have the stones told you anything?”

“ I would have told you if they had.”

He stared at her hard. “ Would you?”

“ Aye . Nothing would keep me from getting to Ravi .”

He blew out a breath and fell back against the wall again. “ I’m beginning to think the gods are purposefully keeping me and Arya apart.”

“ I don’t know her that well, but I can tell you that she’s smart and capable. If there’s a way out of a situation, she’ll find it.”

Jai slid his gaze to her. “ How can you be sure?”

“ Dain trained her. Even Ravi grudgingly admits how good the Dark is. Apparently , he’s very selective about who he tutors. Arya proved herself to him and demonstrated her talents to Ravi and me at Shaldorn . Dain sent her in undercover to that horrible place. I feared I’d never leave if I went back. And I nearly didn’t. She got me to a healer.”

“ Wait ,” he said. “ Did you say you returned to Shaldorn ? Does that mean you took part in the happenings there?”

Yasmin briefly looked away. “ I was tricked into going to Shaldorn as a child. I was a slave until I escaped.”

“ Shite .”

“ Exactly ,” she replied with a sad grin. “ My point is you need to have faith in the people you believe in. I’m not saying you won’t ever be let down, but there are times they’ll surprise you.”

Jai looked down at his torn shirt. “ I need to change.”

“ You’ll have to wait for Dain so he can take you.”

“ I know where to go.”

Yasmin shook her head. “ That isn’t a good idea. Priya is still out there.”

“ I’m well aware of that. She didn’t hang around when you arrived, though.” And why was that? She could’ve killed both him and Yasmin quickly. Yet , she hadn’t.

“ What are you thinking?”

Jai scratched his jaw. “ Priya made a point of intercepting Arya’s travel again and taking her face.”

“ Aye . To talk to you. That didn’t turn out as she wanted.”

It sure hadn’t. He frowned as he thought through what Priya had said to him once all the lies were uncovered. “ She’s trying to convince me to love her.”

“ She’s made that abundantly clear. You’ve also repeatedly refused her.”

“ The fort is huge, but we only have so much time until we’re found. Be it by Priya or others.”

“ Whatever you’re thinking, nay. We should remain right here. For all we know, Priya has help in searching for us.”

Jai twisted his lips and shook his head. “ If that were the case, she would’ve had others with her when she wore Arya’s face. Nay . Priya is on her own.”

“ That gives us an advantage.”

“ A slight one.”

“ It’s an advantage any way you look at it,” Yasmin argued.

Jai propped a foot on the wall behind him. “ Priya is always thinking several steps ahead. She might not know who all is here with me, but she’ll strategize for at least three. She removed Arya from the equation.”

“ Because she assumed by getting rid of Arya , you’d want her. You refused. Again .”

“ Which means she knows what I’ll do next.”

“ Look for Arya .”

Jai nodded, grinning. “ Precisely .”

“ What am I missing?” Yasmin asked, her brow furrowed.

“ Priya is beyond stubborn. She never gives up on something she wants.”

Yasmin’s face went slack. “ And she wants you.”

“ We can use that.”

“ How ?”

Jai hesitated, knowing Yasmin would balk at the plan.

“ Tell me,” she pushed, laying her arms across her bent knees.

“ You’re not going to like it.”

Yasmin held his gaze. “ I know nothing would stop me from finding Ravi if someone had him.”

Jai dropped his foot to the floor. “ Priya is focused on me. As long as I’m with all of you, she’ll continue making it difficult for us to locate Arya .”

“ You want to go look for Priya ?” Yasmin asked, her eyes wide in shock.

“ I do.”

She blew out a breath. “ That’s …nuts.”

“ It’s the only move. If she has me, you, Ravi , and Dain can get to Arya .” Neither of them mentioned that she might already be dead. It wasn’t something Jai would even consider. “ I’ll keep Priya entertained in the meantime.”

“ Then we’ll come for you.”

It wasn’t the best plan, but he knew it would work. He just wasn’t sure what the cost to him would be. Yet he would give anything for Arya to live and be free.

Yasmin put her hand on the wall. “ I can get you down the corridor a short way. You’ll be on your own after that.”

“ I can handle it. Dain and Ravi will be angry.”

“ It won’t be the first time. Just …stay alive until we can find you.”

“ I won’t hold you to that.”

She mumbled something he couldn’t hear and put her hand on the stone wall. “ Someone is coming down the northern staircase. More from the east and west. The hallway is clear outside our door.”

“ Thanks ,” Jai said, slipping quietly out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

He kept his head up and walked as if he belonged. He didn’t look at anyone when he passed them. He wanted to find Arya , and only one person could tell him where she was. The problem was getting Priya to talk.

After their last conversation, he might need to grovel before she willingly heard anything he had to say. But if Priya was truthful about the lengths she had gone to for them to be together, she intended to have another conversation with him. She was tenacious when she decided she wanted something. And it was rare for Priya not to get what she wanted.

He needed to find Arya , and Priya knew where she was. And if he knew how prideful Priya was—which he did—she wouldn’t stop until Arya was dead, and Jai either chose Priya or lost his life.

Jai sent up a prayer to the gods—who had been ignoring him of late—that he was making the right decision. He would give his very life if it meant that Arya could live. He didn’t know where she was or what the Masters might have done with her. She wasn’t dead. He would feel it if she were. And if she was still alive, then he had a chance to free her. Wherever she might be.

He couldn’t linger on thoughts of Arya and what torture she might be experiencing. It would only distract him from his purpose. He wracked his brain for where he might find Priya . She obviously knew more of the fort than he did, but she wouldn’t go somewhere he didn’t know or couldn’t get to. She would go somewhere that had meant something to both of them once. Somewhere he knew.

He lengthened his strides and headed toward the room they had been thrown into after Priya was beaten, and he had consented to become what the Masters wanted. How she must have laughed at how he so gallantly dropped to his knees to save her.

He climbed up three flights of stairs and took an immediate right. The corridor was long, stretching far in both directions. He passed others but continued to ignore them. If Priya had told anyone about her altercation with him, someone would’ve already stopped him. The fact that he still moved about freely reaffirmed that she’d decided to handle things on her own.

Jai took a right, then a left, before going up another flight of stairs. The hallway was short and led to a door on the right. He went through that and up a steep set of steps, pausing when he reached the landing to look both ways down the corridor. Then he turned right and silently started down the hall.

This was where the crew members stayed the few times they hadn’t been out on the river. The rooms usually remained empty since most everyone preferred to be on the ship rather than at the fort. His gaze went to the fourth door on the left. It stood partly open as if beckoning him.

He knew every inch of that room. He had counted every rock, had run his finger across the markings engraved in the very stones by those who had come before him, and plotted his revenge on Arya . It was where he and Priya had made a pact to always remain together. Somewhere he believed she was the only one in the entire realm he could trust.

Jai stopped before the door. He didn’t want to go inside. The only way Priya would ever stop was if she was dead, and he didn’t want to be the one to take her life. But he would. Priya had to be stopped, and it was up to him. He took a deep breath and slowly released it while sending a silent prayer to whatever gods might be listening that they keep Arya safe for a while longer.

Then he opened the door.

Priya stood near the far wall, tracing her finger over their names where they had carved them into the rock. “ I knew you’d come. This room binds us together as nothing else can.”

Jai said nothing as he looked right down the hallway and then to the left. The doors were closed on either side. That didn’t mean the rooms were empty, though.

“ I never knew you to be scared of anything.”

He swung his head to her and found she now faced him, wearing a grin. He thought about the gold around his neck, the waterfall he’d nearly died in, and Arya . Anger sizzled through him. “ You think this is a game?”

“ I think it is destiny. We’ve been thrown together time and again. Time and again, I figured out a way for us to remain with each other. Even now. You aren’t off looking for her. You’re here. With me,” she said, gloating.

Nothing he’d said earlier had stuck. Maybe he should be happy about that. If he could hold up the pretense. He raked his gaze over Priya and realized it wouldn’t matter what he said now. They were past the point of no return. She wouldn’t let him go, but if he could get the information about Arya from her, maybe the stones could tell Yasmin . “ Where is Arya ?”

Priya rolled her eyes. “ We’re not doing this again. I’m tired of talking about her.” Her smile was blinding. “ You came for me. I knew you would.”

“ I did come for you.”

She preened and took a step closer. “ It wasn’t nice of you to tease me earlier.”

“ Tell me where Arya is, and I’ll go with you.”

Her smile died a quick death. “ Dead , most likely. The Masters have her.”

“ You told them everything?”

“ Don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. “ I’m not that foolish. When I intercepted you two earlier, I merely put her in their path when I took her place. With you.”

“ That was an incredible feat. How did you do that?”

“ I’ve learned a lot during my time serving the Masters . There’s much I can teach you. All you have to do is choose me.”

The thought of touching Priya revolted him, but he reached out and took her arm, sliding his hand down until he held hers. He looked into her yellow eyes and thought about all the times she had lied to him. He thought about the betrayals and the years he had lost because of her. He thought of the pain Arya might be in. And he lied.

He lied for Dain , Yasmin , and Ravi . He lied for every elf he had ever ferried to the fort. He lied for the life he could’ve had. He lied for the love he had for Arya .

“ I choose you,” Jai said, the words clear and firm. “ For now, and always. I choose you.”

She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “ That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

It was the hardest thing he had ever done, but he suspected more would come. “ How do we get out of here?”

“ I wasn’t lying when I said the world could be ours. No one will dare stand in our way. Not even the Masters .”

Jai frowned. “ What do you have planned, Pri ?”

“ Everything .”

Jai saw the movement beside him too late.