The King's War

16. The Cell

AVERY

I woke up inside a dark room. The only light came from the wired glass window etched in a heavy steel door. I rolled over painfully and glanced around at my surroundings. The room was small and built like a prison cell without the bars. Blank, sterile, and only holding the barest of necessities.

My mouth was dry and my head throbbed with pain. With tremendous effort, I swung my legs off of the bed, causing it to creak ominously. My limbs felt heavy and my head spun as I rose. Every instinct told me to flop back down and sleep more, but what rational part of my mind remained said I needed to stay awake.

What was this place? I couldn't remember how I got here and trying to think caused my headache to flare up. Slowly, my foggy mind cleared and memories began to reappear. The sniper in black. Travis, dead. Rowan stopping me when I tried to run. The stabbing pain in my neck.

I rubbed the spot and winced. There was a bruise there now, and it stung deeply when I touched it. Rowan injected me with something. Whatever it was clearly responsible for my blackout.

Anger flowed hot through my veins as I recalled his betrayal. I'd given Travis a thumbs-up when Rowan approached, so certain that he'd never do anything to harm me. Well, my stupidity had apparently gotten a man killed. But how was I to know that Rowan had gotten involved with... what exactly? I had no idea where I was, who had me, or why.

The cot let out an ear-piercing screech as I forced myself to rise. My mind seemed clear, but my body still seemed to retain the effects of the drug. The short walk to the door was a monumental feat with my heavy limbs. I peered out of the small window and saw a brightly-lit, windowless room with white walls. A basement, perhaps? To my right was a staircase. To the left were two doors that led to rooms I couldn't see. They weren't reinforced like mine. Straight ahead was a weapons rack and a metal table, on which sat the black-clad sniper, cleaning his rifle with a rag.

His back was to me, so I couldn't see his face. But he was tall, with long brown hair tied back in a knot. My breath hitched. The sniper turned slowly and I ducked out of view, heart pounding. I didn't know why, but I didn't want him to know that I was awake yet.

Careful to stay out of sight, I pressed my ear to the door and listened. Someone came down the stairs. Rowan? No, the footfalls were much lighter than his. Who else could be involved?

The gun clattered as it was set on the metal table. "Hey babe," came the chillingly smug voice of Chase.

"What the hell did you do?"

The sound of that voice made my heart drop. My whole body trembling, I moved to peer through the window to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Chase sat on the table, looking satisfied as a well-fed cat. Next to him stood Lydia, looking livid with her hands on her hips. The sight of her was like a knife in my gut.

"I saw an opportunity and I took it," Chase replied evenly.

"You're going to get us killed!" Lydia argued.

He snorted. "The Duke will take care of it."

Lydia let out a small gasp of disbelief. She paced away, shaking her head. "The duke can't cover for you forever! He already has his hands full with your last mess, and now you're asking him to clean up another one? He won't let you go on like this, Chase."

I was more alert than ever now. Chase's last mess... cold Lydia be talking about the Empress shooting? Was that Chase's doing? It made a sick amount of sense. I'd witnessed his skill with a rifle firsthand. He'd robbed Travis of his life, and me of my freedom... and my innocence.