Night Study

They formulated a basic plan, but more information needed to be collected before they could implement it. Satisfied, Valek ended the meeting, then he returned to his room to catch a few hours of sleep to prepare for another long night.

* * *

Under cover of darkness, Valek scouted the area near Mara’s apartment building. No watchers lurked in the shadows. Just to be safe, Valek looped around to the back, climbed up to Mara’s floor and entered through the hallway’s window. Leif had learned how easy it was to open a window and ensured the ones in his apartment had extra security measures installed.

He debated using his lock picks on the lock. But it was late, and he didn’t wish to scare Mara. Just to be sure, Valek slid his mirror under the door to check for intruders or ambushers. A small fire burned in the hearth and cast a warm amber glow on the furniture in the main living room. Seeing nothing amiss, he straightened and knocked lightly. After a few seconds, a shadow appeared under the door and an eye squinted through the peephole. He rested his hands near his daggers just in case.

The door swung open. Mara flew into his arms, squeezing him. “Valek! Thank fate!” She stepped back and blushed. “Sorry. Everyone’s gone and I’ve been in a panic ever since. I figured all my friends and family had been caught.”

He gave her a wry grin. “I’m not that easy to catch. Are you all right?”

“Fine. Do you have any news?”

Hating to disappoint her, he swallowed the sour taste in his mouth. “We’re doing—”

A bang sounded behind him. Valek whirled with both his daggers in hand. The door across the hall gaped open, and armed men spilled from the opposite apartment. Almost twenty soldiers fanned out—ten on each side.

His comment about not being easy to catch had returned to haunt him. With twenty against one, they would have it easy. Valek, on the other hand—not so much.

30

LEIF

Hungry.

So hungry.

His stomach no longer rumbled, it roared. It growled and dug its sharp teeth into his gut, insisting, Feed me! He lay listless on the straw pallet, trying to ignore the scent of warm sweet cakes a few feet away. It masked the acrid stench of slop pots and body odor. For now.

Torture.

This was torture.

Worse than pain.

With nothing to distract him, he worried about Yelena, wondered how long he’d last before giving in, and wished for his favorite beef stew, and cherry pie, and Mara’s pumpkin cake, and...

It’d been four days since Yelena was taken. Four days of sipping water and nibbling on a few bites of food to stay alive. Four days of silent discussions with the others about escaping. Nothing. They failed to find a weakness. A way out. Their one effort to grab the guards when they delivered the food had been a complete and utter flop.

By the fifth day, bouts of dizziness spun his cell, and his legs shook when he stood. He’d have to decide if refusing to become Bruns’s lackey was worth dying for. The scrape of the door roused him. Too soon for supper. He lifted his head.

Mara entered the jail with two guards on her heels.

His own woes disappeared in an instant as a cold knife of horror sliced right through him.

Leif surged to his feet and then grabbed the bars to keep from falling. “Mara...” His voice cracked in anguish.

Alarm and fear flashed in her golden eyes before she gathered her composure. She turned to the guard on her left. “You call this well? He looks half-dead.”

“It’s his own fault. He refuses to eat,” the man said.

An odd exchange. Perhaps Leif was hallucinating. He certainly hoped the bruises on her beautiful heart-shaped face were an illusion.

Mara stepped closer to his cell. “Leif, you need to eat. No more hunger strike. Okay?”

Her sweet scent washed over him. “Mara, what’s going on? Did they capture you?” he asked.

“Yes, but I worked out a deal with Bruns. He’s really not that bad.”

Another jab of pain pierced him. They’d brainwashed her, too.

“If I convince you to start eating, he’ll free you. Bruns promised that we’d work together at the Moon garrison. Quinn Bloodrose is there, and I can assist him with his glass creations.” She moved and reached her hand through the bars. “It’s the best I could do.”

He grasped it, twining his fingers in hers. Soaking in her warmth, he savored her touch as if it were the last time. “Sounds like you’ve given up.”

“Bruns’s men used the apartment across from us to ambush Valek.” She bunched the fabric of her skirt in her free hand. “Valek managed to...kill a couple of them, but they overwhelmed him. And I was...useless. Bruns is interrogating him now.”

The news of Valek’s capture slammed into him. Good thing she clutched his hand, or he would’ve collapsed from the blow. Valek had been their last hope.

“Start eating, please. For me,” Mara implored him.

“All right,” he said. “For you.”

She relaxed, then pressed her face to the bars to kiss him. Her lips opened and he deepened the kiss.

“That’s enough,” the guard holding her arm said.

She rounded on him. “I haven’t seen my husband in months.”

“I’ve my orders.”

“Fine.” She jerked her arm free and smoothed her skirt. Mara turned to Leif. “At least we’ll soon be together.” Mara said goodbye and was escorted out.

When the door clanged shut, he sagged against the bars. A thousand emotions ripped through him. Fear dominated. Not for him, but for Mara.