Page 48 of Cold Hearted
Taking her hands in mine, I squeezed them, offering her comfort. “I know I have no right to ask this, but I need you to trust me. If I can get this collar off, I promise you I can free all of us. I’m powerful enough.”
She had no idea what I was capable of. No one in this camp did, but they were going to find out.
She cast a worried glance toward the cell bars. A crowd was gathering in front of the platform they’d erected. The auction was going to start any minute. We were running out of time.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, there was a spark of fire in their depths. She nodded once. “What do you need me to do?”
A wave of gratefulness for this winged fae hit me hard, and my own eyes started to dampen. Despite everything that had happened the day before, she still trusted me. I couldn’t believe that I had ever thought less of the unseelie. Alexandria’s heart was bigger, and her bravery shone brighter than any seelie I knew.
“Sit in front of me and block me from view,” I said, and Alexandria immediately moved into position, flaring her dragonfly wings slightly to hide me.
I got back to work right away, twisting and turning the nail like I was taught with a lock-pick set. Sweat collected along my hairline and down my spine as the minutes ticked by and the crowd in front of the platform grew. I couldn’t see much of what was happening, but eventually I heard an unfamiliar male voice welcoming people to the auction and explaining the rules.
My fingers started to cramp, but I knew I was close to freeing myself and the other girls, so I ignored the discomfort.
“The small one with the green wings is first,” I heard one of the guards shout. “Get her from the cell. Then the little fawn-looking one.”
Alexandria swung her head toward me, panic clear in her gaze. And Moira, the little fawn-looking one, burst into tears. The same emotion bubbled up in me, but I kept it from my face, not wanting to freak her out anymore.
“Stay strong. I’ll free you. Ipromise,” I said as the door to the cell swung open and the guard yelled for her and Moira to come forward.
I gave them both an encouraging nod and then ducked behind one of the other girls. Squaring her shoulders, Alexandria moved through the other fae in our cell, her head held high. A bolt of pride shot through my panic at seeing her bravery in action.
The guard roughly grabbed her arm when she was close and hauled her out of the cell, with Moira right behind her. I had to lock my muscles to keep from jumping up and running over and throat-punching him.
I’m going to save her. I’m going to save them all, I chanted over and over in my head as she was led away.
The auctioneer started talking about Alexandria, telling the buyers that even though she didn’t look like much, she would surely make a useful slave. I had to tune him out to concentrate on my task, closing my eyes and remembering the teachings of Master Duncan to feel the tumblers inside the lock and wait for the catch before jerking the tool.
Finally the lock caught, and I froze. Ever so gently, I put pressure on the nail and the collar snapped open and fell to the ground. I picked it up and held it in my hands.
“Sold!” the auctioneer shouted, announcing Alexandria had been purchased.
I stood from my crouched position, feeling my sunlight magic flowing through my veins, strengthening my weakened muscles and revitalizing me from the inside out.
My skin glowed, and the women closest to me gasped and shuffled away.
“Don’t be scared,” I told them, and then raised my voice enough so that the rest of the fae in the cell could hear me. “Everyone move to the back wall. I’m getting us out of here.” The commotion from the auction was loud enough that my voice didn’t carry beyond the bars.
I was met with matching looks of concern and fear.
“You’ll get yourself killed,” Nysa, the green skin and haired tree nymph, hissed.
I pulled my power forward, feeling it fill every part of me, and I knew my eyes must be glowing, because Nysa and the other women obeyed me and started to shift away from the front of the cell. I strode confidently forward, my magic dancing off my fingertips, eager to be released. I had to smother my power so that I was no longer glowing and held the open collar around my neck as if resting my fingers on it and trying to scratch the skin there as we often did.
“What’s going on in there?” a guard said, noticing that the girls had all pushed to the rear, leaving me at the front of the cave. I waited for him to unlock the door, open it, and venture a few feet into the space without locking it behind him. “You there, the troublemaker,” he said, pointing to me. “Get over here. You’re next.”
I smiled as I walked forward, and I could tell the unafraid look on my face unnerved him. He reached forward to grab my arm and I dropped the collar, striking out with my fist. It connected with his nose, crushing the bones there, and I followed up with a jab to his throat that left him breathless.
I could have ended him immediately with my magic, but I wanted to work out the aggression in my muscles on him first. He was the guard that had groped Alexandria. He didn’t deserve to die quickly.
Dropping to his knees, he gasped for air, his eyes wild with shock. Grabbing his arm, I twisted, popping it out of joint, and then snapped the bone. The gruesome sound was like music to my ears. He tried to yell in agony, but he was still struggling to suck in air and didn’t make much of a noise.
Bending down, I whispered in his ear, “That’s for Alexandria.” Grabbing his head between my hands I twisted again, breaking his neck and ending his life. “And that’s for me.”
I heard the group of women gasp behind me and looked over my shoulder. Some of them still crouched in the back in fear, but others had moved forward, seeing that the tide had changed and were ready to fight with me, but I shook my head.
“No. Stay here. I’ll kill everyone and then we’ll all leave together.”
