Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,48

right thing, and I couldn’t. Or at least Talon couldn’t. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t do whatever in my power to ensure Vander survived regardless of what happened to me. “Okay,” I murmured. I forced my arms to my sides to keep from wrapping them around Talon’s neck and assaulting him with kisses. Regardless of the origin of his words—blood bond or not—they’d made my heart swell. I swallowed hard and shoved down the emotions. I had to focus now. I could deal with my blossoming feelings for Talon later. “Are you going to knock the door down, or should I try my magic?” I whispered.

Delacroix had said Thax didn’t sleep with guards in his room, but there had to be a whole slew of narkins watching their most-valued prisoner.

“Let’s go with the more discreet approach. The less guards we wake the better,” he replied.

“You see, I told you you’d need me. What would you have done without my magic?”

“I would’ve brought Ella instead.” He tossed me a satisfied smirk as I cursed him in my head, taking back all the warm and fuzzy thoughts I’d had about him a second earlier. I hoped some of my nasty expletives would bleed through the bond.

My magic already skimmed the surface of my skin, and it only took a second to summon my power. Ever since I started studying the mystical arts, it had become much more accessible. It was the warlock powers that were still fickle.

I snapped my fingers, and the iron bolt across the wooden door clanked open. I froze, the blood icing in my veins. So much for being quiet. Next time I’d have to add a silencer to the incantation.

Talon was stiff beside me as we waited for the telling footfalls of approaching guards. Ten seconds. Twenty. A minute. Nothing. He nodded, and I dipped my head in return. Gingerly, his hand came around the rusted door handle. He wiggled it, and the door swung open.

I held my breath.

Talon crept forward, then craned his head back and mouthed, “Wait.” He peeked his head into the dark space. A flash of silver streaked across his irises as his pupils lengthened to reptilian slits. The snap of talons breaking through flesh made my skin crawl. I took a step back because I knew what was coming next. Talon’s leathery wings snapped out, fanning across his back to encompass the doorway. He took a few more steps until he disappeared from view.

My heart smacked against my ribcage as I counted the seconds he was gone. I reached thirty and upped it to sixty. When I reached a minute, I decided to give him one more. If he wasn’t back in two, I’d go in after him.

I counted down the remaining seconds as anxiety ate up my insides.

“All clear.” Talon’s head poked through the doorway, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Holy hell, Talon! You scared the crap out of me,” I whisper-shouted.

“Sorry.” At least he had the decency to look sheepish as he reached for my hand. “Come on, I think I found the cells.”

I followed him through the narrow opening, walking on the balls of my feet so the heels of my boots wouldn’t smack against the concrete. The glimmering orb floated over our heads, the dim glow lighting the way only a few paces in front of us.

The harsh scent of sulfur wafted to my nose the further we traversed the corridor. From the moss crawling up the rough-hewn walls, musty smell and gigantic cobwebs lining the corners, my guess was we were in some sort of basement—or dungeon more likely. Didn’t all warlords have dungeons to hold prisoners?

Talon pointed around the corner and lifted two fingers. Then he shook his head, and his face went blank. There are two narkin guards asleep in front of a door around the corner. It’s gotta be where they’re keeping Vander. His voice echoed across my mind and again, I wished I could answer him. Instead, I just nodded. I’ll go first and immobilize them. You watch my back, but do not come in until I give you the signal. Got it? I nodded again even though I was dying to go with him. I could totally knock out one of the narkins with my kickass witchfire ball.

Talon lifted his hand in front of my face and mouthed, “Stay.”

What the heck, was I his Goldendoodle?

I leaned against the wall and watched as he tiptoed toward the sleeping guards, their long elephant-like