pretended disinterest. In reality, he was eyeballing a map bolted to the wall behind a plastic window. A schematic of this facility, faded in spots, with the current level enlarged.
He nudged Kayda.
It took her a moment to follow his gaze. Her eyes widened. “Is that—”
He shook his head lightly. No need for anyone to know they were interested in the map that might lead them out of this tower to freedom.
“You heard, Jude. No talking!” one of the soldiers left to guard them warned, speaking for the first time. She also had the pale hair common with the Diamond folk. Cam would wager she had the ears, too.
Markus, thicker set than the others, had gray, curly locks and breathed more heavily as if he struggled more with the air. It wasn’t difficult to figure out why these people were chosen to work in the tower. The question was, what were they doing here?
Jude the traitor returned and gestured. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Kayda asked.
“Where I fucking tell you,” he snapped, grabbing her by the arm and yanking.
She uttered a cry of pain.
It was more than Cam could handle. He growled, “Get your hands off her,” and lunged.
The other two soldiers thought they could get in his way. He grabbed the female and swung her around to knock into Markus. Then Cam dove at Jude, grabbing the punier man around the neck and squeezing.
The bulging of Jude’s eyes and the gasping part of his lips did much to appease Cam’s annoyance. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to the fun part where things cracked.
“Let Jude go or the girl dies.”
The calm words broke through his anger, and he looked up to see a woman dressed in red—the material more stylish than the uniforms—threatening Kayda. She didn’t have the trademark pale hair or ears. On the contrary, her short-cropped hair was a vivid red, like her lips.
Cam released the choking man and stood. “Who are you?”
“I think the more interesting question is, who are you?” Stepping away from Kayda, she moved to Cam and poked at the hole in his shirt. “I’ve heard of a man, dark haired, big build, wanted by the Emerald Kingdom for a large reward. With the Lazuli offering an even bigger bounty.”
“You’ve described a good portion of the male population,” he drawled.
“But only one man has the ability to heal himself in what one might call miraculous ways.”
“As you can see, I’m injured and bleeding.”
“For now. Let’s see how you look in the morning.” The woman turned from him. “Put them in the suite.”
“The suite?” Jude exclaimed. “That’s for guests.”
The woman shot him a dark look. “Exactly. We are honored to have the Diamond Princess—or would that be queen?—visiting us. And her companion, who may or may not be Camden of Emerald.”
“Name is Titan. I’m a citizen of the Marshlands,” he said, lying through his teeth. He was a man of nowhere.
The woman sounded mocking as she said, “We both know you’re not the Tin Man. Lock them up.”
Guns prodded them into motion, and Kayda stuck close as they went down another level, through a large area set up for recreation, currently empty. Then Cam was shoved into a room.
When Kayda would have followed, Jude grabbed her by the arm. “Not you. You’re coming with me. Time you were taught some manners.”
The female soldier frowned. “You heard the countess. We’re supposed to put them together.”
“Later.” Jude waved off her concerns. “First, I’m going to have a chat with the princess in my room, and she is going to apologize and do something nice for me.”
Which was his not so subtle way of saying he would rape her. Kayda knew it, too, and her fear became a palpable thing.
Cam bristled and shifted to defend, but Markus shook his head and pressed the barrel of his gun on Cam’s chest.
Cam stared down at it. He didn’t care if he got shot. He couldn’t stand by and—
Bang.
Jude screamed and clutch at his leg. “Bitch! You shot me.”
The female soldier gazed upon him with dispassion. “Oops, my finger slipped. You should get that checked.”
“I’m going to make you pay,” Jude spat. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging to die.”
Bang.
A different soldier who’d just arrived, hair pale as snow but expression grim, shot Jude in the other leg. The new fellow grabbed him by the tunic and hauled him to his feet. “I told you before, no one threatens my wife. Let’s go. You’re done here.”
“No. You can’t do this to