flame leaped to life. “Put the candle out through the bars and I’ll light it for you.” The voice was low and calm.
The fire sputtered and went out, plunging them into darkness again.
Another scratching sound and light appeared once again.
His fingers curled possessively around the stub of candle before he thrust it through the bars. The tip of the match touched the wick, flared, and then settled into a steady glow.
Carefully, he pulled it back inside. Enthralled, he stared at the flickering flame. It had been so long since he’d held a light this bright.
“Hey, are you hungry?”
His head snapped up and he bared his teeth. His stomach growled as he studied the person who’d invaded his small world. Was this some new ploy to somehow break him?
“Here.” The youth—because whoever it was, they were small and slender and the voice sounded young—reached into a pocket and pulled out a nourishment bar.
He wanted to lunge for it, but refused. Better not to want it only to have it taken away. He raised the candle higher and studied his visitor. Dark skin that was smooth in some spots and pockmarked in others. The shirt and pants were dirty but of decent quality. He wanted to say it was a young man, but something stopped him. There was something almost feminine about the way the visitor moved.
“How did you get in here?” he asked. The door hadn’t opened. He’d have heard it.
White teeth flashed. “That’s my secret.” The bar was unwrapped and tossed through the bars. His free hand snapped out and grabbed it. The wrapper was folded back up and stuffed back into a pocket. Smart. No evidence for the guards to find.
“Who are you?” he asked again. The bar in his hand was worth more than gold. It was small but packed with nutrients. He hadn’t seen one since he’d arrived here.
“Call me Del.”
“Del,” he repeated. His mind came up blank. No surprise there. “Do I know you?”
“No. Who are you?”
Frustration coursed through his veins. Pain pounded at his temples. He dropped the treasured bar and the candle to the ground and gripped his head. Why can’t I remember?
“Hey, it’s okay.” The voice soothed him. This time, the accent was gone and it was more of a lilt. It sank into his bones, past the fear that threatened to consume him.
It’s a woman.
That certainty filled him. He grabbed the candle, which was beginning to sputter, and sat it upright beside him. On his knees, he gripped the metal bars. “You have to leave. You can’t be caught here.” What they’d do to a woman didn’t bear thinking about.
She jerked back as though he’d hit her. “You’re worried… About me?”
“Women aren’t treated well around here.” The nourishment bar was lying on the stone by his knee. He grabbed it, bit off a chunk, and began to chew. The slightly nutty taste was pleasant and so different from everything he’d eaten in far too long.
“You really don’t remember your name?” Del totally ignored his revelation about her identity.
He shook his head. “I’ve been hit so many times it scrambled my brain.” He prayed that was all it was. That it wasn’t permanent. This wasn’t anything he hadn’t told his captors so he wasn’t worried about telling her.
“Shit. None of us considered this.”
He ate methodically, chewing each bite over and over until it practically dissolved in his mouth. Only then did he swallow.
“Do you have any tattoos or markings?”
Since he’d already checked and his captors had examined him, he shook his head. “No. You’re looking for someone?” Despair settled over him. “You don’t know me, do you?”
The shake of her head was hesitant, as though she didn’t want to disappoint him.
His head dropped forward and he nodded. “Thank you for the nourishment bar. You should go.”
“What do you remember?”
“What does it matter?” He slid closer to the bar, anger threatening to take control again. His emotions were all over the map, his usual restraint almost nonexistent. It was the flare of hope followed by the crushing disappointment. Better Del had never come.
“I need to know who you are.”
Prickles crept down his arms. The short hairs on his neck rose. “Why? Do you think a simple candle and food will break me when all the beatings and starvation haven’t?” It was actually a brilliant tactic. He was so hungry for kindness, for hope, he’d almost given in.
Her hands were fisted by her sides. Frustration or anger? It was difficult to tell.
“How long have you