Never Yours ✔️

Ch. 30

The days passed by and all she could think about is Lara, alone and dying, perhaps already dead. She ran through everything she could remember in her head over and over again. She had no paper, no pens, nothing but her mind, and it wasn't enough.

Demian visited her every day with promises to get her out, but they both knew that it was far out of their control. And Serden didn't come back.

Arysa paced her cell. The books Demian had brought her did little to ease her. She was pent up with frustration and fear, and the little tidbits of information Demian provided her about the city and the war barely assuaged her worries.

She exhaled in frustration and tangled her hands in her hair. She needed to get out of here, but Serden hadn't come to see her and she doubted he'd believe her if she lied to appease him.

She'd made a mistake, a terrible mistake, getting locked up here. Queen Arla said she was Rahaida's only hope, and now their only hope was stuck trapped in a dank, dirty cell with only the rats for company.

"Lady Arysa."

Arysa jumped at the stern voice behind her. She spun around, her brows furrowing when she took stock of Velicity standing just outside her cell with a hard look in her eyes.

She hadn't heard her approach, but what surprised her even more was Velicity's use of her title. She had never called her by her title, only ever demoting her as 'princess'.

Something had changed.

Velicity lifted a hand and spun a ring of keys around her finger. Arysa's heart lurched.

"How did you get down here?" Arysa breathed.
"We don't have time for that." Velicity stepped up to the bars and inserted one of the keys into the lock. "It's time to get you out of here, princess."

Arysa didn't move, even as the cell door swung open at Velicity's hand and the spy stepped back to let her pass. Velicity raised a brow.

"You coming? Or are you gonna stay in there?"

Arysa lurched into action. Her footsteps were fast and determined, but Velicity kept pace easily.

"How much time do I have?" Arysa asked.

"Till dawn." Velicity's voice was grave.

Arysa grit her teeth and picked up her pace. She stepped over the unconscious forms of the guards on the ground and skipped steps on the stairwell until they reached the entrance to to dungeon. There she stopped.

"I need to get to Eklys." She turned to Velicity, who nodded.

"This way."

Velicity led her through the castle, keeping them out of prying eyes and away from the guards.

Eklys's door was unlocked and Arysa pushed through it to find him sitting at his desk in his nightclothes, writing in his journals. His head snapped up and he started to his feet.

"Lock the door." Arysa said. She brushed past Eklys into the room where she'd last seen Lara.

She let out a sigh of relief when she caught sight of the girl's form lying in the bed in the center of the bedroom. She checked Lara's vitals and felt how much energy she had left with mystic just like Lara had taught her. It wasn't good.

She only had hours.

So Arysa got to work. Eklys brought her paper and pen and she sat down on the floor of Lara's room and wrote down every last thing she could remember and every new thing she'd come up with in the cells. It was a poor excuse in comparison to the research Serden had thrown in the fire, but it was all she had and she had to make due.