I reached the side gate. My chest heaved heavily, my fingers trembled as I opened it. My gaze grew more blurry. But I couldn’t give up, if I did, Caroline would be caught.
Blood trailed along my path, my body wobbled from the amount of blood I was losing. The mark on my lower shoulder burned faintly now.
I dragged myself along the path, heading towards my cell. The air felt tense, I had a foreboding feeling that sothing was wrong. But I couldn’t pinpoint what. The path was mostly empty with no guards on sight.
My brows furrowed, I pushed forward. I reached my cell.
My bloody fingers curled over the rods of the cell as I steadied myself. I didn’t have the strength to stand straight anymore, not with the sharp stinging pain gnawing at my back and my vision spinning like a wheel about to fall apart.
But when I peered into the cell, a shaky breath of relief slipped past my lips.
"Caroline..." I murmured.
She sat on the floor curled in the corner with her knees hugged to her chest, her back facing . Her whole body flinched the mont she heard my voice.
I stumbled, nearly collapsing again, but I held myself up, dragging one foot in front of the other. "You’re okay," I whispered, trying to smile through the pain that twisted through my spine. "You’re safe."
Caroline turned around slowly, her eyes wide, her face stained with silent tears. Her expression wasn’t one of relief, though—it was one of worry. Her bottom lip quivered, and her hands trembled as she reached out to but didn’t touch.
I blinked at her in confusion. "What’s wrong?"
She didn’t answer. Just shook her head, like she couldn’t get the words out.
I dropped my gaze to the ground and spotted the key I had tossed earlier. I bent down slowly to pick it up, nearly crying out as a bolt of pain tore through my back. My hands trembled as I tried to get the lock open, but I eventually heard the soft click that signaled it gave way.
The cell door creaked open.
I reached out to Caroline, pulling her into a shaky hug. Her arms tightened around which made grimaced, she broke into sobs against my shoulder. I staggered back, confused at the intensity of her emotions.
"Caroline, it’s okay now," I whispered, trying to soothe her. "I’m fine. But you need to go now. I’ll stall if anyone shows up."
But before she could respond, the sound of slow, mocking claps echoed behind us.
My body went still at the realization that we weren’t alone. And soone had been watching us.
I turned around slowly, my stomach dropping.
Damon stood in the corridor, he clapped as he walked towards us, his tall fra obscured in shadows. Alaric stood to his left, and Lydia—Lydia—was just behind them, her eyes darting anxiously between the others. I couldn’t read her expression properly, and honestly, I didn’t have the strength to try.
The mont my eyes locked with Damon’s, a wave of dread crawled up my spine. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife and as cold as ice.
"Wow," Damon said dryly, still slow-clapping. "What a touching reunion."
I took a step in front of Caroline, ignoring the way my legs wobbled beneath .
"Where are you coming from, Ember?" Damon asked, his voice calm. That quiet, dangerous calm that always ant he was one second away from snapping.
I didn’t answer.
He tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing. "Where did you go?" His tone dropped, rougher now. "And don’t lie to ."
"I..." My throat tightened. I wasn’t even sure what to say. If I told the truth, I’d drag Caroline and Lydia down with . If I lied, he’d know. Either way, I’d already lost.
When I didn’t respond, Damon flicked his fingers. "Kneel."
The word made my heart skip.
I watched, helplessly, as Lydia slowly dropped to her knees. Caroline did the sa, her body trembling violently.
"Master, please..." I started, my voice hoarse, but he didn’t let finish.
"I wasn’t just talking to them," he said coldly, his gaze locked on . "Kneel."
My breath caught in my throat.
But I didn’t argue. My body was already at its limit, and there was no point pushing him further.
I dropped to my knees slowly, biting the inside of my cheek as pain shot through my spine like lightning.
Damon walked toward , his boots scraping against the floor, echoing with every step. He stopped right in front of , towering above like a storm cloud ready to burst.
Then he sniffed the air—and frowned. His brows drew together. He sniffed again, slower this ti.
Then he straightened up abruptly, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "I can’t sll you," he said, his voice sharp. "Why can’t I sll you?"
My heart hamred in my chest.
’I don’t know... don’t ask .’
It took him a second longer, but I saw it. The realization hit him like a lightning bolt. His eyes flicked to the cloak I was wearing.
His expression darkened. "A scent-blocking cloak?" he muttered, mostly to himself, before lifting his gaze back to , the fire in his eyes now unmistakable. "So that’s how you’ve been sneaking around."
"Master, I..." I tried to speak, but the look he gave silenced every word before it left my tongue.
He crouched slightly, his face now at my level, those burning eyes drilling into mine.
"Where did you get it?" he asked, voice deadly low.
"I..." I paused, unable to tell him that Caroline gave it to .
He shot a glance at Caroline and Lydia. "Who gave it to her?"
Neither of them answered. Lydia kept her head down. Caroline was crying silently again. Cold shivers rushed down their spine, their fra trembling like leaf before the storm.
"Don’t test ," Damon growled.
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