The men nodded, and then jerked as Lachlan appeared behind them without breaking down the entrance of their cage. Shadows swallowed them, and then within the blink of an eye, they stood before her. The men looked too pale and gaunt.
“Do you have enough strength to flee?” she asked worriedly.
“We will crawl on our knees if we have to. How will we escape this place?” The one she identified as Thyon asked.
Shilah glanced at Lachlan, instinctively reaching for his thoughts, and assessing his plans. “We will search every crevice for the weakest spot,” she said.
“And how will we find that?” Kamu muttered.
“It will be the place in the dungeons with the most guarded protection for the very fact it is the weak link. We will also need a witch. Several of the dungeon’s entrances are protected by enchantments.”
They nodded glancing at each other, lips firming in determination.
“My sister is on the third level of this dungeon,” she said glancing toward the Darkan. “I need her with me, please.” Then she sent him all the impressions gathered from Kala, even though Shilah sensed he did not need them.
And then Lachlan simply vanished and reappeared with her sister. Shilah stared at him helplessly. How was it possible to move with such speed?
Kamu and Thyon gaped, glancing at each other, communicating some message silently with their eyes. Instinct made Shilah read their thoughts, grimacing at their deep mistrust and fear of the being before them.
“Shilah!” Kala sobbed, rushing into her arms.
They hugged fiercely, and she peeked at him over her sister’s shoulder. “How did you find her so fast?”
The hard edge of his mouth softened into a small semblance of a smile. “You wish to know more about me, mate?”
She frowned at the rich underlying pleasure in his tone. To say yes felt like a trap she did not understand, and the pressure to understand what being a mate meant loomed with more intensity. And that she did not have time to process now. Instead, she replied, “Thank you, Lachlan Ravenswood.”
She pushed her sister from her and gave her a reassuring smile then made quick introductions. Shilah gleaned from Thyon’s thought he was struck dumb by her sister’s beauty for he hadn’t spoken, just stared at her. And confoundingly her sister blushed.
“I will travel ahead and ensure the path is clear. I will be twenty paces ahead at all times,” Lachlan said.
His voice was such a menacing rumble. Her sister paled, not looking in Lachlan’s direction.
“I know it can be unnerving,” Shilah said to her. “But I believe him when he says he will not hurt me. And he already knows harm to you will devastate me.”
Her sister nodded slightly, and
in that eerie way of his, Lachlan disappeared with the shadows, but Shilah could sense him ahead somewhere even if she could not see him. Everything felt so uncertain. They were not remotely safe, and while it had been relatively easy to escape the cages, escaping the depth of the enchanted dungeon would be a different matter.
Shilah moved forward, moving swiftly along the tunnel corridor, her sister and Kamu and Thyon keeping pace. As they hurried through the tunnel, the prisoners in their cages stirred, and she could see the aura of hope surrounding each pitiful body as they sensed an escape was underway. Ignoring the sorrow and the regret beating through her heart, Shilah flared her senses wide seeking the enemies and hoping they were not running into a trap. It occurred to her that she wasn’t as frightened as she should be, and she owned it to the presence of the Darkan. Her heart leaped at the awareness she trusted him with her safety.
A deep sorrow and agony pierced through the second level of her mental barriers, the emotions so sharp she stumbled, before faltering. Her sister almost ran into her back.
“What is it?” Kamu whispered, also grinding to a halt.
Without answering, Shilah turned around and went back up two cells. A young girl, a child really, clung to the bars of the cage, her grey eyes full of pain and fear, her lips sewn shut. Shilah brushed her mind against hers.
“Your name is Raven,” Shilah said softly. “You are eighteen years of age. And you’ve been in this dungeon for six weeks.”
The girl’s eyes widened, and tears spilled down her cheek.
“Yes, I can hear your thoughts.”
The girl's hand gripped the bars of her cage so tightly her knuckles turned white.
“Oh, please, please help me!”
Her cry of terror and desperation swarmed through Shilah’s thoughts. She read the torture she’d had to endure, the pain and degradation at the hands of the guards. “Your entire family is in this dungeon. Your parents and your younger sister.”