Braxton’s deep tones jarred me from my crusade. “I will help you, Jess.” His words eased some of my anger. He had a way about him, that man. “But for now we’re not prepared to rescue this many people. We’ll find the doorway again and the next time we will save everyone.”
Truth.
I stared up into the stunning blue of his eyes, a color that was one of my favorites in the world. I trusted his word. He meant what he was saying. But I could not sleep one more night knowing there were children suffering here. I could see by the set of Braxton’s jaw that he was struggling with it also; that was the soft heart which had brought him back into the prison to save a little boy. But he was also very practical, his logical brain telling him that the odds of succeeding at this mission was slim. So he was going to find another way, at a later date.
I understood the logic. I simply chose to ignore it.
“Okay, Brax.” I wasn’t really lying, I did see his point. “Let’s go then.”
Relief crossed all four of the Compass’ faces. If they weren’t so caught up in the danger here and the need to get to safety, they would be questioning my compliance. But, stupid boys, they were happy to take my word at face value. The only one who even cast a suspicious glance in my direction was Mischa. It had to be because we were twins, or she was thinking the same thing as me, because she did not know me well enough to know my ‘tells’ yet.
As we moved back toward the doorway, I forced myself to keep walking, closing my eyes so I couldn’t see the desperate supernaturals we were leaving behind in the cells. I mentally promised them that I would be back very soon.
Braxton caught my arm just as I was about to step back into the narrow tunnel. “Don’t pull any bullshit stunts, Jessa,” he whispered.
Innocence poured off me in droves. I hadn’t lied to him, he wouldn’t have scented the mistruths I hid in my heart. But clearly he had paid closer attention to my actions than the others. Damn Braxton, always so observant.
He kept a close eye on me, staying at the rear, although Nash was between us. The little boy wouldn’t get very far from Braxton’s side. It took us no time at all to make it down the ladder and through the sewerage system.
“Okay, we’re going to have to wait it out,” Maximus said when we reached the spot which would expel us back out of the prison. “The next guard change is not for another ten hours.”
Mischa leaned forward. “Won’t that be cutting it awfully close to the twelve hour time frame?”
Maximus pushed his hair back. “There’s no timeframe on exiting the underground area, but if we try to come back in again, the doorway will have shifted.”
He leveled a gaze on me, warning in his dark eyes. I tried to cover up the emotions flooding through me. He had no idea the gift he’d just given me. If I could time it perfectly I’d be able to ‘fall behind’ or something equally lame, and hopefully by the time they noticed it would be too late for them to get back through the doorway.
I was kind of nervous about being in here without their support and protection. But I reminded myself that this prison was legitimately run, the council was always here, my father would not let me rot if I was captured. I owed it to those poor people, whether dragon marked or not, to at least attempt to free them.
The hours passed slowly. Nash fell asleep curled up next to Braxton. It was obvious he was very used to sleeping on a hard stone floor. He never shifted to get comfortable. The conditions those people lived in … if they weren’t supernaturals they would have most certainly died from the cold, or disease.
Mischa used the time to chat with Maximus and Tyson, learning about our people, history, rules. All the little things she’d missed out on by not growing up here.
“So you find your mates through kissing?” She sounded intrigued.
Tyson snorted. “Not exactly … it can happen in any sexually charged situation. Which for some might be kissing. Others it won’t be until sex.”
“It’s been known to happen from a single glance,” Maximus added, his tone dry.
I leaned back harder, wiggling until I found a groove in the rocks. It still wasn’t comfortable, but I didn’t mind. “There were these two shifters who were sleeping together, and they kept saying it was just a casual thing. But strange enough, they were mates … for them the bond didn’t form until they moved past their denial and acknowledged their true feelings for each other.”
Mischa raised her eyebrows at me. “Was that our parents?”
I laughed. “I guess Mom shared that little story with you also.”