He couldn't think what might be happening to Sienna at this very moment. The horror would send him over the edge into madness if he let it take hold. Right now, he needed to figure a way free. But nothing would come to him. He'd been tossed in the back of this carriage, built like the slave-carts they'd seen in Kellswater but fortified with iron walls, not wood, from top to bottom.
He was still wrapped in the gold netting on the floor, the wagon rocking along at a steady pace. He'd managed to push the net away from his face to keep it from burning his skin though both hands bore crisscross hatching burn marks. He'd tried to find a weak link in the chain, but it was no use. They'd prepared for him, knowing his strength. And they were taking no chances, keeping him in the gold net till they reached the Glass Tower.
Sienna appeared in his mind-bound, gagged, and helpless. He yanked on the netting and pushed with his legs, only managing to burn his exposed hands and face again. He bellowed a fierce, harrowing yell.
He heard three hissing sounds on the wind and three thunks, then the wagon jolted to a stop. Confused that no one spoke a word, for he could still hear clearly even in this box of iron, he watched the door as footsteps approached. A jangling of the chain holding the door locked, then it flew open. For a moment, he couldn't make out the figure standing there with the first gray light of dawn throwing the person into shadow.
"Well, now, vampire. Seems we came along at just the right time."
Nikolai's pulse leapt with joy. He sat up to get a better look. "Deb? Is that you?"
"Aye. Roscoe! Help us here."
One of the men Nikolai met at the rally in Lobdell appeared, reached in, and hauled him to the edge, the gold netting still searing his skin. He and Deb went to work and found the lock tying the netting together.
"There were keys on that big one," said Deb. "Fetch them."
Roscoe disappeared.
"Where's Lady Sienna?" asked Deb, peering into the back of the cart.
"In Dale's Peak. Queen Morgrid's Legionnaires have her captive. I need to get there before-" He froze, ice racing through his blood at the sound of the morning lark chirping sweetly in the boughs above them. "Please get me out quickly. They plan to hand her over at dawn to some lord in the city. I must get to her."
"Hurry, Roscoe!"
He bounded back with two other men who looked familiar from Lobdell's gathering. "Here they are," he said out of breath, tossing the keys to Deb.
She tried one, and it didn't fit. She went on to the next.
"How did you find me? How did you know I was imprisoned?"
She scoffed. "We didn't. The night of the rally, there were reports of Legionnaires in the town attacking someone on the street. We didn't find them. Most of the recruits went on to report to Hiddleston, but I and a few others decided to stay behind and find the Legionnaires scouting our territory and attacking our people."
"That was me and Sienna they attacked in Lobdell. We fled to safety, but she wanted to rally for recruits one more time at Dale's Peak."
"And they trapped you there," she stated not as a question, figuring the rest out for herself.
"Yes."
She tried the fifth key, which snicked in the lock and turned with two clicks. The lock fell open. She and Roscoe removed the netting, releasing Nikolai for the first time since he'd been captured and bound in the widow's house.
"Thank the stars," he murmured and leapt to his feet, sweeping the area with his senses. No one else was in the near vicinity. He noticed the vampire guards in charge of getting him to the Glass Tower were crumpled on the ground with arrows sticking out of their chests.
"Gold-tipped?" he asked.
"Aye. Though we weren't sure when it would come, we've been preparing for this war for a long time."
The snow was thinner here. They'd traveled far in little time. The Legionnaires didn't need to take back roads and trails as he and Sienna had done, allowing the Legionnaires to move more quickly.
"Thank you." His voice cracked as he pulled a surprised Deb into a rough embrace.
"Aye. No need." She pushed away with a slap on his shoulder. "Now, go get your girl."
With a tight nod, he aimed north and ran.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Miranda finished wiping Sienna's last bite mark on her thigh with a wet rag. Sienna sucked in a hiss but still could hardly move on her own. Miranda dipped the rag in the water swirling red with Sienna's blood, then set the bowl aside.
"Let me help you sit up," she said, her pitying gaze flicking to Sienna then away as she pulled her into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.