XXVIII

Yoreno opened his eyes and for a moment, he just blinked away the sleep, feeling sore and wishing he could be in his bed back at the Roaming Lions, or perhaps even at his parent’s estate.

And then suddenly he gasped and sat up, the pains in his body making themselves known. He winced against them as he forced himself off of his filthy mat.

Glancing about, he looked toward the windows.

There was light.

Far too much light.

They had overslept!

“Wake up, you fools!”

“Gah!” Dorrin cried. “What is it—who’s coming?”

“No,” Yoreno said. “We overslept! Get up. Get up!”

“Oh gods,” Mai said, her arms still bound tightly behind her back. “The fog!”

Yoreno leapt up to the window ledge and pulled himself up. Holding his breath and straining against the effort it took to hold himself there, he glanced about.

Chains rattled as the Emblazoned Party moved around their confined space.

“What do you see?” Dell asked. “Is the fog there like I thought?”

Thank the gods, Yoreno thought and dropped down. He turned.

“Well?” Lev asked through a yawn as he rubbed his eyes. Are we dead or can we get out of here all ready?”

“Still not taking this seriously, I see,” Sorika said. She walked straight up to Yoreno and put a hand on her hip. “Well?”

He was unable to keep from smiling like an idiot as his heart hammered inside his chest. “We won’t be able to see the hands in front of our own faces.”

Mai’s eyes lit up. “That’s great! Now Sorika, get me out of here. I think my wrists are about to fall off.”

“You mean your hands?” Lev asked.

“Yeah!”

“Gods,” Lev complained as he slapped his thighs in a searching manner. “I feel so strange not gearing up while we ‘get ready.’”

“I know what you mean,” Yoreno said, then he slapped the thick-armed archer on the shoulder. “We’ll find the weapon crate.”

“Aren’t we going to split up?” Dorrin asked.

“Of course we are,” Sorika said as she worked the lock with her pick. It clicked and Mai’s hands came free. She pulled them into her lap and rubbed her wrists.

“They look horrible,” Lev said.

“They feel worse,” Mai complained. “My hands are so cold and stiff, I don’t know if I can do my magic.”

Yoreno didn’t waste time. He went to their water bucket and filled the small cauldron, then placed it back over the smoking embers of the fire.

“Come over here,” he said. “Quick.”

They helped Mai move to the fire. Lev put a bed mat down and Dell threw two furs over her back while Yoreno stirred the coals. He grabbed a few more pieces of firewood and set them over the hot embers.

“This is gonna take too long,” Lev said.

Yoreno glanced back at Mai. The heavy look of guilt in her eyes didn’t do anything to make him feel better about the situation.

“Wait,” Mai said with a frown. “Maybe I can heat the water.”

“Or shoot a fireball into the hearth,” Sorika said.

“Water first,” Mai said.

Yoreno stood back and she put out her hands. While conjuring with words, she made complex moves with her wrists and fingers.

Then she thrust them out.

All was silent.

“Did… did that do it?” Dorrin asked.

Dell put his hand near the rim of the cauldron. “Still cold.”

“I can’t do it with my hands so cold,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“Mai—Mai, it’s okay. Just… do your best,” Yoreno said with a smile. “The fire is here. It’s going to heat the water. There’s no harm in trying before then.”

She nodded at him.

“Now… do you think you could shoot a fireball into the hearth?”

With a guilty demeanor, she said, “I can try.”

“All right,” Yoreno said with a nod.

“You can do this, Mai,” Dell said.

Sorika, who was rubbing Mai’s hands and blowing hot breath onto them, pulled back to let her work her magic.

Again, Mai lifted her hands and called out an incantation as she moved her wrists and fingers in artful ways.

Something in her palms—it was light. It expanded into a bright sphere and then shot forth, exploding inside the hearth with a loud crack.

As the fire instantly flared to life, they all went silent, glancing about for any signs of voices coming from the guards.

But all was quiet.

“Now just a few minutes and that water will be nice and warm,” Sorika said. “You can warm your hands in there.”

Mai nodded.

“Hopefully the guards got nice and drunk last night,” Lev said as he glanced up toward the ceiling. Then he muttered. “I think I heard some raucous laughing.”