Trial of the Thaumaturge (Scions of Nexus Book 3) by Gregory Mattix

Author:Gregory Mattix [Mattix, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-06T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33

Taren approached the dungeon cell, wondering if what he was about to do was the right decision. Surely, Irralith hadn’t earned any leniency, yet he didn’t believe the changeling to be truly evil—mercenary and opportunistic, certainly, but she had treated him well under the circumstances, considering his abduction had been the price of her own freedom, or so she claimed.

If I was put in such a position as she, would I have acted differently? He liked to think he would have but couldn’t answer that for sure.

The gaoler unlocked the cell and pulled the door open.

“I’ll be fine, if you wouldn’t mind waiting outside,” Taren said.

The burly man grunted something unintelligible but walked a few paces away and leaned against the wall. He began picking under his dirty fingernails with the tip of his dagger.

“You are about the last person I expected to see down here,” Irralith said. The changeling’s amber eyes glowed luminously like a wolf’s, reflecting the torchlight from the corridor.

“Yet here I am.” Taren stepped inside and regarded her silently a moment.

Irralith sat up straighter on the stone bench that also served as a bed. She held her head high and her shoulders back, although she made no effort to disguise her inhuman appearance with illusion.

“And what is it you wish of me?” she asked after returning his stare a long moment.

“I thought the humane act would be to remove that collar Nesnys placed on you. I can sense its magic—some kind of locator spell so you can’t escape her grasp, I would assume.”

“You would do that for me?” She looked puzzled.

“Yes. Queen Sianna will determine your fate, not I, but I don’t like the thought of Nesnys having such a hold over you and knowing your whereabouts. Let her have something new to worry over.” He gave her a faint smile.

Irralith regarded him silently but didn’t react when he approached her cautiously. She was shackled by an ankle to an iron loop in the wall. In such close proximity to her, he briefly recalled their dalliance in his room the prior night and flushed at the memory.

Taren reached out and gripped the collar at either side of her neck. As his mother had taught him, he snuffed out the enchantment by siphoning it from the collar. He felt the power swirl through him, a brief burst, then the cold iron became inert. Cautiously, to avoid injuring Irralith, he injected a wedge of force inside the locking clasp. The iron snapped and came apart in his hands. He lifted it free of Irralith’s slender neck and tossed it aside.

Before he could withdraw, she snared his wrist in her hand. Her grip was firm but unthreatening, and her skin was as cold as the dungeon floor.

“I thank you for your kindness, Taren, undeserved as it was.” Irralith held his eyes and gave a tentative smile.

He nodded and pulled his hand away. “Best of luck to you, Irralith.”

Once he was back in the corridor, the gaoler secured the cell door.

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