Defying Infiniti by RACHEL HETRICK

Author:RACHEL HETRICK
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Via Veritas Vita Press
Published: 2021-03-25T00:00:00+00:00

“One step at a time, Princess. One step at a time.”

There was no exact method to tell the passing of time. The best way she’d found was to count the times the soldiers brought meals. That was, if what they brought could even be considered a meal.

Nine times they came, bringing with them slop in a bowl and stale bread. Armannii told her that when he’d lived at the Dark Castle, the prisoners had been brought food twice a day. Using that information, she estimated they had been there at least four or five days. After every fourth meal, a soldier came and emptied the bucket.

Ellayne tried to use sleep to pass the time, and every once in a while she was able to; however, the old lady muttering or little feet scraping along the floor—which signaled the presence of rats—woke her up.

Most of the time she sat against the wall, her head tilted back against the cold rock. She was sitting like that when she heard footsteps coming down the winding staircase to the dungeon.

“It’s too early for another meal,” she whispered, and Armannii grunted as he straightened in the cell next to her.

“You’re right.” After a beat of silence, he said, “It’s only one person.”

His unnatural elf hearing was right. A few moments later, a torch peeked around the corner, carried by a soldier. He wore the armor that all the Dark Soldiers wore, complete with a shiny black helmet that covered his face. Or, she supposed, the soldier could’ve been female. She wasn’t sure what the rules were in regard to the Dark Soldiers.

“Quite a situation you’ve got here, Mannii,” a distinctly male voice said from within the helmet.

Armannii’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that name?”

“What? You don’t recognize me?” The soldier put the torch in a holder on the wall and held out his arms to the sides as he faced Armannii’s cell.

Ellayne stayed still where she was, listening to the conversation but staying as inconspicuous as she possibly could.

“You’re wearing a helmet like all the other drones,” Armannii said. She could see he was tense, ready to spring up at any moment.

“Well, I suppose I can break protocol for a moment”—the soldier raised his hands, lifting his helmet off of his head—“for an old friend.”

Armannii leapt to his feet. “Matt?” he whispered with wide eyes. “Is that you?”

The soldier put his helmet on a stool near the stairway and sauntered over to Armannii’s cell door. “It’s been a while,” the man said, leaning against the bars. He was younger than Armannii, possibly somewhere between Ellayne’s and Kade’s ages. His hair was dark, but it could’ve been because of the lack of light. He had a round face, but not in a chubby way. She was sure he was strong underneath all of the armor, if his neck muscles were any indication. However, he stood closer to Ellayne’s height.

“How are you here?” Armannii asked, grasping the man’s hand, which the soldier had put through the bars.

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