The comfortable spot for me to lay my head wound up being a bundle of musty straw in the far corner of a tiny dungeon cell.

Time passed slowly, marked only by the slow and steady drip of water somewhere nearby, and the occasional shift change of the guards as a shaft of light pierced the heavy darkness when the door at the top of the stairs opened.

Eight guard changes so far, with a sentry posted right outside my cell. Preston clearly wanted to keep a close eye on me.

Not that I stood a chance of escaping. Hours…or maybe days ago, back when I’d had the strength and one of the guards had nodded off, I had prowled the edges of my cell in search of a weak foundation or wall, but found no such thing. Du Monde had fortified the cell walls, which was no surprise to me. I’d still tried to think of a way out, but the thirst, even more than the gaping hole of hunger that was my stomach, had sapped every ounce of strength I’d had left.

The next time I’d fallen into a fitful sleep, I was so weak, I idly wondered if it would be my last, only to have the guard outside cut that thought by dousing me with a bucket of icy water. Now, I was soaked through and shivering, but I’d managed to squeeze the liquid from my clothes into my parched mouth. It was a tiny but oh-so welcome victory. One that I clung to as my teeth chattered. One that rejuvenated me.

“Drink up because that’s all you get for a long while. We’re told to feed and water you only a few times a week, just enough to keep you alive. Can’t have you getting too comfy in there, can we?” the guard mocked, holding up his dim lantern and banging the hilt of his sword on the iron bars of my cell.

“Bite me,” I hissed through my chattering teeth. It was only when I bit down to stop them that I realized it wasn’t just my teeth vibrating.

The wall I was leaning against seemed like it was shuddering.

“Oh, sweetheart, don’t tempt me,” the guard muttered. “If I wasn’t under such strict orders not to lay a hand on you, I already would have warmed you up nice and good.”

But as chilling as his words were, I barely heard him over the pounding of my heart.

I laid my palms flat against the wall behind me and tried to focus. A moment later, there it was again. A very distinct tremble.

A tiny nugget of hope burned like an ember in my chest as I swallowed hard.

“Strict orders, hey?” I replied to the guard, managing a harsh laugh as I pushed myself to my feet. “Another little lap dog to a false King…a ruler of nothing but a bunch of dim-wits,” I shot back, amping up the volume of my voice as much as I could.

If the motion of that wall meant what I thought it meant, the more distracted my captor was, the better.

“Yeah, he’s the one who’s gonna make me rich when we take your sister’s throne. I hear the palace boasts treasures of the like we’ve never seen. Jewels the size of a man’s fist.”

“He’d have to be clever enough to find those and I’m one hundred percent certain you’re all too dim-witted to ever puzzle it out.” The stones behind me trembled again, this time enough to make a crackling noise. Luckily, the guard picked that very moment to bang his sword against the bars again.

“The tongue on you,” he spat, “should be cut out of your pretty little mouth.”

“Empty threats,” I replied as another vicious bout of shivers shook me, making me sway weakly on my feet. No way I was giving up now. If Anaya had sent soldiers to save me, I needed to do whatever I could to aid them in their attempt. Breaking in while the guard was on the other side of the iron bars stood little chance of success. He’d run and get more guards before me and my would-be saviors could get out.

I needed to get him to open the door somehow and I needed to do it now.

The vibration of the wall behind me shook my fingertips and I broke into a fit of coughing, which only barely drowned out the sound of crackling rock raining to the floor.

“Christ almighty, don’t choke to death, bitch, or His Highness will have my head on a pike.”

I ratcheted up the coughing, each wracking sound ripping through my chest and throat like fire. With a silent prayer that I wasn’t pulling the trigger too early, I stepped away from the wall and doubled over.

“Ah, for fuck’s sake, woman. Stop it. I’ll give you some water if you’ll stop,” he muttered.

Dimly, I heard another spray of pebbles hit the ground and I pitched forward, landing hard on my knees as I ceased coughing and began to choke and gag.

I felt like I was truly going to pass out from my efforts when I heard his low snarl.

“Son of a bitch.”

The jangle of heavy keys sliding into a lock rang in my ears and my whole body tensed. This was it. My one shot, whether the wall came down or not, and I had to take it.

Better to go down fighting than to give up.

When the warm light of the lantern fell over me, I rolled onto my back, clutching my neck as I resumed coughing.

The guard bent low and reached for a bladder at his hip. “Stop it, now, take a drink.”

He dragged me up to sitting, uncorked the bladder, and pressed it against my cracked lips.

I took a greedy sip and then another, straining to hear more sounds from the outside even as I tried to get a bead on the guard’s sword. If I could just get my hand close to it--

“Ah, you smell better than you should after three days locked in here, woman,” he growled, leaning in and inhaling a deep breath of my hair and neck.

I was just about to make my move when another spray of pebbles rained down. The guard stilled and then jerked upright.

I gathered the last of my flagging strength and lurched upward with him, driving my knee into his crotch with all my might.

He bent at the waist with a high-pitched wail and clutched at his groin. Not wasting an instant, I rammed my elbow into the back of his neck.

He toppled to the ground in a heap at my feet, just as the wall behind me gave way. Debris flew everywhere and I turned away to shield my eyes from the blast.

Dust swirled in the air, backlit by the early morning sun. I blinked furiously, trying to adjust to the light, but a moment later, the sun was eclipsed. I craned my head backward, gasping at the sight of a massive bear. His thick, auburn coat gleamed as he bared his teeth in a roar so fierce, it made the tiny room tremble. His familiar brown eyes caught my gaze and he lowered himself to all fours as he stepped over the rubble.

The guard let out a whimper as he rolled onto his back. His last words were a prayer as Titus’s talons rent him in two, like a knife through butter.

The bear’s great chest heaved as he turned to face me once again. With a sob of relief, I fell into him, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his massive chest. His scent enveloped me like a blanket.

“Titus,” I sobbed, tightening my fingers in his fur. “You have no idea how good it is to see you. I’m so sorry I left.”

I felt his cool nose against my cheek. He used his snout to push me away. His gaze regarded the iron collar on my neck.

“Mathias,” I said, tapping it once.

The fury reflected back at me was almost chilling and I was grateful to have this fierce beast in my corner.

“I look forward to driving my sword into his gut,” a low voice growled. “The lying bastard.”

Pulse leaping, I looked up as Eryk and Dimitri stepped through, their expressions fierce. They were both armed to the teeth, their belts heavy with swords and knives, full quivers and more bows than needed strapped to their backs.

They looked positively formidable, with their cloaks billowing around their legs, as they found their footing on the rubble and sought me out in the lingering shadows of the cell.

I threw myself in their direction and they caught me, holding me for a moment before pushing me back so they could look me over. Eryk took my hands and inspected my arms. Dimitri grabbed my chin and turned my head from side to side.

“Did he hurt you?” Dimitri breathed, eyebrows drawn together.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” I said, but I knew by his expression that my face and body bore witness to my suffering.

When he discovered the bruising around my neck, his lips curled in a snarl. “This comes off,” he said to Titus, who was still in his bear form, “now.”

Titus approached and, without fear, I tipped my head back. Dimitri held the collar as far away from my throat as he could manage as Titus pinched it between his teeth. His jaws snapped closed and the iron broke, falling with a clang to the floor.

I rubbed my neck and groaned with relief.

“I know you’re weak, love, but we’ve got to get you out of here,” Eryk urged. “A ship full of your sister’s soldiers caught up with us at sea. Apparently, your message was received right about the same time her frantic search for you turned up a spy in the palace; a stable boy who had been collecting information for the Du Mondes. Once pressed, he confessed that it was Preston and his brother Mathias behind the kidnapping and that they had planned to bring you to their stronghold. They are awaiting the rest of her forces, which are but hours away. This place will be under heavy siege before noon and we need to get you gone before that happens.”

A low voice chimed in from behind Titus, making my blood run cold. “You’ll be gone, all right. Have no fear of that.”