Aidan knew he needed to get Rhianna out of there. The problem was he didn’t know where to go, nor how to get her there in her weakened state? He could carry her without a problem, but how would they hide from the sorceress? Or how could he challenge Theodora without putting Rhianna at risk to suffer the consequences.

He could take anything the sorceress doled out . . . anything except seeing Rhianna hurt.

He didn’t want to push Rhianna too hard—she was human and had just been through a horrific experience. But something told him there was no time. He stepped from the bed and reached for his sword, forgetting it didn’t travel with him when he shape-shifted.

Theodora threw open the door and charged inside. She touched the ring on her right hand and brandished the scepter at him. The sphere glowed white. It was the first time he’d seen it turn any color but blue. What did that mean?

Rhianna straightened in his arms, her expression stoic despite the pain he knew she was in.

“I knew you would come for her,” Theodora crooned.

Suddenly, the walls and floor of the room began to move. The individual bricks shifted and rotated, moving and shifting into different positions like a colorless kaleidoscope. Both he and Rhianna were thrown off-balance, knocking their shoulders together then falling to the floor. Rhianna landed on top of him as the room settled into what appeared to be a dungeon.

With her open palm extended toward Rhianna, Theodora picked her up and sent her sailing into another cell across the hallway. Rhianna slammed into the wall with a moan. The door shut with a loud clack, and a key magically turned to lock the door before floating into Theodora’s hand.

Rhianna staggered to her feet and cursed as she ran to the door as best she could. She grasped the iron bars. “Let us out!1 Let us go home!” she yelled.

Theodora smiled, her lips peeling back from her teeth. “What’s mine stays mine. Unless . . .” She paused and glanced back at Aidan, as if considering something. “Unless you’re dead.”

Aidan narrowed his eyes at Theodora. What was she going on about? More than tired of Theodora’s games, he stood and charged after her, trying to grab the staff from her hands. 

Theodora lunged forward and aimed the scepter at Rhianna. A lightning bolt shot from the orb and pierced Rhianna’s chest. Her eyes rolled up in their sockets again as she collapsed—again—to the damp floor. Her heart had even stopped beating. Aidan’s superhuman hearing could detect the silence.

“No!” Aidan shouted.

Theodora let Rhianna remain where she was, doubled over on the floor, in a cell across the hall. “Watch her rot, Guardian.”

“No! Do anything you want to me, just bring her back.” He frantically searched his brain for a way to appeal to Theodora, something to offer in exchange for Rhianna’s life and freedom. “Take me instead. Let her go home.”

“I already have you,” Theodora snapped, her face glowing. “And you had your chance.” She slammed and locked the metal cell door, a cage made up of heavy, thick bars. “Too bad. It would have been so much fun to have watched you in battle. It’s all about the game,” she mumbled as she headed for the door. “All about the game . . .” She turned with a swish of fabric and disappeared.

“Rhianna,” Aidan bellowed as he darted to the cell door. He grabbed ahold of his own bars and looked over at her fallen body. A wild, ferocious growl ripped from his lungs. Then he too a few deep breaths.

Calm down. Think.

He glanced around to find there were no windows. He beat his fists on the walls. Were they solid, or could this all be an illusion Theodora had created? Pain shot into his hand, and his knuckles came away bloodied.

This was no illusion. His gaze settled on the metal grid of the doors. Could he squeeze through in his eagle form? He gritted his teeth in determination.

Changing to his eagle, he chose one of the lower sections to try slipping through. He got his head through but his shoulders hung up. The space was too small. He compressed his wings against his body. Damn, he still didn’t fit. He pushed forward, wincing as shoulder feathers tore free. He took shallow breaths, looking across at Rhianna, who was still unconscious on the floor.

He needed to hurry.

Exhaling the air from his lungs, he pushed his body harder, squeezed smaller, so much so that his shoulder broke with a snap and his wing collapsed under the force. He clenched his jaw, trying to distract himself from the agony of the break.

At last, able to squeeze his broken body through the square space, he came out the other side into the hall.

Breathing hard but not willing to stop, he repeated the process of going through Rhianna’s cell door. It would be quicker this time, since his wing was already broken; it was only a matter of enduring the pain.

In her cell, he immediately took his human form again and began CPR. His broken arm was practically useless, but he stretched her out on her back with his good arm. He positioned his good hand on her chest and began compressions. Leaning over her, he placed his mouth on hers, breathing for her and forcing air into her lungs. He repeated the sequence several times until she responded with a sharp gasp. Her eyelids fluttered, and she filled her lungs several more times, then looked at him and smiled tremulously.

A wet, throaty laugh rumbled through him, he was so relieved.

At last, he collapsed against the wall, pulling her to him. He had never felt anything better.