Broken Skies

He’s been quick enough to dodge my strikes and could have hurt me easily if he wanted to do so. Besides, I don’t really have any other choices. “Okay,” I say. “Take me to my brother.”

Rym grins. “Ace!” A wink. “I’ll let you go in first though.”

TWENTY SEVEN

Rym leads me confidently through the empty halls until we reach a recessed silver door. He opens it with his kitu and steps to the side to let me enter. Once inside, I recoil, nearly knocking Rym over in my backward motion. Seeing my brother in my dream did nothing to prepare me for the actuality of his condition.

The ski

I rush forward and fall to my knees next to the bed, brushing strands of greasy red hair away from his face. Patchy facial hair covers the lower half, but despite its vivid red color, it does nothing to pull my attention away from the gauntness of his cheeks. I run my fingers over his forehead, his nose, his lips, silent tears streaming down my cheeks. What have they done to him?

Reaching down, I grab one of his hands and squeeze, flinching at the feel of the bones under his skin. “Jace. Wake up.” Not even a twitch. “Please. We have to go now.” Still nothing except for the slow rise and fall of his chest. “Please…” I rest my head next to his and whisper my pleas directly into his ear while stroking his cheek with the back of one hand.

A guttural moan finally passes his lips. I raise my head and lean over his face as his eyelids flutter and he moves his head slowly from side to side. “I’m here, Jace. I’m here. They won’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let it happen.”

“Jax?” The raspy noise is nearly unintelligible. “I thought I dreamed you.”

“You did, but I’m here for real now. We’re going to get out of here. Go home.”

The chains rattle when he tries to move a hand and he instantly tenses and starts struggling against his bindings. “No! You’re not really here. It’s just a trick. I won’t do it.” He squeezes his eyes shut and batters his wrists against the metal.

“Jace, stop!” Stop!

His eyes fly open and focus on my face. It really is you.

The sound of his words in my head shocks me, but some instinct in me recognizes the co

I thought I told you to get out of the city. He scowls and I recognize the expression that he’s given me since we were kids, the one he gives me when I don’t do what I’m told. I can’t help but smile.

And if you’d stuck around long enough to listen to me, I would have told you it was too late for all that. I give him an exaggerated eye roll. Besides, you know I never listen to you.

You’re such a pain, Sis. He grins. The smile is weak and there’s still darkness in his eyes, but it’s a relief to see the teasing twinkle there too. Now stop bawling all over me and let’s get out of here.

Rym speaks up from the doorway. “Jax? You might want to move things along here.” He steps forward into the room, into Jace’s line of sight.

My brother’s whole body tenses and he snarls, clenching his fists and thrashing at the restraints, his eyes glued to Rym. He’s one of them. Get away. What’s it doing here?

The barely coherent words pound at my head. I place one hand on Jace’s shoulder. “It’s okay.” A quick glance at Rym. “He’s here to help.”

“They aren’t to be trusted,” hisses Jace, his black hatred visible in the strain of every muscle in his body. “They lie. All. The. Time.”

Rym gives me an uneasy smile. “Good thing I decided to get you out first, huh?”

I let out a nervous laugh that sounds more like a grunt. “Yeah, good thing.”

Jace’s gaze moves from Rym to me. “It got you out. Out of where?”

Another nervous laugh. “From here.”

“You’ve been down here? They locked you up?” His nostrils flare with each shallow breath. He closes he eyes, takes a slow, deep breath and then focuses on Rym again. “It got you out.”

“Yes.” I speak slowly and Jace’s eyes find mine. “Rym is here to help.”

He tenses his jaw and flexes his hand a few times. “Okay,” he says, curtly. “Let’s go.”

I sigh in relief, a matching one coming from Rym. “How do we get these restraints off?”

Rym edges forward. “A little piece of tech I like to call a key.” He holds up a tiny silver key and points to toward the locks. “This should work.” He places the key in my hand and then retreats to the wall, quietly observing.

The key fits perfectly and I have the chains unlocked and unwound in seconds. Jace waves off my attempts to help him into a sitting position and swings his legs over the side of the bed and pushes himself up with one arm. He wobbles for a moment, but quickly regains his balance. Eyeing Rym, he rubs at his wrists for a moment before turning his attention to me and putting his arms out. I fall into them, wrapping my arms around his waist as he runs one hand over my head.

His ribs poke me in the side and the hand on my back has a slight tremble. He is dirty and he smells horrible, but I just press closer to him. After everything I’ve gone through to get him back, this one hug from my weakened but still whole, still living, brother is more than I’d ever dared to hope for.

TWENTY EIGHT

It takes time for Jace to gather enough strength to stand and take a few feeble steps around the room. He stumbles and Rym straightens off the wall, but puts his hands up and leans back when Jace glares at him and snarls, “I don’t want your help.”

Rym doesn’t offer again and Jace spends most of the next twenty minutes stumbling around trying to get his body to cooperate.

Link with me. That’s another thing, except for turning down his help, Jace refuses to address Rym directly and insists on talking to me only in our heads. If you co