My legs ache and my lungs burn as I sprint down the spiraling staircase, passing landing after landing. I question if I should stop and check the floors above, but something deep inside me knows my father won't be there. Cyffreds are no better than caged animals used to entertain and gratify their captors. The cells on the upper levels are too good for them. Esmeray would cast the Cyffreds to the deepest level of hell.

The thought sends warm tears trailing down my cheeks—a jolting reminder that I have a purpose. The pain these Cyffreds have endured, the heartache felt by families who have lost loved ones to this place, and the sacrifices the Lucent soldiers make tonight won't be for nothing. I will deliver my father home or die trying.

The soles of my boots hit the bottom floor and the force of it pushes the air from my lungs. I catch my breath and take in the long corridor. Tiny circular lights glow from the ceiling, but they don't flicker like the lanterns and candles found in Lucent. This light is constant, like the sun. Steel bars line the walls and dirty, weary faces stare out from between them.

"Shit," I whisper.

The cells are no bigger than large crates used to transport livestock, and they don't smell much better. The people locked inside are living in waste, sleeping on the hard stone floor, and I doubt they are properly fed. In fact, they're not living or even barely surviving. These Cyffreds are dying.

"What are you doing down here?" I spin around, and the large man stalking toward me pauses. Vines curl around his arms and legs, clinging to the leather of his uniform. He looks into my eyes with his black irises and hisses, "Cyffred, how did you get out of your cell?"

I shrug. "I don't know; maybe you forgot to lock the door."

Vines with three-pointed leaves uncoil from his body, like snakes ready to strike. I turn to run, but the stems whip at my skin, grabbing my ankle and pulling. I crash to my stomach, slamming my chin to the ground. The plants reel me in, dragging me across the ground as I dig at the floor, unable to find a grip.

I glance down my body at the vines clenching my leg and my panic ebbs. I may be a Cyffred, but I'm not defenseless. Flipping onto my back, I hold out my hand and take control of the Pianti's gift. The vines obey my silent command and spring back to the warrior. He jumps, shaking his legs and cursing, but the limber stems climb up his calves, over his torso, and around his neck. At my order, they squeeze, restricting his airway. The warrior claws at the vines, gasping for his next breath, but they hold firm, digging into his skin.

I scramble to my feet as he crashes to the ground. His lips are blue, body limp, and his eyes stare blankly at the ceiling. With no time to dwell on what I've done, I rip my gaze from him and bolt down the passage.

The hallway is silent...lifeless. I peer into each cell where hopeless Cyffreds watch me, but none of them belong to a familiar face. Every person I pass is like a punch to my gut—a reminder of my limitations. I shouldn't leave any of them behind, but my mission is clear—I'm here for one. The rest of these desperate souls will have to wait for now. I swear, one day I will set them free.

I reach the end of the hallway, place my hands on my head, and spin in a slow circle. Despair washes over me. No one promised me this would be easy, but I never considered it would be so fucking hard. I was positive he would be down here, but I'm at another dead-end.

A youthful face pressed against the bars next to me, bringing me to a stop. I lean in close, narrowing my eyes. "Rose?"

"Raelle?"

Rose is a shell of the beautiful girl I remember. I was once envious of her gorgeous red curls and the way the sun left golden kisses on her nose and cheeks. Gone are her voluptuous curves, replaced with tight skin, clinging to every bone of her body. Leif's ex-girlfriend is a dull and withering version of herself.

She sinks to her knees, and a hiccupped sob burst from her mouth. "Oh Raelle, I should have never left Lucent."

A sharp pain emanates from my chest—my heart breaking for her. She is so pathetic in her broken state, like a beautiful, exotic bird with a broken wing. I skink into a squat so we are eye to eye and place my hand over hers, wrapping around a bar.

"I will get you out of here," I promise, praying it will give a sliver of hope.

Several more sobs rattle her fragile frame, and she shakes her head. "I thought this would be better...easier. They don't let you leave. You don't want to be here, go home. Don't let them take your gift."

"I won't. I'm not here for that; I need to find my father. Do you know where he is?"

"They are going to put you in a cell and send you to work their fields and farms. The second you tell them you want to leave, you will end up down here with us until they can send you away to be their slave. There is no way out; death is our only hope. Don't do it. Don't do it." She sits back on the floor and rocks back and forth, chanting her warning.

"Rose, I need your help." She doesn't respond, lost in her own deteriorating conscious.

I slide onto my ass, press my back to the bars of her cell, and stare up at the ceiling. It was asinine of me to think I could pull this off. What business do I have trying to save anyone from this place? I'm just a stupid girl whose only value lies in the stone hidden in my leg. I shouldn't have left Kyron; he would know what to do.

"Who is it you seek?" asks a gruff voice.

I look into the cell across from me, where a willowy man is huddled in the back corner. Like the rest of the prisoners, he wears soiled rags and filth covers him.

"I asked who you seek, girl."

I clear my throat and answer, "My father, General Abrum Mansi."

The man crawls froward, his wrinkled face covered in a long brown and gray beard. His piercing blue eyes peek out from under heavy lids, looking me up and down. "Are you the girl Micha chose to be the future queen?"

I scoff at my incompetence as a leader; the very thought of me ruling anything is ridiculous. "That's his hope for me."

"Esmeray keeps your father as a pet. She chains him to her throne. There is no way you will reach him; you're better off going home, Your Grace."

Again, my heart rips down the center—a bloody, jagged mess of my emotions. My poor father is chained like a dog to our enemy's throne. Only the worst kind of evil could contrive such a disgusting scenario. I can't leave him like that; I won't. It doesn't matter that I don't know how I'm going to get to him; I didn't come all this way to turn back empty-handed. I owe it to everyone who got me to this point to try.

Standing, I brush the dirt from my armor and say, "I appreciate your concern, but I'm not leaving without him."

The man nods and slinks back to his corner. "So be it, Your Grace."

My legs move of their own accord, racing toward the staircase. I need to get to Kyron; he can help me find a way into Esmeray's sanctuary. Perhaps if we hide for a day or two, tensions from our attack will die down and we can sneak in. This isn't a lost cause. We will rescue him.

I leap onto the first step but fall short mid-air. Massive arms wrap around me, pinning me to a broad chest. I struggle to get loose, kicking and scratching, but my captor holds tight and laughs.

"She is a lively little thing."

"I wouldn't have expected any less." The pale complected Electro from upstairs steps in front of me. He's a little worse for wear, with a gaping, burned hole in his breastplate, but he survived my attack.

I double my efforts to break free and reach for my sword, screaming, "Where is he? Where is Kyron? Kyron, help!"

The Electro clicks his tongue and steps closer. "Now, now, Lucent princess. I think our queen will be most delighted to see you. She has been expecting this visit," he says, pressing his callused palm to the side of my neck.

Igrit my teeth and wait for him to show any sign of his gift, planning to rip it away and use it against him again. He holds my stare with his, one side of his lip twitches. The lightning zaps me, bolting through me and never giving me the chance to rein it in. My body spasms with a searing pain and I'm drawn into darkness.