It had been hours, or perhaps several decades when the door to my maddening room finally swung open. A guard I had never seen stood on the other side. 

"You're free to go." 

He left without another word. It took me a few moments to realize that I was lying on the stone floor, gazing at the light that now entered the room. I managed to get to my feet, taking deep breaths when I stepped outside. I staggered along the corridor, grabbing on to the stone wall as best as my callously hands could. But there was no way I was leaving before I saw Zeph again. 

The moment I stepped outside the hallway, I spotted a couple of guards leaning near the doorway. I walked over to them. "Can I...see him?" 

One of the guards glanced at me with a raised eyebrow, while the other rolled his eyes, least interested. 

"The guy...you caught. The shadowcaster. Can I please..?"

The men exchanged glances. "You're the Lightwielder kid, aren't you?" 

I nodded. 

An odd look passed across their faces, and whatever was the reason, they allowed me to see Zeph. I was taken aback as one of them started leading me towards another dark hallway. This one barely wide enough for one adult man. The temperature there seemed to drop to negative as my teeth started chattering. The man stopped at pointed to the end of the hallway where I could see metal grills, illuminated by a dim light somewhere overhead. 

I walked over to the prison cell, each of my steps heavier than than the last. And even before I could see Zeph, I heard his voice. 

"Wasn't expecting a conjugal visit so soon." 

He emerged into the light, his characteristic smirk still plastered onto his face. I couldn't understand. How could he still be so cocky after everything? 

"What are they...doing to you?" 

He looked mostly unhurt. Although that could just be attributed to his unnaturally quick healing. 

"You need to get the fuck out of here before they change their mind," he said.

"Why do you care? I'm just a useless pawn to you anyway." 

He scoffed. "Get the fuck over it, Goldie," he said. "You came to us. In the underbelly. We just took an opportunity."

"So...its true?" I asked, hating how my voice sounded. 

"Yeah," he said, shrugging. "That's what it was meant to be atleast," he added in a low voice as he leaned against the bars, his hands gripping them. 

"But then...when you found out my dad didn't really care about me...I mean...you could've just disposed me off by then. But why didn't you?" 

"That would've been the smarter thing," he admitted. "At least then you wouldn't fucking sit here and ask me brain dead questions when I'm in a fucking prison." 

"Why didn't you then?" I asked, louder this time. 

He was quiet, his eyes endless voids of darkness. With the backdrop of the prison behind him, he looked intimidating, but I needed answers. 

"I couldn't do it. I...I should have. You wouldn't have been stuck in this mess. None of you would..." he sighed, leaning against the iron bars. 

"Why didn't you?" I repeated for a third time, moving closer to him. 

"It became...harder to stay away from you," he said finally. "And then...you told me that you'd fallen in love with me." 

"Do you wish I hadn't?" I asked, gripping the iron bars just below his hands as I leaned closer. 

"I was just...surprised," he admitted.

He didn't explain any further and I watched, my heart fluttering hopefully when his hands enclosed mine around the iron bars. "And I guess things became way more difficult than I expected when I...." 

"When you-?" I prompted, leaning my forehead against his and shutting my eyes, my heart yearning for him. 

"When I...felt...things. So much that it was terrifying," he whispered as my heart lunged painfully. And despite the situation, despite the fact that were in the womb of the earths surrounded by cold walls- I felt a warmth in my chest. "Sometimes...I wonder if my feelings kinda fucked you over. Pulled you into this mess." 

"Maybe," I admitted. "If I could do it all over again...I would still fall for you."

He chuckled. "Fucking cheesy, aren't you?" 

 I leaned closer to him, my lips finding his in a desperate embrace. He kissed me back eagerly, and although the yearning to touch him was physically agonising, I would make do for what I had. His mouth opened against mine, our tongues entangling. And for just a split moment, it was easy to forget everything else. He kissed me again and again, his tongue 

He sighed, "Not sure its safe for you to be here." 

"I can't leave you here," I said. "Tell me you have a plan to get out of here. Do your...shadow thing. Get out. Something." 

"I do have a plan," he said finally. "When they come to escort me for the execution-"

"Execution?" the air rushed out of my lungs. 

He nodded. "A public one. Its more of a political statement than anything else really. I can slip out, but Ill need you to cause a distraction." 

"Anything," I said automatically. "What do you need me to do?" 

"Go back to the underbelly. You have to find Sienna. Do you remember the girl you saw with me? At the brothel?" 

"Oh..." I had only glanced at her for a few seconds, with the eccentric make up and hair that everyone there had I wasn't sure I would be able to recognise her again. He seemed to understand as he continued. 

"Just find anyone there. Ask for Sienna. Tell her about me, my situation. Tell her tomorrow, she needs to repeat what she did. Before sunrise tomorrow, they're probably gonna make a spectacle out of it. So she has to be ready since the morning." 

"Sienna...is she the one who...helped you? With the bombings at the Carnival?" I asked. 

He nodded. "She and a bunch of other people. All you have to do is send her this message." 

"And...when she causes this distraction...you'll be able to slip out?" I asked. 

He nodded. "I will. But...you can't be there. I don't want you to get hurt again." 

"Okay," I lied. "But Zeph...what will you do? After you escape here?" 

"The reason I want to do this is so that the House would see that I alone am the one who is responsible for everything. They go through with the compromise. Give the others a citizenship as promised. And.." he bit his lip, "-well er, I haven't really thought about what I will do next." 

"You should...maybe stay with me," I said. "I mean er...if you want of course." 

"Depends on what...amenities I'm offer," he smirked before shaking his head. "I'm not going to endanger you again. But yeah, for now, lets just focus on-" he made a chopping motion on his neck, "-keep my head on my shoulders." 

Maybe some day, I would get used to his dark sense of humour. For now, I simply nodded.

"Ill find Sienna. Just...hold on, okay?"

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "Nah, I'm waltzing out man." 

I couldn't bring myself to crack a smile at his joke. Although I had always been afraid of Zeph being in the state that  he currently was in. It still felt surreal. I couldn't bring myself to think about what he would do, where he would go if he managed to escape. 

And what if he didn't? 

I shuddered. 

"Okay...I'll go now," I turned to leave, a strange discomfort in my stomach. I couldn't be nervous now. If there was ever any need to be brave, this was it. I turned back to look at him. He hadn't moved, his hands still gripping the bars. Was he not scared at all? Or just putting up a front? 

"I'll get you out of there, Zeph," I said, hearing my own voice in my loudly ringing ears. 

"Hell yeah," he said, groaning. "I ain't getting any sleep on this stone floor. And their food is way too bland." 

I walked back to him, reaching to place my hands on his. "I also hope that...you know that..." 

Why was it so difficult to say it now? Why was my throat clogging up with emotions?

"I do too," he said, leaning to brush his lips against mine. "Always have."

I nodded and stepped away, turning quickly so he wouldn't see the tears welling up in my eyes. I broke into a run, putting every ounce of strength I had left. I had lost a lot in my life, but there was no way I was giving up on Zeph so easily. 

                                                                                                           *

I had only ever heard the phrase, 'race against time.' It had always sounded enthralling, and yet now, when I myself was living it- I wished I didn't have to. 

I had only been to the brothel once. It had been terrifying enough. But if Zeph trusted them, that was good enough for me. Didn't look like I had much of a choice anyway. The rest of the hawks were imprisoned,  probably under surveillance. If I did go to talk to them, they would probably arrest me again. 

Maybe I was just imagining it, but even the underbelly looked different. Was it due to the looming threat of a lightwielder attack? Or were the dirty streets lamenting the loss of one of their most prominent gangs? I wasn't sure. But for the first time since the last many years, I felt afraid. 

I broke into a run as dusk fell rapidly. The sun turning a vivid scarlet to match my own bleeding wounds. I hadn't had time to tend to my minor injuries, there was no way I was going to waste a single moment now. 

The moment I entered the dingy alleyway, I stopped dead in my tracks. The suffocating silence bellowed all around me, no one was around beckoning to clients like they usually would. The silence was eerie a blanket of fear smothering the inhabitants. 

I made my way through the deserted street and towards the rundown building where I had seen Zeph emerge from what felt like ages ago. A wooden door greeted  me, no words or sounds audible anywhere. Had they left? Or perhaps just lying low?

I knocked on the door once, the hollow sound making my stomach turn in despair. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Silence followed my words. Something I had been expecting. 

"Sienna?" I called, leaning against the door. "Sienna, I need your help. Please. It's Zeph."

Silence, before I finally heard the door unlock and open an inch. A vaguely familiar face peered at me through the gap. 

"Zeph?"

"They captured him. The lightwielders. He will be executed early tomorrow morning. You need to...do something. Create a...distraction or...or...something. Please."

She pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on me before she nodded ever so slightly. "I'll...see what I can do."

She proceeded to shut the door and I immediately stopped her, desperation rising in my voice as I pleaded. "You have to do something. Anything, please."

Resolve seemed to form in her hazel eyes as they darkened. She nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder as if to placate me. "Don't worry. He'll be out."

She shut the door on my face after that, without any further explanation. I stared at it, my heart in my chest. All I had was her word. But Zeph clearly trusted her enough. But maybe, there was something I could do? I could create a distraction of some kind?

Or maybe there was someone, whom I could ask to create a distraction for me. And there was only one person in my mind.