Of Sea and Stone (Secrets of Itlantis) by Kate Avery Ellison Read Free Book Online

guards wear.”
    “Forcing them into service?”
    Nol shrugged. “Making them slaves, making them soldiers. I don’t know.” He turned his face to the opposite wall and refused to say anything else.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    I needed to relieve myself. When the guards came to bring food, I told them, and one took me down the hall to the toilets. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and I barely knew the girl with dark shadows under her eyes that looked back. My whole body felt broken down, empty, and listless.
    When I exited the washroom, I caught sight of a retinue of men marching through the gleaming corridors. At their head was a man with curly black hair, a straight nose, and piercing eyes. He was handsome, but in a predatory way. I stared at him, transfixed.
    Something about him seemed familiar.
    He turned and caught me staring. His face creased with anger.
    “Who is she?”
    “She was taken at the surface,” the guard said, paling under the man’s wrath.
    “Take her away immediately,” he ordered, and I was hustled back to my cell.
    Only moments after I’d been shoved inside, another guard came and ordered both Nol and me onto our feet. They bound our hands, and then we were marched through the corridors to a new cell, this one smaller and darker than the other one. My stomach clenched with fear. My fingers trembled, and I squeezed them into fists so tight that my knuckles ached. The wal¬ls were too close. The ceiling was too low.
    Nol and I sat in opposite corners, not speaking.
    I closed my eyes and thought of Perilous. If I stared at the lights in the ceiling through my eyelids, I could almost pretend that they were the golden lights my mother had described. But I was not in Perilous, and I was not free.
    “We have to jump, Kit.”
    We were almost to the edge.
    The bright lights swept over us, catching us, and then the men were upon us. They dragged us apart, shoving Kit back. He stumbled, and his grip on my hand slipped.
    “Kit!” I screamed. “Jump, Kit! They’re taking me!”
    He reached the edge and whirled, his eyes searching mine.
    “Find Perilous and I’ll find you,” I shouted.
    I opened my eyes and sat up as the memory washed over me.
    I would find Perilous if it was the last thing I ever did.
     
     

CHAPTER NINE
     
     
    MYO FOUND US several hours later. He slipped into the cell and untied our bonds. As soon as his hands were free, Nol hit him across the face, knocking him down. As Myo rolled on the ground, Nol scrambled for the door.
    Myo was up faster than I could even suck in a breath. He grabbed Nol’s arm and threw him against the wall. Nol slammed into the hard surface and slid to the floor. Myo stalked to his side and jerked his head up by his hair.
    “Listen to me, surfacer,” he hissed. “You need to learn to cooperate if you want to survive.” He looked at me. “There’s been an order for your execution. I’m trying to help you. You’re going to do exactly as I say, understand?”
    Execution . My blood felt like ice; the world froze. I sucked in a sharp breath.
    Nol glared at him through slitted eyes. “Execution?”
    “Her, not you. But you won’t die,” he said to me. “Not if you listen to me and do exactly as I say.”
    “Why am I going to be executed?”
    “The commander of this mission ordered it,” Myo said. “Apparently he ran into you in the halls. You saw his face, and he doesn’t want to be remembered.”
    “I don’t know who he is,” I whispered. “I couldn’t—”
    “It doesn’t matter,” Myo said. “He wants you dead, so if we don’t act now, you will be.”
    I looked at Nol. “What about him?”
    Myo shrugged. “Who knows? With his attitude, he’ll probably be thrown overboard in another day. I’ll be back in an hour with clothing. You’ll put it on and come with me, understand?”
    He moved to leave, and I grabbed his arm.
    I didn’t want to be alone.
    “Take him too,” I whispered, for Myo’s ears only. “Please.”
    I had no