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104 - Enough Pretense, Enough Silence
Many Years Ago (Part 2.2)
ARAHEEN
Her father laughed, a slow, measured sound. “Did I not swear that I would find what would wound you most grievously?” He gestured toward the guard. “You do not wish for your precious sister to endure such torment, do you?”
“Aktaeon!” Nalini cried out.
“She had no part in this,” Aktaeon said, blood and spit flying from his mouth, his muscles taut. “She has never even slain a sylph in her life!”
The guard lifted Nalini and slammed her onto the rack without a hint of care, while another stepped forward to fasten her wrists and ankles. The female salamander’s heartbeat raced with fear.
“Then do her this favor,” her father said, his tone almost leisurely, “and reveal to me everything I seek to know about the Dragon.”
Nalini turned her head toward her brother. “We swore, Aktaeon,” she said. “Don’t tell them.”
“Ah, another defiant one,” her father remarked, t
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