Maya trembled against the guard’s chest, her wide eyes brimming with tears. The knife at her throat glinted in the flickering candlelight, and fury surged through me like an inferno barely contained.

“Easy there. No need to do anything rash,” I said, forcing calm into my voice as I tried to defuse the situation.

The guard’s glare was venomous, sweat glistening on his brow as he snarled, “I know what I’m doing, beast. Stay still, and I won’t hurt her. Tell the other animal to stand down!”

His tone dripped with malice. From the corner of my eye, I saw Dominicus tense, his hand on his sword trembling with the urge to draw. Ignoring the slur, I placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Easy. We don’t want to do anything hasty,” I said evenly.

Dominicus exhaled a slow, deliberate breath and, after a moment, let his hand drop. The guard sneered in satisfaction. “Good. Now here’s how this is going to go. You, freak with the cloak, release my friends. After that, you’re all going into the cell. Once you’re safely locked away, I’ll let the girl go.”

A strange itch crawled at the back of my mind, an insistent, probing sensation.

What the hell?

He is lying, Time said, his voice grim. The feeling you are experiencing is a skill granted by Karma. You can sense when someone lies.

I fought the urge to rub my face, instead schooling my expression into a blank mask.

Why didn’t this work with Silas?

It would’ve saved me a world of trouble knowing that shitheel was a lying snake from the start.

His power is illusion-based. It clouded your judgement, suppressing passive skills like this one. They only activate when your mind is clear, Time interjected.

Back to that prick’s controlling power. It’s no wonder he’d gotten as much power as he had.

Putting that aside, I locked eyes with the guard. “What’s to stop you from hurting her after we’re locked up?”

Henry shot me a warning look, his eyes silently screaming, Don’t provoke him! Dominicus frowned, suspicion flickering behind his gaze as he studied the guard’s every move.

“My friend here is correct,” Dominicus said slowly, his voice calm but firm. “I will do whatever is necessary to ensure the girl’s safety. But only if I’m assured she will be unharmed.”

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The guard’s lips pressed into a thin line. His gaze flicked to his comrades, still immobilized by my thorny restraints, weighing his options.

Trick him into coming closer, Time urged. I will handle the rest.

His tone radiated certainty, leaving no room for doubt. So far, Time hadn’t let me down, and if he said he had a plan, I trusted him.

“How about this?” I said, lifting my chin. “You come out of the cell, we’ll go in. I’ll release your friends once you let the girl go. Everyone walks away happy.”

Well, almost everyone. Judging by the murderous glare Dominicus shot me, he wasn’t thrilled. Too bad. He’d forgive me once this was over.

The guard scowled, but after a tense moment, he nodded. “Fine. But all of you back up to the wall. Weapons on the ground.”

He pressed the knife closer to Maya’s neck. She flinched, tears sliding down her face as her breath hitched.

Henry nodded quickly, moving to comply. Dominicus hesitated, his hand tightening on his sword hilt.

“Are you deaf as well as blind, beast?” the guard snapped.

Dominicus’s shoulders stiffened, his whole frame rigid. I squeezed his shoulder harder and muttered low enough for only him to hear, “I have a plan. He needs to be out of that cell.”

That’s all he needs to be, right? I asked inwardly.

Yes, that will suffice, Time confirmed, his tone feeling oddly solid, almost grounded.

Dominicus growled under his breath, “You had better know what you’re doing.”

Not a chance, I thought but kept the comment to myself. Slowly, we set our weapons down and kicked them away as instructed.

The guard smirked, his confidence growing as he stepped out of the cell, keeping Maya close. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Now get–”

A shadow blurred behind him. Before I could fully register the movement, a metallic clang echoed through the room. The guard’s eyes widened in shock, the knife slipping from his grasp as he collapsed. Maya stumbled free, clutching at Henry, who immediately knelt to wrap her in his arms, murmuring reassurances.

Dominicus was faster than me, snatching his sword from the ground with a sharp motion. I didn’t follow suit, my focus locked on Time as he stepped into the light, glaring down his nose at the man now drooling on the stone floor.

His appearance had changed. The endless void in his eyes was gone, replaced by a deep brown that looked almost human. His face was drawn, exhaustion etched into the lines under his eyes. The pulsing aura of power that had surrounded him before was nowhere to be felt.

He was mortal now.

A different kind of unease trickled through me. The plan had been to escape before this happened. Now we were still deep in enemy territory, and he was vulnerable. There were so many ways this could go wrong.

“This complicates things,” I said, my voice tight.

Time tossed the pipe aside, dusting off his hands like he hadn’t just turned the situation on its head. “We’ll need to be more careful from here on out.”

“No kidding,” I muttered.

Dominicus’s blade glinted in the low light as he took up a defensive position near the door, while Henry focused on soothing Maya’s sobs.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my racing thoughts to steady. One crisis was over, but the next was already looming…