Barry stepped into the prison cell.

It was a repurposed guest room. The windows had been closed, leaving the only source of illumination the enchanted lantern Barry had in his hands. The room had been cleared of furniture, there were only two occupants inside, both prisoners. Pan and Kajou sat on opposite sides of the room, both strapped to their respective chairs.

The guards had wrestled them into their chairs when Barry had come to visit. The arms of both of them were covered in lightly glowing tattoos, both their ankles adorned by rings of metal. Curses meant to sap their power and disrupt their abilities. Apparently there had been some prisoners before that had managed to escape because they’d relied too much on the protective enchantments of the room.

The two maidens had found Barry out in the wild, rescued him from a feral den where he’d been eaten. Kajou had been the kind one, insisting on Barry’s status as an otherworlder. Pan had not been so kind, to her, Barry had been little more than a human, and thus a threat they would be better off without. The result had been torture while being forced to traverse the forest, a constant threat dangling over his head like a sword. The experience had been months ago, yet it still felt fresh in his mind.

Barry would’ve loved to claim he could summon anger, perhaps hating them would make things easier. But looking at them, sunken eyes and pale, both battered black and blue, the only feeling he could muster was pity and regret. A part of it was the regret that he hadn’t been able to work up the courage to enter the cell in two whole days, already he could see they were both deteriorating.

Pan screamed into her gag, the sound almost entirely muffled. The moment Barry stepped closer to Kajou, the muffled shouts were muted entirely. The Amazoness looked up at him from her seat, eyes focusing for long enough to frown, then losing that sharpness ever so slightly. Barry removed the gag, expecting a string of insults and screams.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t convince Embla.”

The Court leader had been impossible to reach. They still shared a room, but Barry barely ever saw her anymore. She went to bed after him and left before he woke. The one time he’d intercepted her she’d refused to change her mind over the matter.

“It doesn’t matter.” She spoke with a raspy throat. “You shouldn’t… shouldn’t…” Kajou shook her head. “You shouldn’t let her manipulate you.”

“What do I do? Let you die?”

Dark orbs looked up at him from the chair, frowning. “What do you want, Barry?”

Barry had the words forming on his throat, but they did not make their way out of his lips. His fists clenched, stepping forward and directly in front of the Amazon. “Tell me.”

“About what?”

“About you.”

“Is there a point?”

“I… I’ve been thinking about… things.” Barry lowered his head, clenching both hands together. “You just want to help your people, and you’re caught in this mess because of me. I just… you don’t deserve this.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Kajou had been absently nodding at his words, closing her eyes. “And Pan?”

“She… she surrendered to save you. She’s not nice, but… execution? That’s…”

There was no answer. Kajou lowered her head, her body slumping against the chair and the maiden shaking her head. “Don’t you see?”

“See what?”

“What happens after you bond us?”

“You go back to your people.”

She sighed. “Will the Lady really allow it? Or would she get rid of us?”

“If she kills you after the bond forms, I’d know.”

“And would you know it was her and not ferals? What happens if the bond reaches its limit half-way to Coven and we are forced to turn back? After she attacked us, we can’t…” She paused, grunting, shaking her head. “We can’t trust she won’t finish the job.”

“And you’d rather just get killed?”

She breathed deeply, raising her gaze to look at the only other occupant in the room. “I…” Her eyes unfocused again, and Kajou grit her teeth. “I’m not going anywhere without Pan.”

Barry’s gut wrenched into a knot. “I’ll just bond you first, and-.”

“No.” Kajou shook her head. “Not without Pan”

He turned to look over his shoulder, the Valkyrie had been glaring at them, struggling against the restraints. A shiver ran through him, a soft pulsing pain made its way through his chest. A dark cave in the forest, a scream, a soft voice calling his name as brilliant blue eyes dimmed, the life taken from them. “I… I…”

There was no response, only Kajou’s silent stare. It was clear there was not much else she wanted to say.

Barry swallowed the lump in his throat.

Stepping out of the cone of silence, he could hear the words Pan was trying to throw at him through her gag. The next step felt heavier as he moved closer to the winged maiden, his chest feeling uncomfortably hotter as he had to struggle to meet those pristine blue eyes so full of loathing.

Six short steps and he was left standing in front of Pan. His heart was beating like a drum, cold sweat ran down his back. “… hey.” He croaked out the word, averting his gaze from Pan’s own.

The seat creaked as she tensed against her restraints, the metal digging into her skin, the immaculate brow creased into a deep glare.

“I’m not… I’m not going to remove the gag.” Barry coughed, avoiding to meet her gaze. “Just, hear me out, ok? You… you care about your sister, right?”

The response to the question was a heavy rattling as Pan thrashed against the bonds on the chair, trying to break free. Her voice was let out in a scream against her gag. Barry waited until the struggling came to a halt, awkwardly not looking her way and praying that the chair wouldn’t just break. The part of him that would’ve jumped away was tempered, at least a bit. Orion was in his shadow, he could feel that comfort permeating through him, dulling the fear.

With deep huffs, Pan finally stopped her fighting, hair wild and eyes searing into him even as she struggled to catch her breath.

“You… I don’t want you.” Barry spoke with a whisper. “I… if I never see you again, I’d… I’d appreciate it.” His hands tightened into fists. “And… and Kajou cares. You’re sisters, I can… I lost my brother, and…”

“Barry.”

Orion had spoken from his shadow, her hand had emerged out of the dark substance, fingers caressing his ankle. Barry noticed his hands were shaking, he stuffed them into his pockets to regain some control over them.

“She… doesn’t want to leave without you. If you… if you keep doing this, she will die. Because of you.”

He spoke in a harsh whisper, meeting Pan’s gaze.

It was as if she’d been slapped, eyes widened, fear and incredulity. It was only a second, a moment of vulnerability as she stared at him in disbelief.

The anger returned right after she screamed into the gag, tears running down her cheeks as she fought against the chair with renewed strength. It rattled and groaned, Barry threw one look at Kajou as she watched Pan, and then back to the Valkyrie fighting against the restraints.

“… think about it.” Barry whispered, turning to the door and leaving.