Bound By Chains (MxM)

Chapter Forty-Four

I did it. After countless hours chipping away at the ceiling—my hands covered in splinters—I managed to create a hole big enough for me to fit through. And while I was exhausted enough to sleep for twelve hours...my desperation to find Davian outweighed my exhaustion, and with that in mind, I reached up to begin pulling myself through...only for a sharp pain to shoot through my injured right arm. Cursing, I nestled my arm against my chest, breathing heavily.

Gods, I completely forgot I had even injured it in the first place...and I guess it was thanks to the adrenaline coursing through me that I had felt no pain, until now. Now that I was done with chipping away the ceiling and the adrenaline was beginning to wear off a bit...it felt as if I had dipped my arm in a pool of bubbling lava, and it was almost enough to have me dropping to my knees. Almost.

Gritting my teeth through the pain, I gripped the crudely cut edges of my makeshift door to freedom—ignoring the way the splintered wood cut into my palms—and grunted as I pulled myself up and through, towards my freedom.

Once I was out in that fresh air, I breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards the sun—if only for a brief moment. Then, I stood up slowly and began inching my way to the edge of the roof so I could find a good place to jump down...however...my foot slipped on the damp surface and with a sudden rush of fear and panic, I slipped backwards—my skull slamming against the wet surface of the roof before I rolled off completely and slammed onto the ground below.

All the air in my lungs evaporated at the impact, and all I could do was gasp as my vision dimmed dangerously. My body was screaming in agony at this point...but I would have to endure it. For Davian. For the man I loved more than anything in this cruel world.

After a moment, when I finally gathered enough air back into my lungs, I pulled myself up—nearly falling over if I hadn't caught myself in time. Then, I made sure to look around—seeing if the coast was clear—before I began to sneakily head towards where I believed Alton was holding Davian.

After the whole deal with Davian having escaped previously—after the attack—I highly doubted Alton was allowing Davian to stay in his slave quarters just like before. I knew he didn't want to risk Davian running away, especially now that Davian has had a small taste of freedom. Which meant Alton either had Davian in the dungeons to "learn his lesson", or his personal chambers. I was betting on the latter. After all, Alton would want to keep his "favorite" slave close to him, right?

So, that's where I began heading.

And it was incredibly difficult, sneaking around. Ever since the attack, there was more guards patrolling the place, and when I wasn't worrying about running into them, I also had to avoid the slaves as they did their daily duties. A couple of times, I had to dash into a bush to avoid being spotted, and one of them happened to be a rose bush...which honestly had not been ideal for me.

I was pretty sure my body was in shock, or something. Or, at the very least, the adrenaline coursing through me had to be dulling the pain. Because after everything, between the injuries I obtained from the attack with Terry's lot, and the injuries I was obtaining even now...I was surprised I was even able to move, at this point. However, I knew that once I released Davian and managed a moment of rest in our escape, that the pain would slam into me all at once...and truthfully, I dreaded when that time would come. And I prayed that I wouldn't pass out in the midst of that agony.

After maneuvering around for thirty minutes, avoiding slaves and guards alike, I managed to get myself over to Alton's side of the castle. Unfortunately...his rooms were on the second floor, which meant I had to climb up and risk being seen, just to peer into the room and see if Davian was even in there.

Not to mention...I had to somehow accomplish this with my barely healed leg, a busted right arm, and splintered hands.

But I could do this. I could bear the pain for a bit. Davian needed me, and I needed him to be safe. So, to hell with the pain—I would endure anything and everything to make sure the man I loved was safe.