Garden of Embers: Beneath Devouring Eyes #2

Chapter 19, Part C

Daedalus rose to his knees with a wince as soon as the cell door slammed shut. Outside, footsteps faded as the Rex and eidolon departed.

He shuffled over to his twin as Domi, sprawled on the white floor where the Rex had flung him, rolled over and spat blood. The Rex had backhanded each of them before tossing them, wrists bound behind their backs, into the cell to await execution.

"Are you all right?" Daedalus asked. His jaw and mouth throbbed, and he probed his stinging lip with his tongue, tasting salty warmth.

His brother nodded against the floor, nose streaming crimson against blue skin, then sat up with a pained furrow of his brow. Under both eyes, Domi's skin was already starting to darken from the harsh blow.

"I'm fine," Domi murmured, hunching forward to wipe his nose on his paenula's hood. More blood flowed as he gave a bitter laugh. "The Rex hits like an old man."

Daedalus offered a weak chuckle. The Rex hit like a starholder, not an old man, but the defiant joke still helped clear away some of the shock leaving him reeling after the violence. Never in his life had anyone struck him, but Decus's face had been filled with nothing but disgust and cold fury as the old man raised his fists. Daedalus was not sure the Rex saw the two of them as people anymore.

Part of him understood, though. Not long ago, similar thoughts had crossed his mind when he first beheld his Blended father. Ausus had seemed utterly alien, a terrible, nightmarish aberration. What uneasy fears flowed through Decus's mind after beholding their strange transformation?

Domi rose awkwardly onto his knees, squirming with a pained grimace.

"Are you sure you are well?" Daedalus asked, worry pricking deep. He bit his sore lip as his twin, face twisting, writhed. "Domi!"

Wincing, Domi lifted his hands before him. "Works every time," he muttered.

Daedalus stared at the pair of shackles hanging off Domi's right wrist. With a sickening pop, Domi twisted the thumb of his free hand in a way that left Daedalus cringing in sympathy. "How did you do that? There are wards on the shackles to prevent any tampering with promen--"

Domi snorted. "You Lightbearers never think beyond magic. I've been getting out of cuffs this way since I was five." He cradled his hand to his chest, then nodded to Daedalus. "Let me do yours."

Daedalus leaned away. That pop had sounded horrific. "No, I think I would rather remain bound."

His twin rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to dislocate your thumb, you idiot." He reached gingerly into his paenula pocket and pulled out an amber sporeknife.

Daedalus blinked. The last time he had seen the slender blade, Father had been using it to slice off pieces of radish for Ficus and Lilio. "You took--"

Domi chuckled, pulling several other things from his pockets and placing them on the floor. A sprig of quellwort. A few radishes. An obsidian shard. "Once a Pullatus, always a Pullatus," he said slyly. He stepped behind Daedalus. "Let me see if I can get these open."

A few minutes and a bit of jostling later, a click preceded the removal of the shackle from his first wrist, followed soon by the  second. "That was fast."

"Would've been faster if my hand didn't hurt," Domi murmured. He dropped the cuffs into Daedalus's lap. "Nice and heavy," he murmured. "Might as well hold onto them." He swallowed. "Just in case."

Daedalus stared down at the iron shackles, gulping. Then he curled his fingers around the chill metal. "Just in case," he agreed in a faint voice.

He did not know if he could strike someone for his own sake. But if the Rex planned to hit Domi again, the man would be in for a surprise.