When Theodora regained consciousness, she was enveloped in darkness. She could smell the damp earth of the netherzones and hear the distant sound of laze fire. She was cast over someone’s shoulder, that individual striding quickly through the corridor with such purpose that she felt sick.
They were in the netherzones.
He held her left hand aloft, the light from her palm casting its blue glimmer into the darkness ahead.
It was Armand.
Relief flooded through Theodora, making her dizzy all over again. Against all expectation, Armand had gotten her out of Blackstone’s suite, comparatively intact.
Theodora breathed a shaky sigh of relief.
Then she had to know the worst of it.
“Why?” she asked, and felt Armand start at the sound of her voice. It said something for her state of mind that h
