Chapter 44: I Love You
Charles walked beside a soldier and followed Chloe into the depths of the palace where the jail cells were located. As they descended, the age of hundreds of years revealed itself more nakedly than the levels above. Down here, the halls were made of unfinished rock—the interior belly of Mount Aeon—carved, domelike, into tunnels, as opposed to the exquisitely crafted marbles and granites above. No sounds echoed through the dimness.
Charles’s hands were tied behind his back, and his ankles were bound so that he had to shuffle forward. He said nothing, but his mind was working overtime, memorizing the pathway of their journey. At last, they came to a cell, and Chloe gestured like a game-show hostess revealing the prize. Malia, bound to a chair, looked up through the bars, her big eyes watery with fear, and she smiled. Charles smiled back.
“You came back,” Charles said.
“Oops,” Malia replied.
“See, I told you she was safe, Charles,” Chloe said. “We have her right here.”