Free Heirs of War by Mara Valderran

body, revealing the bruises and gashes underneath. She clutched the hand of the lifeless man beside her, fighting to recall the person he had been before the bloodied and pallid shell he had become. She still couldn't understand how Kellen had managed to kill him, but it had been weeks, and his body had yet to repair itself. He had fought until the end, and so would she. She raised her chin higher and stared firmly at the wall.
    "Your silence speaks volumes." Kellen knelt before her prisoner. "Silence didn't do much good for your protector, though." She lifted a twig and prodded his cool form.
    Nandalia's ire raised beyond control at this. She took advantage of her captor's close proximity and spat in her face. "Don't touch my Cyneward," she snarled.
    Kellen effortlessly raised herself, turning away as she pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and used it to address the spit on her face. "Temper, temper...we've been through this time and time again. You know what happens." She smiled, a rictus grin that never seemed to reach her nearly reptilian eyes, and turned back to face Nandalia, aiming her right hand at her chest.
    Nandalia pitched forward as she writhed in agony. Kellen relish ed in her screams, the same wicked smirk playing across her lips, her focus never leaving her prey. After several drawn out, anguished moments, Kellen released her hold, and Nandalia found she was able to breathe once more.
    Nandalia remained doubled over, still gasping for air as she coughed up blood. "Do whatever you wish with me," she panted. "I still won't help you. I will keep them safe until my dying breath."
    Kellen knelt down once more with a sympathetic smile. "They are no longer safe, my dear, regardless of your breath." She grabbed a fistful of her captive's hair and pulled her forward, pressing her mouth against her ear as she whispered, "I know where they are." She rose slowly, towering over the weakened leader as her shadow enveloped Nandalia in darkness. "Now, my darling little Duillaine, you may take your last breath."
    Nandalia threw her head back with a scream as she felt her flesh start to burn. "Keep them safe, Isauria. Protect them!" She begged to the ceiling, tears flowing. She opened her mouth and let out an agonizing cry joined with another one far away.
     
    ***
     
    "MOM," Isauria screamed in her sleep, thrashing around under her sheets. She continued to flail about as two hands clamped down on her shoulders, pinning her down.
    "Izzy! Isauria!" Liam's voice urged in the darkness. "Wake up. Isauria! "
    Her tear -drenched eyes fluttered open, and she let out a quiet sob as Liam pulled her into his arms. Her fists clutched to his flannel robe, her cries growing stronger as he comforted her.
    "It's okay," he soothed, rubbing her back, his hands shaking. "You were having a bad dream, that’s all."
    " It was so real, Dad." She pulled away, pressing her palms against her eyelids. She could still smell the stench of death from the cells where Nandalia had been kept, almost as if she had been standing beside her. But her dreams were always like that. They were so vivid and rich with detail that she would swear she had been transported somehow.
    He placed a hand on her cheek and wiped away a tear with his thumb. "Tell me what happened. What did you see?"
    She pulled her pillow into her arms, squeezing it tight against her chest, and leaned back against her headboard. "Nandalia. She's one of the Duillaine Banair. The people who rule over the worlds," she explained. "Kellen had her, and she was torturing her, trying to get her to agree to help her. No matter what she did, Nandalia refused. She just kept taking whatever Kellen dished out." She slumped against her headboard and a few more tears fell.
    "What did Kellen want Nandalia to help her with? Did she really think Nandalia would betray her own daughters to her enemy?"
    "No, she already knows where they are," Isauria responded dismissively. "I’m not sure what she