Vhereli's eyes widened. His body jolted upright, and the next instant his voice tore through the room, hoarse but loud, raw from already having screamed so much in the past.
"HELP! HELP!"
The sound was like steel scraping stone, sharp and sudden, cutting through the silence.
Sonder's heart leapt into her throat.
"Wait, wait!" she said, stepping forward without thinking. "Stop shouting, please."
But he only thrashed against his bindings, his voice breaking from the effort. His chains clattered against the floor, loud as hammer strikes.
Sonder panicked. "I'm not Hoar!" she whispered quickly.
Something in her tone reached Vhereli. His breath rasped in his chest. His eyes narrowed at her, distrustful.
"You're not Thole," he spat between breaths. "Then who are you, if not Hoar?"
She hadn't expected this, chains, maybe, and some resistance too, but Vhereli seemed a very lively man.
"I'm not Hoar," she said again, slower this time. "And I'm a friend. I'm here to get you out."
Vhereli barked out something between a bitter laugh and a growl. "Lies. No outlander walks these halls freely. No Hoar would bother saving me. Who sent you?"
She took a small, careful step closer. "You are Vhereli, right?" she asked. "The son of Thalael, nephew of Thiliel?"
"Yes," he said. "I am, so what?"
Then I'm here for you. Thiliel sent me.
His eyes searched hers, like a man staring at a mirage and daring it to be real. "She sent you?"
"She did. And we should hurry. I don't know if your screaming has alerted someone."
His shoulders sagged. "Fine."
But the distrust did not leave his eyes. Not yet.
The chains that bound Vhereli were thick and nailed into the ground.
Sonder crouched and raised her hands.
Her focus narrowed to the links at the metal wrists of Vhereli.
The metal groaned, warped, and then split cleanly, the links falling to the floor with a clatter.
Vhereli stared at the broken chain for a moment. "No words, no sigils, no signs. You just cast. But you are a mage."
"I am," Sonder confirmed.
He rubbed his raw wrists, still watching her like she was something dangerous he couldn't quite understand. "Most mages couldn't melt metal."
She turned toward the door. "We should move."
Vhereli followed her out of the cell.
Then he jerked his chin toward the far wall, a stretch of coarse and spiraling stone that faced an outer courtyard. "Break that," he commanded.
"The wall?" Sonder asked, confused.
"Yes. We'll be out in seconds. No sneaking through their halls."
"We can't," she said. "If I bring down a wall, the guards will hear us."
He took a step back, his hands hovering near his mouth, and his expression shifted. "Then I'll scream again. I'll make sure every Hoar in this cursed house comes running. If I stay, I die here. If we're caught, I die anyway. So, break it."
She could see in his eyes that he wasn't bluffing.
He was still trembling, his hair wild and tangled, but beneath the exhaustion was a stubborn, unshakable will.