They moved Shannon and Tristan at first light. There was no cave this time.
Aiden chose a clearing above the ruin where the old road bent around a stand of firs. Stakes had been hammered into the ground. Chains stretched from the stakes to the iron cuffs on their wrists. Two torches burned high on poles. A ring of oil lamps boxed them in.
Everything was arranged to be seen from a distance. Everything was arranged to draw rescuers in.
Aiden checked each shackle himself. He tugged the chain at Shannon's right wrist, tested the stake, then stepped back. "You will stay here," he said. "If your pack is as loyal as you claim, they will come. We will welcome them."
Tristan kept his eyes on the trees. Beyond the trunks and shadows, there was nothing. The forest looked calm, but every sound carried. He heard birds in the branches and the dull thud of a mallet finishing a stake on the far side of the clearing.
