Anik glanced briefly at the chain. His voice was a whisper. “Don't be afraid. Do you want to leave this place?”

Ilias stared at Anik, then he nodded. He looked like a ghost in the darkness. “More than anything.” He spoke so softly that Ren could barely hear him from where he stood by the door.

Anik inspected the chain, and the rattle seemed so loud in the silence that it made Ren cringe.

Ren glanced over his shoulder at the dark staircase that led upstairs.

“Where's the key?” Anik asked Ilias.

The slave pointed to the door. “Master Rowland has it.”

Ren took a steeling breath. Leaning against the doorway, he listened for the slightest sound. Everything was quiet, but there was no way they would be able to search Rowland's room for the key without the man waking up.

Anik stood, moving past Ren.

“Where are you going?” Ren hissed, heart beating so hard in his chest he was sure Anik could hear it when he squeezed past him.

“I need something to cut the chain.”

Ren was about to protest, but Anik had already slipped past him. Ren watched as he disappeared into Rowland's work room by the front. Every noise made Ren cringe. A few moments later, Anik returned with a bone saw.

“What? No way. It makes too much noise,” Ren objected, staring at the saw as Anik knelt beside Ilias once more.

“I couldn't find a cutter. I'll do it quietly. The chain is thin and I think there's a weak link. It'll be quick.”

It wasn't quick. The sound of the saw was like a rasp against the inside of Ren's skull. It was more nerve-wracking than breaking Anik out of the castle dungeon had been. Ren stood in the doorway and felt more exposed than ever.

A creaking sound made Ren's hair stand on end and he motioned frantically for Anik to stop. The sawing paused and they stared at each other in the darkness.

There were footsteps on the stairs.

As quietly as he could, Ren let himself out of the kitchen and closed the door behind him, then slipped out of his sword sheath and his hunting jacket and dropped both on the floor by the bench. He made it to the foot of the stairs just as Rowland came down, and they almost bumped into each other, confusion and suspicion flitting across the large man's features.

“Oh! Rowland, I'm sorry,” Ren said, rubbing the back of his neck, movements slow like he had just woken from sleep. “I hope I didn't wake you. I just came down to get something to drink.”

“Did you hear that?” Rowland asked slowly, frown deepening.