Chuan Ren sat immobile, her back to the wall of a bare cell that consisted of a repulsive straw pallet, a bucket that was no doubt used as a latrine, and a battered tray of what looked to be raw entrails heaped in a repulsive blob.

I stepped out of the shadow world and was instantly slammed against the wall, Chuan Ren’s claws digging deep into my throat.

“You,” she spat, her dark eyes glowing with a red light.

The dragon shard inside me filled me with instant fury. Scarlet claws burst forth from my fingers, the silver scales following immediately as they rippled up and over my arms. I fought not just Chuan Ren, but the shard itself, which desperately wanted me to fully shift into a dragon.

“If you kill . . . me, you’ll never . . . get out,” I managed to gasp out as Chuan Ren attempted to throttle me.

I didn’t expect her to release me at that, but to my surprise, she did just that. Her hands dropped to her sides, allowing me to slide to the floor, my fingers back to being my own. I rubbed my neck, coughing and wheezing as I tried to get air into my abused windpipe.

“Gabriel said he would not free me,” she said, suspicion thick in the air.

I nodded, clearing my throat a couple of times to make sure I could talk. “He can’t buy your freedom. Bael guaranteed that. But we don’t need to get him to give you up when you are being held here against your will.”

She grabbed my collar with one hand and hauled me to my feet, giving me new respect for her physical strength. “How?”

“Aisling will recall you. Since she’s the one who banished you here, she can recall you without going through elaborate ceremonies, or getting Bael’s permission.”

“Aisling,” Chuan Ren said, her lips curling as she all but spat the name. “I will see her dead for what she’s done to me.”

“I don’t think so,” I said, shoving her hand off me. “In fact, you’re not only going to be polite to her; you’re going to call off the war against the green dragons. Unless you like spending your time as Bael’s guest, that is.”

An interesting parade of emotions passed over her face. Fury, disbelief, and more fury were followed by suspicion, and finally a cold, calculating look that indicated she was weighing her need to leave Abaddon against her desire to continue the war.