65: On the way - Part 3

"I must admit," the magician said, leaning back with a theatrical sigh, "I almost pity them. Lady Selene, with all her elegance and wit, and Prince Aedric, so brash and determined. They'll make fine pawns in my master's game. And you... Well, you'll be nothing more than a forgotten sacrifice."

The magician laughed, the sound grating and full of malice. He turned his back to Elias, setting the torch into a sconce on the wall. "But don't worry," he added over his shoulder. "You'll get to watch it all unfold before the end."

Elias's muscles tensed as he saw his chance. The magician was too absorbed in his gloating to notice Elias silently rising to his feet, his movements fluid and precise. The shackles he had escaped from lay discarded in the shadows, hidden from view.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" the magician asked mockingly, turning back to face his prisoner. "Any last prayers?"