Aiden's fingers closed around the key, the cold metal a promise in his palm. But as Akidna turned to slip away, her cloak whispering against the stone, he moved like a shadow—swift, silent.
'sorry love, I need some juice for what I'm about to do...' he thought.
His free hand shot out through the bars, grasping her wrist with a gentleness that belied the iron in his grip. Before she could gasp, he pulled her toward him, unlocking the cell door with a faint click that echoed like a heartbeat in the dim corridor.
The door creaked open just enough, and he yanked her inside, pressing her back against the rough wall as he relocked it from within. The guards were distant, their murmurs a faint drone, but the risk hung in the air like smoke.
Akidna's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. "Aiden, no," she whispered, her voice a fragile thread. "The guards... they might see. We can't—"
