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challenge. He’d slap them down like puppies. And if Max did survive Scooter, then Horngate would still need all the strong warriors it could get. They hadn’t seen the last of war.
    So what would she have really said in a letter? Sorry I’ve been a bitch the last few weeks. Nothing personal, I was just trying to stay alive. Oh, and by the way, nice knowing you. She snorted softly. That would have gone over well. Why did it always come down to words, anyhow? Her tongue always got her in trouble.
    “I have no idea what I would have said,” she said finally, answering Tutresiel’s question. “It was a stupid idea and pointless, anyhow. I’d better get going.” She eyed the dilapidated door on the other side of the magic barrier, then looked at Tutresiel. “I’ll see you when I see you, kitten.” She hesitated. “This really is a good place. You could’ve done a lot worse than fall into Giselle’s lap.”
    “Strange words, considering how much you hate her.”
    “Yeah, but as witches go, she could be a lot worse. I’m just saying …..” What was she saying? “I’ve been you. Hell, I am you. Chained up and pissed about it. But this place grows on you, if you give it a chance.”
    He folded his arms across his chest. “But you’re the only one I like, princess. And you’re blowing out of here.”
    “Aw. You like me. Ain’t that sweet.”
    “You like me, too, princess,” he said with a taunting grin. “Don’t try to deny it. So do me a favor and come back before I’m forced to skewer some of your annoying little minions.”
    “Well, good news, then. I have no intention of letting Scooter keep me today. I’ve got some things to take care of, and he’s either going to have to kill me or wait till I’m good and ready.”
    “What makes you think he won’t kill you?”
    “Because he wants something from me. If I die, he’s shit out of luck, so he’s not going to kill me. Not today, anyhow. Of course, there’s always tomorrow.” She tossed a little wave at him, wishing she was as confident as she sounded, and then strode to the barrier.
    Magic washed over her in a tingling shower, and then she was through. One of her talents was to go through any lock without needing a key. She went to the door and pulled it open.
    Beyond should have been a wide cave that narrowed to a long tunnel leading out of Horngate. At least, that’s what it had been when she went through it the first time. But Scooter had changed things up. Instead, a wall of magic filled the entry with pale blue fire. She stared at it a moment. Well, she’d known he wasn’t going to make it easy on her. He’d made that clear enough in her dreams. She grimaced. If he wanted a little revenge, she couldn’t stop him. She sucked in a breath and strode forward into fire.
    It felt like she’d gone through a wood chipper. The pain reached deeper into her soul than she’d ever felt before. It was like someone was carving at the core of herself with dull surgical instruments. It was intimate and horrifying, and she screamed. Except she had no mouth, no throat, no lungs.
    She didn’t know how long she drifted there. She felt Scooter all around her. He was angry and resentful and gloating over her pain.
    Deep inside, smugness filled Max. The fucker had no idea what he was dealing with. There was only so much pain a person could feel before it became monotonous. Or maybe Max had too much practice with torture. Thanks to Giselle’s endless ministrations, she’d learned long ago to embrace pain and turn it into something like pleasure, knowing that surviving without breaking was the same as winning in this kind of game.
    She didn’t fight. She simply waited as the waves of agony washed through her. On some level, she felt her healing spells trying to interfere, but they were impotent against Scooter’s power. Still, she knew that she could very well die before he was done punishing her. Her spells could drain her to the point where she no