Chapter 78 Towered Maze
TOWERED MAZE
GRAVES
Graves’s spies spread wide across the kingdoms.
Every hour they waited was another hour that Luella endured whatever horrors that godsdamned bastard inflicted.
It had been weeks.
Every night, another Umbra was dragged screaming into the cells beneath the Isles.
At the base of a towering wooden structure in one of the treetops on his home island, Graves rested a gloved palm against the bark, remembering the way he’d had Luella here.
The amulet around his neck was warm, so too was his penance for failing her—a bubbling heat that reminded him of every way he had failed. He pressed his knuckles harshly to his ribs, feeling the faintest twinge. A pale scar remained, jagged from Tharen searing it closed.
Dawn breeze swept through the treetops. He stared out at his home. Fallen were at work, flying from island to island, rebuilding with lumber and stone.
Beyond, waves crashed against the rocks. A small boat approached. He narrowed his eyes as he watched Emarelia and Merath disembark, tying the tether to a pole and beginning to walk up the steps that led to his home.
Through the rising sun, Emarelia’s eyes seemed to latch onto his, even from a distance. Her short hair tickled her chin, and her eyes seemed to challenge him.
Graves exhaled roughly, his fingers tangling around the chain of his amulet.
The shift overtook him.
In a swirl of dark feathers, he was airborne. Without looking back, he flew from the treetops.
By evening, Graves reached Syreni, the farthest he could travel in one day without rest.
As the raven flew over the sun-soaked, sin-drenched kingdom of mer and sirens, he shifted back into male form.
His feet touched the ground, black cloak billowing behind him.
He didn’t break his stride, boots scuffing the sand.
The beach was vacant; most were inland this time of day, taking part in revels and frequenting the pleasure houses and smoke dens.
Stone steps led from the beach to the village pathway. He ascended with ease, hood drawn up.
Here, he was faceless. Shrouded in secrecy. He was not Sorren.
He was the Knight.
His amulet ensured his wings were hidden, but he would pay the price upon his return to the Isles.
Day after day, he bore it. As he donned his amulet, his wings would burrow back into his flesh, and he would set off for Syreni—sometimes further—meeting with his spies and bringing back the caught Umbra.
The flight home was always his least favorite.
If he journeyed back with an Umbra in tow, he could not fly as a raven, so he was forced to stay the night at an inn as he healed from the blood-soaked emergence of his wings.
In the morning, he would fly swiftly back to the Isles, taking a longer route, so as not to be seen.
The stone paths glittered under the setting sun, and the distant sound of laughter echoed the lapping waves.
Syreni rose like a towered maze, white stone stacked upward, alleys twisting into hidden hideaways. Easy to get lost. It was a kingdom of many levels and stairs.
Graves took the nearly endless steps up, keeping to the shadows. The cloying, berry scent of Rys drifted from outlooks above and below, almost choking him.
He pressed his hand over the cowl on his face and ducked into a small tunnel, just before a group staggered by, scales glittering on their skin.
One female swept her hair back to reveal gills on the side of her neck.
Gauzy white mesh was draped over their skin, shifting in the low light that flickered on the sconces fixed to the stone alleys, revealing their nude flesh beneath.
Watching, he hovered in the tunnel.
The gilled female hooked her arm around a white-haired male next to her, yanking him down for a passionate kiss, then pulled away and ran straight for the edge of the alley.
A stone ledge was at the side, and she hopped up with ease, standing tall.
She raised her arms high above her head, gave a loud whoop, and dove off the side.
Graves caught the glint of scales before she disappeared below.
There was a distant splash. Her friends followed after her—except for one.
A male lingered.
His sun-bleached blonde hair fell in messy waves, and as he turned, Graves caught his bright blue eyes, lined with kohl. His gauzy blouse fell off his shoulders, revealing light blue scales rippling over his lean, muscled chest, which was draped in glittering body chains.
A trident was in his hands, the ends burnished gold, reflecting the dimming sunlight as it cast its rays over the white-dappled, stone kingdom.
The male’s lean muscles rippled as he stalked forward, bare feet silent over the stone. As he stepped into the shadowed tunnel, his scales seemed to glow.
"Come out," the male said. His voice was like water rippling over smooth ocean rocks.
Graves retreated deeper into the shadows. Beneath his cowl, his lips twitched.
Curiosity clung to the air as the male finally moved close enough to see that he was not alone.
With honed grace, he moved until the three-tipped prongs of the trident were a hair’s breadth away from Graves’s throat.
Maybe it was Graves’s fault—he was concealed after all.
"Who are you?" the male demanded.
Slowly, the Knight raised his gloved hands, palms out, and reached for his cowl, tugging it down to reveal his face. He tipped his head back, hoping the male could see his face beneath his hood. He knew the sight would be grisly—his scar and dead, soulless eyes.
One by one, his fingers released their death grip on the trident, and he moved back, the staff-like end thumping on the ground. "I could’ve killed you!"
"But you didn’t," Graves rasped.
Sea breeze filtered through the tunnel.
"After all this time… Why are you here in Syreni?"
"I’m here, Cassius, because I need Syreni’s aid."
"My father already turned your King down. He received the missive last week. My sister told me. Cassiopeia said our father refused aid to Serpentis." Cassius’s glittering blue eyes searched Graves’s. "You didn’t know." It wasn’t a question.
Graves kept his face still. He didn’t answer. He knew the way Cassius worked. His mouth was bigger than his brain—but not his heart. The mer Prince did have a big heart.
"I wanted to help. You know, if it were up to me, I would. But my father, he won’t listen to me—not like he does Cassiopeia. I’m not the one in line for the crown." Pain flitted through Cassius’s eyes. "I cannot help you, Graves. I’m sorry."
Still, Graves’s eyes remained unreadable. But within, he was a mass of fucking disbelief. Vale had reached out to Syreni for aid? And he hadn’t told him? Graves suddenly remembered the stacks of parchment Vale had been busying himself with.
Anger simmered inside him, but alongside it was a sense of relief—at least Vale had been trying. He hadn’t given up.
"The Tenebrae won’t stop at the fae kingdoms," Graves vocalized. "Once they’re conquered, he will come for the rest of us. He’ll turn his sights east—and beyond. Your kingdom is not safe."
"I know, believe me, I do," Cassius murmured.
Peals of laughter echoed into the tunnel. The male’s hands curled around his trident, and Graves touched his amulet, preparing to shift if he had to.
When it grew quiet, they both looked to each other once more.
"The last I heard, your war prize from Solis had been stolen."
Graves tried—he really fucking tried to keep his expression intact. He was a wall, impenetrable. But at the words, cracks formed.
Cassius’s eyes flicked over his face, studying him.
"Is that what this is about? I’ve heard the rumors, but I thought they were just…
rumors. Some say it’s the dragon King who grew to care for her, others think it’s the Prima.
I’ve even heard that your prize has stolen the heart of the Advisor.
Or the King’s shunned, demon guard. But not you.
The rumors haven’t touched you—the Knight who stays in shadow. "
Cassius was a—friend? If Graves could have friends. But Graves hadn’t even told the others what he felt for Luella. Could he possibly let the words slip free in this tunnel, in another kingdom, far from anyone who knew him?
"I care for her." Graves said the words slowly, testing them out. He licked his lips, liking the way it felt. "I care for her deeply."
Cassius’s eyes briefly closed, and when he stared at Graves once more, the blue was startling like the summer sea. "I’m sorry, friend. I cannot sway my father or Cassiopeia. But if you need me—if Serpentis needs me—you have my aid."
More laughter echoed. Voices carried on the wind.
"Where’d Cassius swim off to?" a female asked.
Deep, masculine laughter. "Probably got distracted by a passing siren. You know the princeling…"
Cassius gripped Graves’s forearm. "You can’t stay here."
Swallowing, the Knight reached for his cowl, righting it to cover his lower face again. He stepped away from Cassius, heart heavy at what he had learned. His spies were throughout the kingdom. His mission on Syreni was not complete yet—he had Umbra to question.
Graves turned without looking back, but Cassius called out:
"I will try to talk to my father again. I can’t promise anything."
Graves turned his head barely, watching the mer Prince’s shadow as he stepped back, out of the tunnel. Gills took shape on the side of his neck, expanding and contracting with his every breath.
"I don’t expect you to." The Knight gripped his amulet. "Cassius… thank you."
Cassius smiled faintly before he turned and ran out of the tunnel in a shimmer of blue scales.
Graves let his own shift overtake him. The sun had set, and the kingdom was cast in brilliant moonlight as his raven form flew.
Graves had shared his feelings for Luella with someone, likely not to be seen again for decades. And it was… freeing. At least one soul besides his own knew.