Chapter 2 #3
Briar grunted beside me, her face flushed with exertion. "They're getting angrier."
"Let them waste their energy." I shoved the dresser into a more stable position. “Veralt?”
“It’s clear. Far as I can see.” He pushed himself up from the ground near the door, then snatched up the broken spear, still wet with my blood. “But it’s time to move. Do you understand?”
The furniture creaked as we forced it back into place. More wood splintered, and a heavy crack suggested that someone had gotten an axe.
I shoved the couch against the door again, checked to ensure that two swords were still in place, and glanced around at everyone.
"Let’s go." I gave the furniture barricade one final shove, ensuring it would hold for at least a few more minutes.
The door frame creaked under the pressure from the other side, another heavy blow landing.
I thrust my hand into my own pocket to retrieve the keys. When the palace had been built, sigils had been used to protect almost everything, but my own ancestors had insisted that we have traditional locks as well, in case something disrupted the magic. Fate bless them for their foresight.
I thrust the slim key into the lock of the other door and twisted it.
It clicked open, and I eased the door ajar, peering into the darkness beyond.
Even with my natural Shadow Fae vision, it took effort to see.
The hallway stretched out in both directions, furnished with the odd end table and several oil paintings.
The air smelled of incense and smoke, no trace of blood or death.
A touch of stale emptiness undercut all of it, as if to remind me that the magic of our kingdom had vanished.
We made our way out slowly, those who could see helping those who couldn’t.
Veralt took a position near me and strode farther down the corridor, head cocked as he listened.
I drew Thalira and Quen out and guided them to the wall, whispering for them to follow it in a straight line until they reached Veralt.
Briar gripped Yuki’s and her Many-Greats-Grandfather’s hands. Rhielle took hold of Thalen and Myantha, and Vyraetos guided Velessa and Silus out, walking between them while Silus carried Elara. Once they reached the narrower hall, he pressed Velessa in front and put his hand on her shoulder.
A deafening crash against the barricaded door punctuated my orders. The furniture shifted again, more violently this time. Wood splintered.
Feck.
I closed the door, locked it, then grabbed the nearest ebony end table that sat beneath the painting.
This wasn’t going to hold long, but every second gave us an advantage.
I lay the painting on the stone floor and put it at an angle so that it would strike the wall when someone tried the door—with any luck, it would buy us a few minutes—and then I jammed the rug under the door as far as I could.
I slid to the front of the group. Other than Vyraetos, I was the only one with sight who knew the palace, and I was the only one who could see and knew where we were going.
The palace was full of intersecting passages, and these were at least finished. I hoped that we could make it to one of the larger halls before a fight broke out. Choke points like this were death traps.
My nostrils flared. This corridor smelled of fear and sweat, our scents mingling. The cracking and pounding against the door of the groom's chamber grew steadily softer and duller. Distant shouts confirmed that the search continued.
I took us down the next hall and up a small flight of stairs toward the older corridors.
The cut marble walls were coarser here and pitted with age.
It wasn’t the fastest route to the royal family’s quarters, but it was the least likely path our enemies would search.
They’d be planning ambushes, and there would almost assuredly be one set up before the main entrance to the royal family’s quarters.
The locks would hold for a time, so long as the most trusted servants who had been given those keys could not be found. I had one and Elara another.
A distant crash echoed from behind us—they'd broken through the first door. My pulse quickened, and I took us through another turn in the halls. Every breath and footstep still seemed too loud.
I paused at another intersection, listening. Distant shouts echoed from the main corridors—they were organizing search parties but seemed confused about which direction we'd taken. Good. Let them waste time searching the wrong areas.
We slipped from the narrow passages nearest the outer walls to the broader halls that led to the center of the palace.
The pitted black marble became sleek and smooth again.
We were nearing the eastern way. Ahead lay a series of halls that went in eight directions.
We'd need to be even more cautious. With the numerous walls and open paths, it'd be easier for us to be spotted or ambushed.
A voice from an upcoming side hall cut through the darkness. “Your Majesty.” A soldier stepped in front of me, his hand snapping up in a salute. He bowed his head. “Come with me, Your Majesty.”
I hesitated, my arm stretched out to make sure Briar stayed behind me. My instincts prickled, warning me that something was off.
He had no wings and no helmet, so he was one of the lower guards.
His lighter colored studded-leather rather than black-plate armor suggested he was a scout, though he did not wear insignia.
It was little wonder we hadn’t heard him.
His soft leather boots and lack of metal plates meant he could move silently, even without magic to mask his steps.
“Come with you where?” I asked coldly. “Who are you? Identify yourself.”
The guard dipped his head forward, his sleek black hair shifting with the movement. “I am Otnel of the Second Scouting Guard. Please. Come with me. I'll get you to safety."
“Do you swear your loyalty to me?” I stared at him hard, aware of Briar edging closer. Though I could have asked for a vow, I didn’t. There was something far simpler and more potent.
“Of course, Your Majesty. I mean no harm to you or your family, and I am wholly loyal to you.” He bowed his head lower. “I’ll get you to safety.”
Briar’s hand squeezed my arm. He’s lying.
That was all I needed. I'd learned about her ability to smell lies when I’d visited her in Colm's prison, and I loved how useful it was now.
I walked alongside him. “Where are we going?”
He hinged a look in both directions as he stepped into the intersection of the halls. “Left, to the north near the Night Rose Gate.”
I gave a nod of assent as my mind spun through this.
We were entering a smaller cross-corridor with six hallways branching off.
The most likely point for an ambush was a few hundred feet more, at the northernmost passage.
That was where the halls returned to their typical grandeur, the chandeliered ceilings higher and carved statues offering cover.
I held my hand up to signal the others to remain farther back and folded my wings against my spine. My wounds stung and itched with the movement. “Lead the way. We’ll go single file to avoid drawing attention.” Briar, throw something to the left to distract him. Something small.
“A wise course, Your Majesty.” Otnell dipped his head forward once more, straightened, then strode forward. His boots made no sound on the slick marble as he rolled his feet. I walked half a step behind him.
Briar fell behind by two steps, and soon I heard something roll and bounce with a soft clack clack. I glanced back and saw a small glass bead.
Otnell turned in the direction of the bead. Lunging forward, I seized his neck and snapped it. The sickening crunch of bones exploded in my ears. Holding his body, I dragged him to the ground and set him against the wall. Then I pointed in the opposite direction to signal our new course.
Briar nodded, her expression grim. How much farther?
Past this next connection point, and then to the northwestern hallway and up a staircase.
So long as no one made a sound, we might avoid the ambush.
I led the way with silent steps, and we ventured into the cross-corridor.
The calls of searching guards echoed farther ahead.
My muscles ached. I glanced back to see if we’d been followed. Nothing moved in the darkness.
Suddenly, Yuki yelped, the sound echoing off the walls. I spun around, gripping my dagger.
She clutched one hand to her chest, blood dripping from her fingers.
“Did you hear that? They must be this way!” a deep voice shouted from the far end of the northern hall, about two hundred feet away.