Chapter 10
Ten
Hayle
Avie looked pale. She might have protested about Zier and their connection, but I’d watched them with my own eyes.
There was an energy between them that was hard to explain.
As they’d danced at the Tournament for Second Heirs—what felt like a year ago, but was really only weeks—it had been like I was watching an alternate universe.
One where Avalon’s father hadn’t been a drunkard, where she’d attended the events for Barons and their Heirs.
Where she’d met Zier and fallen in love across a crowded room.
It felt like an echo of something that could have existed, if the Ebrus we knew wasn’t so messed up.
I couldn’t say all that to Avie, though. She was already struggling with what she had, with who she had to be. I wrapped a hand around hers and pulled her closer to my side. “Don’t worry. We won’t let it get to that.”
“Father said that the Baron of the Eighth was an ally, but is he something more?” Lyle asked softly, always so damn insightful.
He would have made a great Second Heir for our Line, but he’d chosen to bow out.
I couldn’t regret it now, not when it had given me the opportunity to meet my Soul Tie, and my, well, my pack I guess, to borrow the words of my hounds.
“We don’t leave allies to hang, so whether it’s more or not doesn’t matter,” I said, my tone warning him to drop it.
Remy nodded. “I figured you’d say as much, so I took the liberty of finding you a schematic of the sewer system of Fortaare.
” He unrolled a large map, his eyes continuously sliding to Vox, as if he was waiting for a double-cross.
How did I explain to my brothers that Vox was part of my pack now?
That I trusted him as much as I trusted them?
It was a conversation for another time. The clock was ticking on Zier’s life, and I didn’t have time to convince them that Vox wasn’t a threat to us. Remy was leading me through his plan.
A simple extraction—in and out. There was no way the First Line had enough tals to protect every guard against the Second Line, so Lierick and Iver would just have to poke until they found a weak spot.
We’d get Zier from where he was being held, head back to the sewers, and then hot-foot it back to Hamor, where we’d all bathe for six hours to remove the stink of shit.
“Avalon should stay here with you,” I said, and the woman in question sent me a glare that would have flayed a lesser man. Normally, I didn’t trust anyone enough to protect her, but I trusted my Line with my very heart and soul.
“Get the thought right out of your head, Hayle Taeme. I’m coming.
What if you need me? I can’t be hours away, hiding behind the safety of your family.
” I opened my mouth to tell her that’s exactly where she should be, but she raised her hand.
“I belong at your side, Hayle. You are my Soul Tie. Where you go, I go. We aren’t arguing about this. ”
I looked at Lierick and Vox, like they might back me up on this, but Lierick was just smirking at me, while Vox stayed silent.
“And if the Baron of the First Line captures you?” I choked out, even though the words felt like acid on my tongue.
“Then I guess you better have a damn good plan to rescue me,” she said softly. She stroked my cheek. “Don’t make me sit back here, going crazy with worry. We’re in this together, Hayle.”
I let out a defeated sigh, because how could I argue with that? “I hate this,” I murmured, kissing her stubborn mouth.
“I know,” she whispered back.
Someone cleared their throat, and I pulled away. Both my brothers had shit-eating grins on their faces; I knew they’d rib me about this another time. I didn’t have time for that now, though. “Let’s go over the plan again.”
Vox in a blond wig was pretty fucking funny. We’d managed to get some Dawn Army uniforms, and we were dressed like we’d just been released from our duties for the day, so we could go and watch the execution of an innocent man. Fucking First Line ghouls.
The worst part was leaving my hounds at home. They were too recognizable, too out of place in Fortaare. Quarry was in the air. We had Epsy, who was in Avie’s coat. But otherwise, I was fresh out of companions, and it felt wrong.
We moved through a knee-high flow of shit, and it stunk so fucking bad. “This is disgusting,” Vox grumbled. “I’m going to have to burn these boots when we’re done.”
He wasn’t wrong. I was carrying Avalon, which she’d protested, but not too hard. There wasn’t enough room in these tunnels for Vox to float us over all the waste, but I’d never wished more to be in the cold embrace of Vox’s magic.
“Do you think he’ll forgive us?” Avie whispered against my ear.
I hefted her a little higher, so her toes didn’t touch the shit. “Who?”
“Zier. He didn’t ask to be dragged into this. Now he’s been found guilty of treason, he’s lost his Barony, and he can never go home.” She sounded so small. I hated it.
It was Vox who answered. “Zier Tarrin knew what he was signing up for, knew the consequences of being caught. You didn’t bamboozle him, Avalon. He was standing against tyranny, and knowing what I do of the man, I have no doubt he’d do it again, even if he knew the outcome.”
That was my thought of the man too. If Zier wasn’t of the same opinion, I’d beat the wisdom into him, especially if he hurt her feelings.
We must have been getting closer to the center of Fortaare, because the soft whispers of a crowd managed to drift down through the stone and dirt.
“How much farther?” I asked Lierick. He’d memorized the sewer map, along with a couple of others.
Apparently, some members of the Second and Sixth Lines had that little party trick in common, the ability to recall things from memory in great detail.
“Left up ahead, then it’s the second manhole along.” This was the part with the greatest amount of risk. There weren’t many reasons for anyone to be in the sewers, least of all members of the “Dawn Army.”
We were silent as we made it to the manhole. It should put us out in the subterranean levels of the Hall of Ebrus. A level below that were the dungeons, where hopefully Zier was being held.
Vox used his magic to gently remove the manhole, then floated Iker up until his head was just above the floor. Iker gave a thumbs up, so next went Lierick, then Avie from my back. I jumped up after her, because I didn’t need help jumping six feet in the air.
“Showoff,” Vox grumbled. Floating himself out, he replaced the manhole cover. The cavern we’d exited into was damp. There was a well of water beside us, its depths dark.
I didn’t want to contaminate it with sewerage, but the urge to bathe in the clean water was overwhelming, especially as I got a whiff of our stench.
“I made the right choice not inviting you to the library.”
We all spun at the sound of the voice from the shadows, a ball of fire lighting up Vox’s hand. I let out a relieved breath, seeing it was the Librarian from the Hall of Ebrus library.
“Goddess’s fucking tits, you scared me,” I breathed, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
The Librarian raised an eyebrow. “Apologies. The library suggested perhaps you’d need these from the… lesser-known archives.”
“Lesser-known?” Vox asked lightly.
“Secret archives sounds a little too on-the-nose, wouldn’t you agree?”
I blinked at the woman. How? Just… how? Having met Meela and Reeba, the why was no longer a mystery, but how had she known we were going to be here? Was she a spy? “How?”
She gave me a soft smile. “The how doesn’t really matter right now.
You have an innocent man to save—at least, that’s why I suspect you’re here?
” She didn’t wait for any of us to confirm her theory, just handed over a leather bag with a long strap.
“I’ve wrapped these thoroughly, just in case you decide to travel home the way you came.
” The thought looked like it pained her.
“I request you attempt to keep it from being submerged in waste, but I understand some circumstances would prevent that. You should hurry. The Baron has been called away momentarily, and there’ll be no better moment to rescue him. ”
Vox walked over the Librarian and bowed low. “Thank you, Librarian. What is it?”
For the first time, the Librarian looked nervous. “It is best not spoken about within these walls. It is… important.”
Nodding our agreement, we watched the Librarian melt back into the shadows and disappear. We really should have pressed Meela and Reeba more about the Librarians. There was something slightly off about them, but I could never place exactly what it was.
“Let’s go,” Lierick whispered.
Vox handed the bag to Avalon, and she strapped it carefully across her body. Epsy moved from her pocket into the bag, curling up on top of whatever was in there. The last line of protection for whatever those tomes were, because I had no doubt they were important.
We moved toward the rough stone steps quietly, Vox’s magic buffering the noise. We made it to the dungeon level, and they were filled with people. No one I recognized, but as we moved down the hall, their hands reached out to us from behind the bars. Begging for help.
Lierick’s magic didn’t seem to work down here. I placed my finger to my lips, begging for them all to be quiet. Were they political prisoners too, or did they need to be down here? I didn’t have time to decide.
Hold on, I mouthed at them. Soon. I wasn’t sure that was true, but I could offer them hope, if not an escape.
We finally made it to the end of the row. “He’s not here,” Vox growled.
Fuck. We stood in front of an empty cell, though I’d bet my left testicle that Zier had been in there. We turned to the cell opposite. Inside the shadowed cell was a man caked in dirt and filth, his face hidden by an overgrown beard.
“Where is the man from the cell opposite you?” Vox asked, his voice filled with an authority he rarely used within our group. I hadn’t really heard it since Boellium, if I was honest. It was like a mask he slipped on.
“Why would I tell you, Vylan scum?” the man hissed.
Tilting his head, Vox stared. “Sir Trenton?”
“I don’t think I’m Sir anything anymore, you rat-piss-soaked bastard.”
I snorted a laugh. Colorful. Vox looked confused, and maybe a little affronted, so I stepped forward. “I will ask you once more, or I’m coming in there and breaking bones until I get my answers. Where is the man from the cell opposite you?”
“Why would I help a Vylan? Those sick fuckers stole my son. They tortured…” He broke off with a choked sound.
I looked at Vox, and it all clicked together. “You tried to get Malak back from Yaron? That’s why you’re down here?”
Trenton spat on the ground at our feet. “I asked the Baron of the First Line to get his son in hand. He had Malak chained to a wall, torturing him for fun. I told Feodore that his son was a psychopath, that he needed to be put down like a rabies-infested dog.”
Ah. Yeah, that would explain why he was in the dungeon.
Vox’s jaw was tense, but he stood closer to the bars.
Brave, because I was fairly sure that Trenton would like to wrap his hands around a Vylan throat and squeeze.
“We rescued Malak from Yaron’s party boat over a week ago.
I sank my brother to the bottom of Lake Vale with his brains dripping from his ears.
I avenged you both. We dropped Malak in the Fifth Line Barony with directions to someplace he could find refuge. ”
Hope flared in the eyes of the man in front of us, but it was quickly quashed. “Why should I believe you? Liars and snakes, all of you Vylans.”
I stepped forward. “Not all of them. Not him. But I swear it on my own Line. I watched Malak walk off into the distance myself. I can’t attest to anything that has happened since then, but the last time I saw him, he was healthy enough.”
The man let out a shuddering sob. “I didn’t let myself believe he was still alive. Yaron never let his playthings live. It was my punishment for turning a blind eye, until it was one of my own in his wicked hands.” He sobbed harder. Avie looked pale, her eyes shiny with tears too.
“We need to know if the man in that cell is being interrogated or…” I refused to believe we were too late.
“They came and got him for execution.”
“How long ago?” I snapped. We were wasting time.
“Maybe ten minutes?”
Fuck! The time for stealth was gone. Lierick and Iker disappeared into the guard room, the sounds of shouting muffled by the heavy wooden doors, but they returned with keys. Lierick opened the door and handed the keys to Trenton.
“You want to thank us for saving your son? Let every one of these men out from their cells and make a mess on your way out the door. Want to punish the Vylans? Do it now.”
With that, we ran. We had no more time. We had to make it to the steps of the Hall of Ebrus now.
We fanned out around Avalon, drawing our swords. Avalon pulled her own dagger, holding it close to her thigh as she moved with us easily. I missed the hounds; fighting without them was like fighting with my hands behind my back.
“This way,” Vox murmured, ushering us into an alcove and moving the rock wall behind it with his power. “The hidden corridors. It’s how the Baron always manages to appear from nowhere. I suspect it’s how the Librarian moves around too.”
The small passageways were no wider than my shoulders as we all followed Vox’s lead.
We emptied out beside the wide double front doors, hidden by one of the large tapestries that hung on the wall.
A guard stood at the ready nearby, though his attention was through the doors and not inside the building.
As we watched, Vox darted out, slitting the guard’s throat.
Pushing through the door, my heart constricted.
We were too late.