Chapter 42
Elara
There was a knock on my door as I put in my earrings.
“Come in,” I called out, expecting it to be Cai, who had said he would escort me to dinner.
The door to my bedroom opened in the reflection of my mirror and I watched the captain of my guard step into the room.
“Oh, Rhen. It’s you.”
“Expecting someone else?”
I turned to him with a smile plastered on my face. “Do you have any news, updates?”
He cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back. “I wanted to talk to you about something, yes.”
I looked at him expectantly and watched his eyes travel to Anesta, who was in the corner of the room, polishing my crown. She rubbed the cloth across the gemstones with so much vigour, I was almost surprised one of them didn’t fall out.
“Go ahead.” I trusted that whatever he was about to say, Anesta would keep confidential. In all her time as my lady-in-waiting, she had never given me a reason to doubt her.
Rhen opened his mouth to speak, but the door to my bedroom creaked and all heads turned in that direction.
Cai seemed a little surprised to see so many faces looking at him upon entering the room.
“Oh, my apologies. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Not at all.” I walked over to Anesta and took my crown from her hands. “Rhen was just here to escort Lady Anesta to dinner.”
“He was?” Anesta looked up at me with surprise and her cheeks grew a little red.
“Yes, he was.” I gave a slight smirk while she fixed a few of my stray hairs, making sure that the crown sat perfectly atop my head.
Whatever Rhen had to say could probably wait an hour or two until after dinner.
Right now, we had a slightly more important matter at hand, and that was the matter of family.
With tensions being as high as they were between all of us, and not to mention our possible impending doom, if not at the hands of the Argonians, then by some magical stones, I figured we could all use one final dinner together as friends and family.
One night where we didn’t quarrel or worry about what was to come. One night where we all wore our finest things and had good food and expensive wine and laughed about silly matters.
Rhen held out his arm to escort Anesta and she took it, a slight tint forming on her cheeks.
Both of us had put on our most lavish gowns — hers a pale pink satin with empire sleeves and silver stitching, and mine a golden dress with swirling patterns on the skirt and a square neckline.
Small strings of pearls were draped across the bodice and they perfectly accompanied my necklace and crown.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like the kind of queen I used to imagine as a child.
Not one who worried about politics and enemies plotting, but someone who had endless beautiful things to magnify her own beauty and presence.
“You look breathtaking,” Cai murmured as I tucked my hand into the crook of his elbow.
“This old thing?” His words still managed to stir something in my stomach and I felt a wave of happiness settle over me as the four of us made our way from my rooms to the dining hall.
The entire room had been decorated with candlelight as far as the eye could see.
A long table stood in the centre of the room, filled with silver dishes and cutlery.
Steam rose from the warm plates of food.
Gwen and Lance were already seated at the table.
And so was Alastor. It wasn’t part of the usual protocol to have those without titles at the dinner table, but tonight was a special occasion and I saw it as only fitting that the captain of our guards joined us.
Lord Burrow was there and so was Lord Stapleton, who’d arrived earlier that day with his men.
Everyone stood as Cai and I entered the room. He was looking very dashing himself, in a white doublet with his gold crown atop his head. We matched quite well, without intention.
Cai took a seat at the head of the table, and I joined him on his right-hand side.
“Thank you for accepting my invitation.” I addressed everyone around the table. Servants with wine jugs poured the dark red liquid into glasses. “I’d like to make a toast.” I lifted my glass into the air. “To friends and family.”
“To friends and family,” everyone echoed before taking a seat.
Lance and Gwen sat next to each other and Cai spent the majority of the evening trying not to stare daggers at my brother from across the table.
For the most part Lance behaved himself fairly well.
The food was probably the best food I’d ever had in my life.
The roasted pig had been glazed with a honey sauce, and steaming potatoes and vegetables were piled onto my plate.
There was chocolate dessert with whipped cream and endless glasses of red wine, and by the end of it I felt so stuffed that my dress sat too tight.
Cai held my hand atop the table and gave me a smile whenever we made eye contact.
The conversation flowed easily, with Lord Burrow telling stories of some of the old parties and dances that were held at Mistwood, with someone getting drunk and making a fool of himself or not being able to dance.
There was laughter and it was pleasant, and by the end of it, I was tired enough to yawn.
* * *
After dinner, I contemplated going back to my rooms and falling asleep immediately, but I couldn’t get what Rhen had said about the stones the other day out of my mind.
I was wearing the necklace, and if the stones were linked, there was a chance it could help me find the third Myrgonite object.
I’d tried looking quite a few times over the past few days without making use of the other two objects, as Cai had asked, but my search was unsuccessful.
However, there were still a few places in the palace I had yet to look.
As I made my way back to my room, I recalled old conversations with Cai. He’d spoken about secret tunnels in Mistwood. If they were in the king’s chambers and the throne room, there had to be more around the palace. I merely had to find them. I took a lamp from a nearby table in the hallway.
The best place to start would probably be the throne room.
There was a secret hallway that could be used as an escape route for the king and queen.
I hadn’t got far the last time I was in there, when the soldiers of Argon attacked.
I’d heard Cai calling out to me and turned around to look for him.
But it had to lead somewhere, and maybe there were other tunnels connected to it. It was somewhere to start at least.
With the candle in my hand, I walked across the throne room, my shoes clicking on the floor. Images flashed before my eyes. I walked over the spot where Thatcher’s corpse had lain, his blood spilled across the floor. It was now polished and clean, as if the blood had never been there at all.
My eyes scanned the wall close to the thrones.
Now, I just had to find the right spot, as the secret door was quite well concealed.
I let my hand trace across the stone wall until I felt a change in the texture, and then I pushed.
There was a clicking sound, and the door popped open.
Well, that was easy enough. An eerie feeling crept over me.
Cai’s words were still in my mind, of him asking me not to make use of the objects to find the last remaining one.
But they were like a foggy memory now, drowned out by a strong urge to explore the tunnels. Was the third object calling out to me?
I didn’t remember deciding to step inside the dark hallway.
It was so pitch-black that I could not see the end of it despite the small lamp I carried with me.
The same stone had been used to make the walls and floor, and it was clearly very old, the feel of it rough against my hands.
I decided to leave the door open, not wanting to risk the chance of getting stuck in there.
The hallway was deathly quiet and so every step I took echoed into the dark void. Holding the lamp up above my head, I tried not to let my imagination run wild. It was just a hallway. There was nothing to be afraid of.
When I reached the end of the hall, there were two ways to go.
One was another tunnel, and the other was a small flight of stairs leading down.
It might have been my imagination, but I swore I could feel a very light draught coming from the tunnel on the left.
If my suspicions were correct, that was the escape route that led out of Mistwood.
Which meant the stairs had to lead down to the catacombs.
At least I hoped they did, and I wouldn’t end up in some tunnel maze that I wouldn’t be able to get out of.
I slowly took the stairs, one by one, until I reached the bottom. There were a few torches lining the walls, so I removed the glass from my lamp and used the candle to light the torches. They illuminated my surroundings rapidly.
The walls here were much older than the ones above ground, clearly built when Mistwood Palace was first erected, before all the changes had been made throughout the centuries. The tunnels were a little bit wider and the arched ceiling higher.
Here and there the walls were carved out, with stone coffins lying in them. Cai’s ancestors. I tried to read some of the names as I passed by: Jaehaera, Maegelle, Espen, Remington. The others were unrecognisable, worn away by age.
I moved further on, away from the torchlight and into the depths of the catacombs.
If there was anywhere in the palace to hide something valuable, this would be it.
I was making my way past a burial chamber when something scurried over my foot and I jumped, nearly letting out a scream. It was most probably a rat, but being alone in the dark put me on edge.
I reached a vast chamber where the ceiling was even higher, and six pillars stood along the centre. There were a few sarcophagi around the room, the marble carefully etched with the figures of the old kings and queens.
I looked down at the necklace lying heavy on my neck. What if the third object had been buried inside one of these coffins with one of the old rulers? There was no way that I would be able to remove the stone tops myself.
In the darkness, the Myrgonite stone on the necklace seemed almost to glow. So small and delicate, hidden well between all the other gems, looking entirely insignificant and yet being able to carry so much power.
If the stones were linked, had the voice in my head purposefully led me down here?
Was the tug I felt towards this place something more than a gut feeling?
My fingers reached for the gemstone. It was slightly warm to the touch.
Maybe it had truly wanted me to come down here.
Maybe it was calling out to the third Myrgonite object like one calls out to a long-lost sister.
I suddenly got the eerie feeling that there was a presence down here apart from my own. Could it be the last object, pulling me towards it? Or was it something much darker and more sinister? Part of me wanted to leave, to return to the stairs and escape tunnel, but my feet were firmly planted.
Where are you? It had to be close. I knew it had to be. But it was as if I could no longer trust my thoughts or feelings. As if the stone was playing tricks on my mind.
I walked over to the nearest sarcophagus.
To my surprise, it had the name Erik carved into the stone.
My breath caught in my throat. This was Cai’s father.
I reached out to place my hand on it, but as soon as I touched the stone, it wasn’t King Erik’s coffin before me but Cai’s.
His body was inside, dressed in his royal armour, his soft golden locks framing his face.
But the rest of him was covered in blood.
Dead.
Cai was dead, his soul departed, and I could do nothing to bring him back to me.
I quickly pulled my hand back, looking around me, but I was still alone.
I didn’t know what this place was, but a fear was beginning to grow inside me.
I stepped away from the sarcophagus, turning to leave.
I needed to find Cai. It would be better to do this together.
All the while, I tried not to think of the horrible image of him being dead.
Were the stones trying to give me some kind of warning or were they making a promise?
I was almost at the base of the stairs when a voice came from the darkness.
“Leaving so soon, Your Majesty?”
Something hit the back of my head and the world around me was enveloped in darkness.