Chapter 7
No one else wanted to join Triana and Maude as the newest members of Blood House. I’ll think about it was the most we got from Bruno after Maude spoke with him, but most of the others wouldn’t even look at me.
I couldn’t blame them. Faeries had never offered kindness or safety before, and Blood House had an ominous name and a taboo associated with it.
When life had been full of raised fists, it was hard to believe in the promise of an open hand.
I still hoped to convince as many as I could to leave Mistei and start over in the human world, far from this court’s cruelty, but it would take time. Time I hoped we had.
We headed for the next level up. As we moved down that corridor, I spied the golden outline of a hidden door.
I eyed it, wondering if we should use the Earth tunnels rather than walking in the open.
It would take longer, since the paths in this portion of Mistei were particularly narrow and labyrinthine, but it would keep Maude and Triana away from other faeries until I could officially claim them as members of Blood House.
Unless Oriana was already in the catacombs, setting traps to stop me from roaming freely.
Four keys. Three in Earth House, one in Blood House. It would be an ongoing struggle for control of those spaces, especially now that the secret was out and the rest of Mistei knew there were hidden passages.
Maybe no one knew the extent of the catacombs, though. Selwyn had given his key to the rebels who had overwhelmed the throne room, but Drustan might not know there were passages beyond that one.
Maude and Triana looked around anxiously as we walked, jumping at every distant sound. I’d seen a teenage girl beheaded on the summer solstice for abandoning her post; they must worry the same could happen to them.
Seeing their fear, I decided on the catacombs. Oriana didn’t want me there, but she also wouldn’t kill me, and we were far from Earth House.
The corridor was empty. I opened my magical senses, listening for heartbeats.
When I didn’t detect anyone, I waved a hand over my chest. The necklace appeared, the slight weight of the key resting against my breastbone.
“Want to take a back way?” I asked as I fished the key out from beneath my dress, letting the fine golden chain drape over my bodice.
Maude eyed the key suspiciously. “What is that?”
“There are secret passages in Mistei,” I signed. Even if no one was here, I didn’t want to say the words out loud. “Only a few people know about them.”
Maude nodded. “If it’s safer.”
I turned towards the rectangular sliver of golden light.
This door’s outline was hidden in the stonework, and without the key, I doubted I would be able to see the whisper-thin seams. These doors were everywhere, yet somehow the sharp-eyed Fae never noticed them.
They must be hidden by an ancient spell.
I held the key against the wall, and a crack appeared. When I pushed, the door swung open, revealing a blackened passageway smelling of mildew.
Triana looked at it doubtfully. “It’s dark.”
“This casts light.” I raised the key to show her how it shone against the blackness.
“And there are spy holes, too.” Mostly pinpricks hidden within ornamental decorations, which the outside light passed through in thin shafts, but sometimes there were stained glass windows or narrow slits to peer through.
My skin suddenly prickled. I spun, looking around for whatever had triggered my instincts, but there was no one nearby.
“What is it?” Triana asked.
I shook my head, listening intently. The only sound was the soft gutter of flame as a torch wavered.
I reached for my magic again and became aware of the surge of blood beneath my skin, like a network of rivers.
Beside me, Triana’s and Maude’s hearts beat in a staggered rhythm, accelerating with what must be nervousness.
There was no one else around.
My uneasiness didn’t dissipate. I looked more closely, trying to determine what had caught my attention.
The walls were rough and uneven, the gray stone piled haphazardly.
The next hallway over would have crystals in the ceiling, but we were still close enough to human territory that torchlight provided the only illumination.
It gave the corridor a shadowed, uneven look.
Very shadowed, I realized as my eyes lingered on the far end. There was a corner past a spill of torchlight where the darkness looked thick as smoke.
Caedo was in my hand in an instant, edge sharp and gleaming.
“Show yourself,” I commanded.
My magic-sense caught an echo of a heartbeat as the darkness shifted. Faint, like a whisper, but growing stronger as the black mist solidified into the shape of a familiar Void faerie.
“Kallen,” I said, scalp crawling. When he was in mist form, my magic hadn’t been able to identify the contours of his body or the beat of his heart.
And now he’d seen me using the key.
He dipped his chin in acknowledgment. “Kenna.” His eyes moved to the open door, then back to me.
Maude and Triana had fallen back, clutching each other as they retreated half inside the secret passageway. They looked terrified, and I felt a swell of protective anger. “Why are you lurking in shadows?” I demanded, stalking towards Kallen.
He looked mildly surprised by my pique. “I always lurk in shadows.”
A shiver raced over my skin. Did he know I couldn’t sense him in that form? And why couldn’t I sense him?
There must always be a balance , Caedo said in my head. Different houses, different vulnerabilities.
I had no idea what that meant and wasn’t about to waste time discussing it. I stopped in front of Kallen, wrestling for composure. “What do you want? Trying to take me to another meeting? The last one went so well.”
He looked pointedly at the dagger in my hand, but I didn’t put Caedo away. If he felt menaced, it was his own fault.
Kallen’s hands were relaxed at his sides, but it didn’t make him look any less dangerous.
His eyes were fathomless in the dim corridor, and his pale face might have been carved from stone.
His posture was impeccable, as always, and the only spots of light on his attire were the silver buckles that closed his tunic and the hilt of the sword strapped to his hip.
Awareness prickled over my skin, a full-body shiver like I’d plunged a hand into a winter stream. Kallen always seemed so controlled, like he needed to keep a tight leash on whatever lurked behind those midnight eyes.
The only things that needed leashing were those too dangerous to let loose.
His gaze moved over me. “You’re wet.”
I was abruptly aware of how the damp dress stuck to my skin. The bodice and silver-studded sleeves had always been tight, but now the skirts clung to my hips and thighs. My hair hung down my back, the sodden strands cold against my bare skin, and goose bumps prickled over me.
“Your powers of observation are unmatched,” I said, inserting sarcasm in the place of confidence.
His eyes flicked back up. “Oriana let you live.”
Oh, for— “Must you always know everything?” I asked, exasperated.
“That is the traditional role of a spymaster, yes.”
“You’re not a spymaster any longer. Osric is dead.”
His expression didn’t change, but the air grew colder. “The official position may be vacant, but knowledge is always good currency.”
I hated how hard it was to read him. Drustan was hard to read for different reasons—always smiling away his true intentions—but there was something about Kallen that got to me. No one could be that restrained all the time. One day he would snap, and then…
He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “What happened? Were you hurt?”
That couldn’t be concern, could it? He probably just wanted to ensure Blood House remained intact so I could cast my support behind Hector. “No,” I said. Then, when he kept watching me, the truth tumbled out. “A little.”
More than a little. Physically it had hurt, yes.
But in my head…Shards, it had been so much worse.
Death’s breath had been icy on my neck, and death was a greedy thing.
How many times could a person dip a toe in that dark pool without being sucked fully in?
How many times could I borrow breath before that debt came due?
Kallen’s hand twitched at his side. “How did you end up in the water tunnel?”
“You don’t already know?”
He shook his head. “My source only heard you shouting at the entrance.”
The only people nearby had been servants of Earth House—which meant Kallen had leverage over at least one other person within Oriana’s walls.
It wasn’t surprising. He’d moved quickly to get me under his control, and while the speed of that blackmailing had been partially caused by my own recklessness, he’d had centuries to weave his web across the rest of Mistei.
“Someone from Illusion disoriented me, and I fell.” It was embarrassing to admit, but we were supposedly allies now, and my allies ought to know about my enemies.
“Any identifying features?”
“They were invisible.”
He made a soft, angry-sounding noise. “That’s a rare skill to master, but there are still plenty of faeries who could have done it. Imogen may have ordered it, since the Accord hasn’t officially started yet, but there will be many others who want to avenge the king.”
“Yes, I’m aware.” I looked over my shoulder to where Maude and Triana were huddled together. They were far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to overhear, but I didn’t want to leave them alone for too long.
Kallen’s fingers brushed my chin, turning my face back towards him, and I sucked in a startled breath. “I’ll find them,” he said quietly. “And I’ll have their head for hurting you.”
My heart slammed behind my ribs. The tips of his fingers were cool and calloused. Those hands had killed countless people over the years—they could kill me, should he choose to. But he was touching me instead, more gently than someone like him ought to be capable of. “Why?” I whispered.