Chapter 29 Reyla
Reyla
Blackstone stairs rose ahead of us, wide at the base and wrapping tight as we climbed.
Each footstep thudded, swallowed by the chill that clung to the bone.
No sound came from below or above us. It was just us and the quiet.
My legs burned a little from the climb, but I didn’t complain.
We'd had almost no time to train, something I used to do every single day.
While still worthwhile, it had been shoved down lower on my list. Saving Lore took the top.
We’d looked for Dorion but couldn’t find him. I doubted he’d given up, but this castle was enormous. We’d wait for him in our suite and fill him in on everything, including his potential son, the moment he appeared.
Lore kept pace beside me, with Farris galloping up before turning to race back down to us as if he'd taken time for training when we had not.
Outside, the clouds rested low across the distant mountain peaks. In the valley far below, a lake shimmered like a mirror dropped into the earth.
When we reached the seventh floor, where we were told we'd find Queen Naveer's suite, Lore stopped, staring out one of the windows. “It’s beautiful.”
I looked out too. “Almost too beautiful to be real.”
Our breath frosted in the air before fading into nothing. He nodded, not smiling, and we started down the only hall, spying guards at the end.
A pair of double doors carved with a single, towering tree stood at the end. Its roots tangled down the wood like veins. Wards. Strong ones, I'd say.
Eight guards stood on either side of the closest door, dressed in dark plum cloaks clasped tight at their necks, over gleaming armor. Their fingers moved, magic curling around them in a taint I wouldn’t shrug off for a long time.
The guard closest to the left side of the door had a deep scar across her cheek. She was older than me, older than Lore, but her eyes tracked us with the same kind of sharpness we used when we assessed anyone.
“We brought the key,” I said as we stopped not far from the entrance.
She bowed. “I'll inform Queen Naveer of your arrival. Remain here.” Turning, she slipped inside.
Farris pressed his body against my leg, looking up at me with solemn eyes.
When the guard returned, ice crept into her voice, and something dangerous flickered in her eyes. “Her Majesty will see you, but not while you're armed.”
That made us both pause. Lore's fingers twitched but he said nothing.
One by one, we surrendered our weapons. My twin daggers first, then the ones hidden beneath my tunic, followed by those strapped to my arms and legs. Her expression didn't change, though her lips twitched when I dropped in the last.
With a nod, she stepped aside. The doors whispered open. No turning back now.
Inside, thick red and gold rugs swallowed our footsteps. The air reeked of copper and dying flowers, the faint smell of blood masked by perfume. Above, a domed ceiling showed painted birds flying through a bleeding sky, while shadows claimed the corners.
Small figurines lined every surface, twisted forms frozen mid-scream, their faces too human, too familiar. Trophies of past competitors who'd “willingly” participated in her games?
Others had been carved into roaring creatures, beasts that would make a person quiver and grab for their blades.
Isn’t this charming, I drawled in Lore’s mind.
Quite.
Are the beasts mythical or will I stumble across one if I enter the surrounding woods?
I’d stay away from the woods.
A shiver tracked through me.
We walked further into the enormous room, the doors closing behind us with a solid click. Farris huffed and remained beside me.
Queen Naveer lounged across a red-cushioned chaise carved from deep black wood. Her white gown accented her lips painted blood red to match the cushions—I assumed. She ate slowly, careful not to smudge her mouth.
Her hair had been arranged in thick coils, each braid set with tiny firegems that caught the light.
The hearth roared to her right, heat reaching across the room to make me swelter in my leathers. Thick dark drapes had been closed over every window, stretching from the floor to the arched ceiling.
A seat had been tucked into the nook to the left of the large stone fireplace, and someone sat there, though it was too dark to see who they might be. Just the suggestion of a presence watching us from the shadows.
Laphira sat rigid in a plain wooden chair near her mother, her skin as pale as parchment.
Dark veins showed beneath her flesh where the pendant touched her throat.
Her hands lay arranged in her lap, but her fingers trembled, the only sign she was fighting whatever held her.
Her eyes remained locked on the wall. If she knew we were there, she didn’t show it.
Farris stepped toward her, his body low, slinking with his tail tucked between his legs. His paws made no sound on the thick rug. If Naveer, Laphira, or even whoever was hiding in the shadows saw the nyxin, they didn't give any indication.
He stopped and sat beside her, gazing up at her with his head tilted and a soft whine rising up his throat.
No reaction. But I caught the slight widening of her eyes, the silent plea trapped behind her frozen expression. My heart clenched. What had Naveer done to her and did it involve the effigy I’d found in her room?
The featherdorn pendant fastened around her neck stirred, its wings fluttering before it went still against her skin. Its tiny head turned, its gaze focusing on me.
Farris let out another whine.
Queen Naveer ignored him and watched us over her teacup, her red lips curved in satisfaction. Like a spider admiring flies in her web.
The nyxin rose and turned, his nose twitching as he stared toward the shadowy figure by the fire. A deep growl rumbled in his chest.
“Farris,” I whispered.
He slunk back to me, fur bristling along his back. After one more glance toward the shadows, he sat, leaning against my leg. I caught Lore’s eye, and he gave me a subtle shake of his head. He couldn’t tell who or what sat in that chair either.
Queen Naveer plucked a piece of food delicately from between her teeth, holding it out on her finger to examine it before licking it off. “How delicious that it's you two who've made it this far.”
“That’s an odd way of putting it. Why delicious?” I asked in as cheerful a voice as I could manage.
She didn't look my way, though her mouth twitched. She'd heard me; she just wasn't going to acknowledge me.
“Answer my wife,” Lore grated out.
Naveer’s eyebrows lifted. “I will do whatever I please within my own court, Lord Rutherford. If that includes choosing not to answer impertinent questions, then so be it.”
Impertinent? She was the one tossing out teases without following through. Well, fuck her. The sooner we grabbed the talisman and got out of here, the better.
“Here's the key.” Lore tossed it onto the low table, and it clattered, skittering across the surface, stopping to teeter on the edge before stilling.
Naveer lifted her cup and sipped her tea. “’So many come to me with trinkets they can’t understand, hoping they’ll earn favor. Do you think yourselves clever?”
Her eyes skipped over Lore to land on me. That glance sharpened, and I felt her probing my mental defenses, testing my barriers.
Stiffening, I strengthened them.
Her mouth tightened, and her gouge slid away.
“The talented often wrap themselves in subtlety. Such a thing is charming in children. Less so in adults who should know better.” Her gaze flicked from our boots to our clothing, then back up to our faces.
“But I suppose I shouldn’t insult those brave enough to climb seven flights of stairs to deliver a bit of metal. ”
Movement flickered in my peripheral vision. When I looked, only twisted sculptures stared back, a chall with haunted eyes, a beetle devouring itself mid-chew.
One of the statues moved, I told Lore.
Which one?
The one shaped like a chall. Or maybe the beetle one beside it with too many legs and wings folded down on its spine moved. It's… I looked closer. Yuck. Devouring a smaller version of itself. It had been crafted mid-chew.
The figurines weren't decorations, they were people and creatures trapped by this evil woman. Everyone who'd played her games and lost. Everyone who'd given her a “willing” sacrifice.
I don't see it moving, he said. Wouldn't surprise me if it did, however.
We're not guests. We're the next course. I turned back to the queen, catching the subtle excitement in her eyes. She’s enjoying this.
I’ll kill her now, if you’d like, though I don’t know if I can get past her wards. She’s strong. Very strong.
As entertaining as that would be, not yet.
Queen Naveer lifted another pastry from the ornate platter on the table beside her and took a bite, speaking around it, scattering crumbs across the front of her pretty gown.
“I once watched a bird sing as I slowly ripped out its throat.” Her voice had gone lighter, almost dreamy.
“It made the most exquisite sound. Have you ever heard a death song? The moment when hope dies but the body still fights? Intoxicating.”
This wasn't a throne room. It was a hunting ground dressed in finery.
“There's beauty in a creature's final song,” she said. “Both bitter and sweet.”
Hot air rolled from the hearth, slamming against my back, making sweat prickle down my spine. The heat mixing with the spice-heavy air made nausea swim through me.
The pendant flashed light, catching me in the eyes.
Farris snapped his head toward Laphira.
At first I didn’t notice anything else. Then something shifted on the floor behind her chair.
A dark and serpentine thing slithered soundlessly across the floor, testing Laphira's scent before sliding toward Lore.
My hand flew to my boot, my fingers finding the blade I'd kept hidden.
With a single pull, I had it in hand, though not for long. Steel flashed as my dagger spun through the air, finding its mark. It struck the dark thing, slicing it in two. The serpent hissed, writhed, then dissolved into the stone.
Naveer finished a pastry, acting as if nothing had happened, but her gaze had sharpened.
Laphira continued to stare at the wall, seemingly oblivious to what was going on in the room.
Farris snarled.
Lore sent a lifted eyebrow look my way. Nicely done, wife.
Thanks. My voice shook.
The pendant secured to Laphira’s throat jerked, its wings fluttering before it stopped moving. Its eyes went glassy and still.
A twitch of Lore's fingers, and my blade slid across the floor, coming to a stop by my left boot.
I stooped, grabbing the handle deftly to return it to its hidden location.
Blood streaked the edge in a bright red smear.
A quick wipe across my pants removed some, though it didn’t clean the blade.
I tucked it into one of my sheaths on my thigh rather than return it to my boot where the creature’s fluids would touch my skin.
Queen Naveer finished her tea, placing the cup back on the table with a clink. She lifted a small pouch from the table and untied the cord. After loosening the tie at the top, she reached inside, plucking out something round and thin. A flick of her wrist and a coin tumbled toward me.
I snatched it out of the air and opened my hand with it lying on my palm.
How thoughtful, I told Lore. A token with her own lovely face.
“Congratulations,” she purred. “You’ve won the first competition. Let's see how long you can keep me entertained.”
The fire cracked louder behind us. I turned, expecting to finally catch a glimpse of the hidden figure.
The nook was empty.
Were they moving through the castle, hunting other players who hadn't been fast enough to reach safety?