Chapter 30 The Underground
Chapter Thirty
The Underground
Alex
Her father’s eyes widened. It’s likely he knew that she had come here in search of her lost queen, possibly licking her wounds after dealing with the takeover of Queen Vivian, but he had clearly not expected her to pull out her Coin of Cabhair.
Reaching out, he swiftly covered her hand, hiding the coin from view.
“Put it away.” His tone was sharp, but not unkind. “This room is secure, but not safe.”
Alex palmed the coin, sliding it back into her pocket. Just then, the barkeep reappeared, sliding two pints of ale in front of them.
“Thank you, Barb.” Caius smiled. “We will be exiting through the back, no need to bother with us.”
Barb’s eyes sparked with interest, but she knew better than to question him. “Yes, sir. I understand.”
Caius gave a curt nod, turning his attention back to Alex.
“Let’s finish our drinks, and then we can talk.”
Not one to drag things out, Alex picked up her ale and downed it in one long pull.
If Caius was surprised, he didn’t show it.
Instead, he mirrored her action and stood, holding his hand out for her.
There were no doors back here that she could see, but that didn’t mean anything; she knew that her father had ways of becoming invisible.
Glancing back over his shoulder, making sure they were still alone, Caius ran his hand along a painting of a black dagger wrapped in thick razor sharp thorns, dark red blood dripping from them.
A faint snicking sound came from the wall, as a lock released somewhere inside.
Caius pushed, and a door swung outward, revealing a set of stairs leading down into the shadows of a tunnel.
He motioned for her to enter first, before following her inside, pushing the door firmly back into place.
For a moment, they were cloaked in complete darkness, the air heavy with moisture. “Where are we going?” Alex whispered, almost hesitant to speak at all.
Caius simply strode past her, swiftly taking the stairs to the bottom, a small flame erupting from a lantern in his hand.
The sudden brightness blinded her momentarily, and she wondered where he had gotten the lantern from and when he had even picked it up.
Alex hurried to follow her father as he descended further into the tunnel, his long legs eating up the distance quickly, leaving her scrambling to keep pace.
It wasn’t long before the passageway opened into a large room, with several other passageways leading in different directions. There was a table and a few chairs in the center of the room, empty crates along one wall, but little else. Setting the lantern on the table, Caius pulled out a chair.
“Sit.”
It wasn’t a question. Alex sat. She knew her father well and could tell by his body language that he was expecting her to share all.
And she would. She never lied to him; she couldn’t.
He had a no nonsense way about him that made you reveal your most sacred secrets.
Lucky for her, she trusted him implicitly.
“Where are we?” She asked, needing a moment to get her thoughts in order.
“It is a long story that I neither have the time nor the patience to share right now, but in general, I will tell you that we are in a series of ancient underground tunnels that stretch across the whole of Diathan. There are entrances spread throughout.”
She couldn’t hide her initial shock. Although, as the information settled, it made perfect sense. He always knew what was happening in the realm, seemingly before news reached the other provinces. This must be how he was able to garner information so quickly.
Her father’s voice resounded through the almost empty room, bringing her focus back to him.
“Tell me what is of such emergence that you would use your Coin of Cabhair, Alex? You know that it is reserved for life or death situations, and you may only use it once. Is your life in danger, my child?”
Alex paused. “Not my life, no, but I fear for the life of my Queen.”
Caius grunted. “Keep your coin. I will help if I can. Tell me what is going on.”
Settling her resolve, Alex sat back, her eyes meeting his.
There would be no evading him or giving him a half truth any longer; she was going to have to have this conversation whether she was ready for it or not.
Starting at the beginning, she revealed her and Rivka’s relationship.
Caius’ face remained passive, not a tick of surprise.
Her heart cracked a little at the realization that he had, in fact, known about them, and she had kept it from him.
He must have thought that she didn’t trust him with the most sacred part of her life, and that wasn’t it at all.
She had been protecting Rivka. Or so she had thought.
She should have known better. Continuing on, Alex stopped only to answer his questions when he asked them, and by the time it was all out, she was utterly exhausted.
Telling him felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her chest, even briefly, and she could finally breathe.
Caius must have seen the weight of the words she had spoken, and the emotion she was continuing to try and suppress. He stood, pulling her up into his arms, pressing her face to his shoulder.
“Go ahead and let go, my love. You are safe here.” He whispered against her hair.
Alex stiffened when he pulled her in. His familiar scent of smoke and leather enveloped her.
She had been so determined to stay strong that she instinctively tried to lock it back away, but as soon as the words reached her ears, a dam broke loose inside of her.
Tears soaked his shirt, her sobs muffled in his embrace.
She locked her arms around his torso, clinging to him.
She hadn’t cried yet, and this was her undoing.
All of the pain and anguish came pouring out of her in wave after wave, an endless well of suffering.
He held her until she quieted and her cries faded into hiccups. Yanking a handkerchief out of his pocket, he pressed it into her hand. Sniffling, Alex looked at her father with red, swollen eyes. He always seemed to know exactly what she needed, her calm, her steady hands in the dark.
Wiping at her eyes with the bit of cloth, she straightened out of his embrace, taking a step back. “Thanks for all that.” She rasped out, her voice hoarse from crying.
His dark blue eyes met hers, “I will always be here for you, Alexandria.”
Gesturing to the table, they sat again, facing one another. Caius reached across and took Alex’s hands in his.
“Listen carefully to me, my daughter. We do not have a lot of time left. I cannot be away for much longer. Marta is expecting me to deliver his blades, and you need to be on your way.” He paused before continuing, “Your young gentleman will likely come searching if you don’t make it back by sundown. ”
“He isn’t my gentleman. He just helped me back in Brookshire. I didn’t even want his help.” Alex tossed out, scowling. Caius just chuckled, ignoring her flippant comment, as he leaned in. “There have been stirrings, beasts that shouldn’t exist, like your Grimalkin.”
“Are you saying that those things are real? That I didn’t actually hallucinate it? And there are more of them out there?” Alex asked, ignoring the chill dancing up her spine.
“You did not hallucinate anything. Trust your training. You must stay vigilant. They come in all different forms, but since you insist on traveling, promise me you will stay out of the water. It isn’t safe. Only death lurks beneath.”
She scoffed, “After surviving with you, there’s not much that can take me down.”
Caius leveled a stern look at her. “This is no time for jokes, Alexandria. Your very life depends on the choices you make from here on.”
Alex’s eyes widened, his words causing fear to settle in the pit of her stomach and she wasn’t scared easily. Her father’s grave tone wasn’t one she’d heard often. She started to speak, but he shook his head.
“You must follow the path that is already set in motion for you. Find your queen so that the true heir may take the throne.”
“What do you mean? Rivka is already queen and she has no heir.”
“This will all make sense in time. You must trust me.” Caius said, “Now listen carefully if you want to find your queen.”
He rushed through his instructions, adamant on what she should do and where she should go to find Rivka.
Alex sat stunned. This was going to take some time to process. Thoughts spun through her mind. She had so many questions, but no time to ask them. She would have to process on the move. She had to find Rivka and, if what her father had just said was true, then she had to leave now.
She needed to get the supplies, get back to Davin and prepare to leave at first light.
The thought of leaving him caused nausea to roil in her gut.
They had been by each other's side nearly every minute of the day for the past three weeks and being separated from him felt strangely wrong. She didn’t have the energy or the time to dissect those feelings.
It didn’t matter anyway since she wouldn’t be allowing him to join her.
This was her fight, her job. Caius stood, gathering her in his arms once again.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Dad. Thank you for everything. I would be lost without you, literally.”
Caius grinned, letting go of her, guiding her back the way they had come. They said their goodbyes on the steps of The Black Rose. Alex could feel her father watching her as she moved towards the center of town. She wished that life wasn’t so complicated; she missed him dearly. Another time though.
Today was almost done; the hours of emotional turmoil fast catching up with her.
Between trying to recover from the mountains, the attack, and then three weeks on the cold, hard ground with little to help her build back her strength, she didn’t feel like her normal self.
The wounds in her side and forearm still throbbed, as if fighting an unknown venom of some kind.
As much as it frustrated her, she would just have to ignore it.