Thirty-Two Adriana
C ObrA, THE H OUSE Wrath suitor, was in the guests’ training rooms located on the second floor, tossing daggers at a straw dummy.
Her long ebony hair was braided into an intricate crown around her head, her black leather trousers hanging low on her hips. The gold corset she wore had sheer sleeves that ended in what looked to be metal wrist cuffs. She exuded her House of Sin in every way.
Her gray eyes turned to where I lingered by the threshold. A dagger flew through the air, hilt over blade, then struck the dummy with a loud thwack.
Cobra expelled an annoyed breath.
The dummy’s head rolled to the floor.
She shot another look my way, then retrieved her throwing daggers. “You’re Eden’s sister. And Miss Match, right? Of ‘stay scandalous’ fame? I didn’t get a chance to speak with you at the welcome dinner.”
With everything that had happened over the last couple of days, I’d nearly forgotten the catchphrase was still wildly popular. I hoped my smile was pleasant and not encroaching on a grimace.
“Yes.” I moved into the room. “If you’ve got a few moments, I have some questions for the next advice column. I’m working on a special piece to introduce the suitors and hopefully give some romantic advice based on your previous dating experiences.”
Cobra lifted a shoulder and yanked her daggers out one by one. “What do you want to know? If you’re hinting at the rumors about my father’s hunting trip, I’m afraid that’s off-limits.”
I valued my life too much to stick my nose into that scandal.
“I’m only interested in your history with the prince. Anytime you’ve previously interacted. First impressions. Your hopes and relationship goals. That sort of thing.”
She tossed the dagger in the air, watching me. “I actually met Prince Gluttony at the All-Sinners Ball several years ago. He was quite flirtatious.”
My brows rose. I didn’t recall seeing her there, but then again, I’d been occupied with my own emotional drama that night. I didn’t know why the information surprised me.
“Interesting.” I scribbled down the note, taking careful pains to not break my quill. “Did either of you engage in anything more serious than flirting?”
She gave me an amused look. “Nothing that would give me an advantage in this competition, if that’s what you’re asking.”
It wasn’t and she’d very impressively dodged my question. “Do you recall any details of that night that might intrigue the public?”
And by the public I meant me. I was horridly curious about someone else’s perspective on that night that changed so much for me. Axton’s reaction last night had been annoying enough for me to consider digging into it again.
“Let’s see.” She cocked her head to one side. “I remember thinking the prince had no shortage of romantic interest. But I don’t remember much about what he was doing. It was a decade ago.”
Deciding to stretch the truth a bit, I said casually, “One of the suitors recalls him being enamored with a commoner. So much that he’d been on the verge of proposing.”
“Oh, how deliciously scandalous.” Cobra drew back, her surprise seeming genuine. “I don’t remember that, but I also was occupied with someone that night, too. She’d had the most interesting feather we were discussing. I recall it vividly because I thought it looked like Prince Envy’s razor-like quills. He had quite the legendary rule about lovers then.” At my blank look, she waved her hand. “You had to be there. Is the commoner one of Gluttony’s suitors now?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have that information,” I lied.
I asked a few more questions about the competition, her hopes, what she wanted for her future, her ideal romantic date, any relationship advice she had for others, then excused myself.
My intuition was buzzing, but I couldn’t quite sort out why.
After my meeting with Cobra, I decided a walk around the castle would do me a world of good for multiple reasons. I found out from Sophie that the suitors were getting ready for high tea with the prince, so I’d set out earlier tomorrow to interview everyone else. Which meant I had time to poke around the castle while everyone was occupied with the competition.
That I was also doing everything in my power to avoid the prince was beside the point.
I couldn’t believe I’d nearly walked in on him, shirtless, in his private sparring room. I’d thought he’d be busy courting his suitors, not brawling with his brother.
One glance at his sweat-covered, tattooed body and my mind promptly went straight to the gutter. I vowed to steer clear of that section of the castle for the rest of my stay.
I meandered down the corridors on the farthest edge of the castle. I’d only ever seen the main level where parties were thrown, and House Gluttony was practically the size of a small city.
I veered down to the lower levels. I wasn’t sure yet what I was hoping to uncover, but servants were a wealth of information. Perhaps I’d overhear something scandalous.
The ground floor was a hive of activity—servants filtered in and out of the main corridor, busily tending to the castle’s needs. Maids with armfuls of freshly laundered linens rushed to and fro, while others polished silver, stoked the fires, and prepped for the coming festivities.
The first phase of the competition was taking place soon; rumor claimed it was something about kissing. I wouldn’t be attending, for obvious reasons. The magic that bound me to the prince made me have some primal urges. It wouldn’t be very becoming to go screeching at his potential brides and launch myself at them like a rabid monkey. Sophie would be horrified.
The thought made me laugh as I continued my stroll.
Several cooks toiled in a large kitchen. The smell of simmering stew wafted out into the hall as they chopped vegetables and stirred bubbling pots on the stove.
I narrowly avoided a collision as footmen hurriedly removed dishes from the upper guest chambers and carried them down to be cleaned in the scullery.
Chatter from nearly every chamber filled the air with an energetic hum, occasionally punctuated by laughter or an exclamation from one of the servants as they went about their daily tasks. Despite the absolute chaos of the scene, everyone worked together in perfect unison to ensure the efficient functioning of the castle.
If any of the suitors were obnoxious, I’d never know. I didn’t overhear one bad word passing between the staff, even down here, where they could speak freely.
I also didn’t hear any whispers of ice dragons or sense anything was amiss.
Everyone smiled pleasantly as I passed, nodding hello. They didn’t seem to be pretending, but looks could be deceiving. Maybe the prince had altered their memories.
I dismissed the idea as soon as it came.
I strolled along the corridor, peering into some more chambers, curious about what one did with so much space.
House Gluttony really was like its own small city—there was a butcher, sprawling fresh market, bakery, winery, tailor, and several more kitchens. Waitstaff and cooking staff and guest services and event planning. And those were all located on this one floor.
By the time I reached the end of the corridor, where two staircases diverged, I was ready to retire to my room to change. I hadn’t unearthed any clues here, so I’d venture into the shadow network and see if any of my informants had resurfaced yet.
Enough time had passed that Sophie and Eden should be at tea with the other suitors, trying to win the prince’s wicked heart. Except… I was intrigued by the unique set of stairs.
Maybe it was the writer in me, but my mind spun with stories as I lingered at the crossroads. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to spend a few more moments exploring.
One side of the staircase was bright, cheerful, clearly leading up to the main level, where parties were normally held, but the other spiraled down into the deepest, darkest pit of despair, if the bleak stone and medieval torches were anything to judge it by.
I went to take the upper stairs but paused again, my attention sliding to the darkened stairwell, which had to lead to some subterranean lair.
Or likely the dungeons. Which wasn’t far off from my first impression of “poorly lit torture chamber.”
Sophie would certainly pitch a fit if she knew I was entertaining the thought of touring the dungeons. Surely she had some rule against it that meant doing it would be another smudge on my sister’s reputation. And really, it was a boring old dungeon. What fun was there to be had?
Firelight flickered as if some underground breeze stirred from far below, the scent of musk or perhaps mildew traveling up with it.
A damp, dark dungeon, then. Wonderful.
Iron sconces were spread far enough apart that most of the stairwell was left in shadow, adding to the medieval charm.
I wasn’t prone to superstition but couldn’t stop the involuntary shiver from rolling down my spine. It would be a terrible idea to go wandering alone down there. Which sent a rush of excitement through me as I shifted course and took that first step into the abyss.
If Axton was keeping secrets, this would be the most obvious location. Which meant it was the last place I’d find a clue.
Logically, I knew there wasn’t anything truly terrible down there; it was all within the castle walls. But it was fun to give my imagination the space to craft all sorts of wicked tales.
That was by far more preferable than repeatedly thinking about what had passed between me and Axton on the rooftop of the Seven Sins last night. The desire. The thrill. The absolute horror.
The cursed way my heart raced at the thought of doing it again. I vowed to throw the biggest party of the century to celebrate my return to sanity once the blood oath was gone.
I shouldn’t be thinking of the prince on his knees. I shouldn’t relive each throbbing moment, yearning for his next forbidden touch. Madness. I was clearly drowning in it.
My hand trailed over the cool stone wall as I carefully descended, my ears pricked for any unusual sounds. Ghosts, goblins, wicked Fae, or bloodthirsty vampires—anything could be housed here, plotting escape and revenge.
Perhaps this was where the suitors had all met. I could imagine none more bloodthirsty than marriage-minded mammas as their heirs fought for Axton’s throne.
Sophie would be livid if I was discovered.
My imagination was working double time, the thrill of potentially getting caught spurring me on faster. No one had mentioned anything about any part of the castle being off-limits, so I wasn’t too worried about getting in trouble for exploring.
The stairwell spiraled down and down, the air growing heavier with condensation as layers of earth swallowed me whole from above.
It was nonsense, surely, but my ears popped, and my pulse thrashed, and I had to remind myself to breathe as the space between the light and shadows stretched farther and farther apart and danger seemed to press in all around me.
Finally, blessedly, I reached the basement level.
Alas, there was no sign of the suitors or the competition. But I’d ventured down and might as well explore a little more.
It was exactly what I’d expect of a dungeon. The floor was made of oversized gray stone slabs, the walls roughly hewn from the mountain House Gluttony had been built upon. Iron chandeliers hung menacingly low from the ceiling, most candles long since burned to the quick.
It was certainly dark, a little dank, and smelled of must and rotting straw.
Cells lined the right side of the wide corridor, the bars humming with magic. Which was unsurprising—the prince would have warded the cells against any magic wielders and supernatural beings that didn’t wish to be trapped.
The left side also had cells, but these had solid doors instead of bars, making any curious mind spin with thoughts of all sorts of potential deviant occupants and their crimes.
They weren’t any less potent with magic. I involuntarily shuddered at the amount of power feeding those closed cells, the magic making the fine hair on my arms stand on end.
I quietly continued down the corridor, stopping to peer into each of the cells. All were empty and looked like they hadn’t been occupied in quite some time.
Inside them thick layers of dust blanketed the ground, undisturbed as freshly fallen snow.
Spiders spun webs in the corners, catching a plethora of skittering bugs.
It was rather disappointing for my imagination, but the rush of possibility and what-ifs had been worth the endless stairs I’d taken to explore. Out of everything I’d toured today, this had held the most potential. Alas, I had to admit that my intuition might be wrong. Maybe Axton really wasn’t hiding any dark plot from the realm.
I turned to head back the way I’d come, when a growl rumbled the floor.
Pebbles broke away from the walls from the force of the noise, and I gripped the nearest bars to steady myself. The sound ceased as if it had been silenced by magic.
“Gods’ bones. What was that?”
I stood, breathing in and out slowly, waiting for my limbs to stop trembling.
Mouth dry, I faced the opposite end of the corridor again.
The sound had come from the last door on the left. Part of me wondered if it did involve the competition. If so, it would be best for me to run before I was caught.
But… what if it wasn’t anything to do with the game? What if it was the break in the case I’d been searching for?
That little devious wretch on my shoulder always got me into trouble. She whispered for me to get closer, to investigate the monster.
Feeling determined, I padded quietly to the door. I might be an advice columnist now, and I might not want to make any more trouble for my sister, but I couldn’t walk away from seeing what that was and how I might write a story about it one day. If it was an ice dragon, if Axton was keeping one locked away here… then maybe Jackson had been killed by one.
The closer I got to the cell where the noise emanated from, the colder the air became. I slipped over a thin coating of ice. I glanced down, rubbing my hands over my arms.
The frost seemed to be coming from under the cell door.
I studied it for a moment, my teeth slowly beginning to chatter. I wondered if someone had left a window open and if that was why the creature had roared. It was positively freezing.
I waited for some jailer or guard to come check. No one stirred.
I inched closer to the cell.
A small circular window sat a foot or so above the middle of the door. The perfect place to spy on whatever nefarious creatures Axton was hiding down here.
I told myself I was doing it for Eden’s sake. Who knew if this would be part of the next test? If I spied now, I could gain her an edge.
I rolled up onto my toes, hands pressed to the cold metal door, a hiss escaping at the icy bite as I peered inside.
A giant crimson eye blinked at me, its size taking up the entire window, making it larger than my open palm.
I opened my mouth to scream but was cut off as a rough hand clamped over my mouth. In the next instant an arm as hard as steel circled my waist, trapping me.
I kicked at the air but couldn’t gain purchase as I was hoisted up and dragged away.