Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Perden shone like a lost jewel hidden among shadows.
It stood on the precipice of a waterfall, a citadel rising high against the mountainside—an entire kingdom, really—as if it had been stuck there by some giant hand. A bridge spanned the waterfall, the water flowing under it until it disappeared into a misty basin.
“Holy gods,” Thalia murmured as Cassius nudged Feryena onward.
The stone bridge stretched at least six wagon-widths across, and mist met her face despite how high they were.
“Is this the only way to get to the city?” Thalia asked, the roar of water humming in her ears.
“There’s three entrances into Perden,” Cassius rumbled. “This is one. One down in the basin, although you have to climb thousands of stairs to reach the top. And then one that leads from the other side of the mountain to the sea.”
Thalia tried to take it all in, the mountain looming larger the closer they got to the stone city built into its side. She caught sight of little blobs flying into and out of open windows.
“What are those?” she asked, pointing.
“Shifters,” Cassius replied.
Thalia stared in awe as the distant shapes continued to enter and exit the citadel. The trio slowed their horses when they came to a closed gate, its wood gleaming with moisture. All sorts of whorls and designs that Thalia couldn’t decipher had been carved into its surface.
One of the guards standing watch stepped forward. He nodded. “Lord Cassius, Lord Keegan, we’ve been expecting you.”
The gates swung open on their own, and Cassius nodded his thanks as they rode into Perden.
The city was laid out on cobblestone streets, all winding up the mountain, each level grander than the last. Various shops and cafés lined the streets at the bottom, the scent of crisp apples and roasted honey drifting into Thalia’s nose.
The second level held homes and other, nicer storefronts.
Thalia’s lips twitched as a group of children ran by pushing a hoop on a stick, their laughter chasing her as she and her companions climbed through the city.
They finally stopped when they got to the very top of the citadel. The castle’s courtyard was made of stone and fossilized tree trunks. Cassius dismounted before the entrance, helping her down. She turned, sucking in a deep breath at the view.
They were high enough to see the expanse of the horizon. She squinted, and though she knew she was too far away, she could have sworn she saw the forest bordering their worlds.
She shivered, a crisp breeze tugging at the strands of her hair.
Thalia turned back just as Camilla and Lady Decima greeted them.
“Lord Cassius.” Lady Decima inclined her head. “I hope the journey was uneventful.”
Thalia resisted the urge to snort as Cassius replied, “You could say that.”
Lady Decima gestured for them to follow her inside. Thalia glanced at Camilla, but the shifter just smirked, trailing after them.
The inside of the castle was carved into the mountain itself, and covered hallways and arches bled to different areas. They all followed after Lady Decima, heading deeper.
Cold air nipped at Thalia’s cheeks, even though the wind off the mountain couldn’t reach them here. Carvings of various creatures, ones Thalia didn’t recognize, covered the walls. Strange beings that seemed to dance in starlight.
She shivered, and Cassius glanced over his shoulder as Lady Decima continued to speak about the progress happening within Lorceium itself.
“We’ve managed to find two more pockets,” she said as they entered an octagonal room. A stone table had been erected in the middle. A carving of a fox with multiple teeth grinned in the center.
“Where?” Keegan asked.
Lady Decima took a seat in one of the chairs. Everyone else followed suit. “The lower levels of the mountain. Deeper than we’d anticipated.”
Cassius’s jaw flickered. “You said there was a setback?”
Lady Decima cocked her dark head. “The deeper we dig, the less stable the mountain becomes. There was a cave-in two weeks ago.”
Keegan sucked in a sharp breath. “Was anyone hurt?”
Shadows crossed Lady Decima’s eyes. “We had a number of casualties. But we cannot keep doing this, Lord Cassius, no matter what your prince says. If we continue, the whole mountain will collapse and the pockets of magic will be lost to us.”
Which meant the backup plan to bring the Vampyrs here to escape the creature would be null and void.
“Camilla said the Mages have found something else? What is it?” Cassius asked, his words sharp.
“Perhaps I can explain.”
Everyone except Thalia stood as a new person entered the room. Thalia stared in shock at the woman who’d entered.
She was by far one of the most beautiful women Thalia had ever seen. Dark lashes framed her upturned oval eyes, highlighting her silver irises. Her long, straight black hair fell to her waist. She wore a peacock-blue dress of thick velvet, cinched at the waist with a belt of golden brocade.
“Larellia.” Cassius inclined his head, and everyone took to their seats. “What have the Mages found?”
It clicked then that this was the head Mage. Larellia took a seat near Lady Decima, folding her pale hands together. “A bitten found its way into the borders of House Olvectus.”
Cassius jerked and Keegan cursed. Larellia waved her hand. “Don’t be so dramatic. It was dealt with.”
“You killed the bitten?” Cassius asked, his words low.
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
“As you know, we’ve been trying to harness the pockets of magic to expand them to encompass the entire mountain as a whole.
It’s been slow going, the magic is fickle.
It does not like to bend or move in the way we want it to.
However”—Larellia lifted her silver gaze—“it can be used to suspend time.”
“What do you mean?” Keegan’s eyes widened.
“These pockets can hold someone for an indefinite amount of time. They will remain frozen, unaging. Simply sleeping until a Mage pulls them out.”
“So what are you saying?” A muscle in Cassius’s jaw flickered again.
“We may not be able to house all of Vaccarium, but with the pockets in the mountain, we can bring the bitten here. We can suspend them until a cure is found, without the fear of them waking or retaliating.”
Cassius had paled slightly, and Thalia didn’t know why. She tried to catch his gaze, but he wouldn’t meet her stare.
“This brings us to our second point,” Larellia said, nodding to Camilla. “We’ve been running tests, trying to figure out if the poison in the teeth can be used as a cure.”
“And?” Thalia asked, her first word the entire meeting.
Larellia finally glanced at her, surprise flaring in her silver eyes before it was gone.
“We believe we have something, but we need a bitten to test it out on. Camilla informed me that your sister was bitten and is staying in the manor by the lake? If we bring her here, we can test out the antidote. If it fails, at least we can suspend her until a cure reveals itself.”
Cassius stared at Larellia, his face paling further. His hands clenched on the table, his eyes flashing before he got out, “She won’t be of any use.” Thalia’s stomach dropped as Cassius continued, “She—she is already in slumber.”
Camilla gasped, her face morphing in horror. “You drained her blood?”
“We didn’t—I didn’t know this was an option,” Cassius rasped. “I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Thalia’s stomach twisted in knots. If it weren’t for her, his sister would be awake; she’d have a shot at being cured. But because of her—because of her own brash judgment—Sybil would never have a chance.
Bile rose in her throat, and Cassius still wouldn’t look at her.
Larellia stared at him. “We shall have to find another bitten, then.”
The conversation moved on, Larellia explaining how the cure might work and Lady Decima chiming in every once in a while.
Through it all, Cassius sank deeper and deeper into himself.
Thalia feared he might never look at her again.
Thalia’s chamber in the castle overlooked the waterfall. Even so high up, she could have sworn the mist still licked her face. Her room had open archways and no windows to block the mountain air from entering, but braziers lit about the room kept out the chill.
Thalia stared into the night. Up here, the clouds were no more than wisps against the night sky.
She glanced behind her at her closed door. Cassius hadn’t found her. Hadn’t said a word or looked at her since Larellia said they could suspend a bitten.
And she didn’t know if he was angry with her or himself.
Thalia chewed the inside of her cheek. After the meeting, they’d been shown to their rooms. But that had been hours ago. Tentatively, she padded to the door.
She made it all of two feet down the hall before she ran into Camilla.
“What are you doing?” the shifter asked, dark brow raised. She didn’t seem to have rested or changed from the day.
“Where is Cassius?”
Camilla’s gaze sharpened, something Thalia hadn’t been expecting. “His room.”
“Where is it?”
“Why? What do you want with him?”
Thalia felt her annoyance rise, but she shut it down. Let it drown alongside her growing guilt. “I want to talk to him.”
Camilla’s brows narrowed, her golden eyes scanning Thalia. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
Thalia bit the inside of her cheek, forcing her anger away.
“I know. I can assume that you blame me for what happened with Sybil, and you have every right to. I let her out. Practically handed myself to her on a silver platter. I don’t …
I don’t know what your relationship was like with her.
” Camilla looked away, eyes flashing with something that Thalia couldn’t place.
“But I can assume, given your roles on the prince’s council, that you were close.
But I—I also know that Cassius blames himself for this.
And he shouldn’t. I need to tell him that. ”
Camilla finally looked at her. While her gaze remained guarded, she eventually relented. “He’s at the end of the hall.”