Chapter Forty-Seven
Amalthea
The hard part wasn’t getting back to Ioni without shoving her fur-lined sock in Lady Kayara’s mouth, or procuring a raw steak the size of her thigh without rousing suspicion.
It wasn’t even tracing Mina’s path on the map she kept stashed in her room, though orienting herself to the owl’s location wasn’t exactly easy.
It was the waiting.
Waiting to be left alone, waiting for Mina to find the path, which took over a day, the magic connecting them mercifully holding fast. Waiting while she begged off as ill the next day to rest, and she prepared to sneak out of Ioni.
Noon didn’t feel like a clandestine time to slip away, but for vampires it was the best option.
Thea packed carefully. A small rucksack of provisions tucked under her cloak, coins in the sole of her boot, her deck slung low on her hips.
And most importantly, clutched close to her chest, the map she’d sketched showing the location of the temple.
The map was now enchanted, a bit of luck that would prevent anything unfortunate, like a tea spill muddying it, a tear ruining it, or even the wind taking it.
A fresh warmth charm was cast on the cloak, and another primed for whatever horse she took.
That was the one wrinkle in her plan. Amalthea had only one transport card she could use, a frustrating limitation.
If she could magic herself to the temple and back, she could have the wand before anyone was the wiser.
But now she was cut off from her contact and hadn’t been able to secure another.
She’d need to get there on foot. Then she could use the card to get back to Damerel. Dyna was an unfortunate complication, but . . . one thing at a time.
Thea didn’t creep down the hall for the same reason she didn’t bother using an invisibility enchantment.
For one, there was no point—her heartbeat would give her away to any vampire awake and listening.
More importantly, it would rouse suspicion.
So she let her door latch only slightly, muffling the sound, and walked down the corridor as if she had not a care in the world.
Ioni was far smaller than Damerel, and Thea was confident she’d learned most of it over the past week with Lady Kayara.
There were three main sectors of the palace—one for guests, like her and Dyna, one for the rulers, and one for the rest of the court.
Thea made it out of the guest wing easily enough, then moved through the one where the rest of the court was.
Sneaking out would require her to continue through that sector.
Bright blue spires of icy stone formed the walls, glistening with blue torchlight.
“You’re up early, Lady Amalthea.”
“Consort Quinn,” Thea said, trying to hide her surprise. She hadn’t expected to see any vampires up at these hours. Definitely not the consort, out of their wing. “I’m afraid I couldn’t sleep. I thought to walk through the frost gardens in the daylight.”
Thea counted her breaths, trying to slow the jump of her heartbeat.
“This isn’t the way to them,” Quinn replied.
Thea gave the consort a shy smile. “I may have gotten twisted. These aren’t my usual chambers.
” She glanced back, hoping she had already passed Kayara’s rooms. She’d studiously avoided visiting them over the past few days.
If Thea had planned better, she would have readied a lie about sneaking from Lady Kayara’s room sooner, but she hadn’t expected to see anyone here.
With her visions so focused on the necromancer, there was a lot she wasn’t seeing these days.
“Allow me to escort you.”
Thea smiled like it was an offer, not an order. “That would be lovely, Consort.”
The consort closed the distance between them and offered their arm.
Thea took it. It was a slight delay, nothing more, she told herself.
She counted her breaths four in, seven out, three in, eight out, careful not to form a pattern that could betray her nerves while still trying to steady herself as the consort led her through the halls.
All she had to do was follow Quinn to the gardens and wander about them for a while, then slip out from the palace as planned.
The trouble was, Thea did know the way to the frost gardens. And they weren’t going there.
She fought to keep her voice light and level as they turned another corner. “Consort, is it possible we passed the gardens?”
“We did,” Quinn confirmed.
A chill went down Thea’s spine, but she didn’t let herself falter. What was this about? They couldn’t know what she was up to. She had been careful. She was always careful. “Did I misunderstand? I thought you were escorting me to them.”
“I said I’d escort you. I never specified to where.” A pause. “The queen wishes to see you.”