Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Vaskel and Lira walked briskly but quietly across the icy stone bridge, placing each foot with care to avoid both slipping and making noise. Below, the stream gurgled and rushed, swollen with snowmelt and churning with bits of ice loosened from the banks.
By the time they reached the far side of the bridge, the mysterious figure was completely out of sight, but the open road was empty and the only other option was the path leading to the castle.
Without discussion, he and Lira took the road to Grayhelm.
The old laird had been sick for ages now, and it was hardly a secret.
The castle's reduced guard, the hush that had settled over the formerly bustling fortress, and the way the grounds had withered were all signs of a lord too ill to rule properly.
But there was something else in that castle, something that iced Vaskel's blood—a dark mage imprisoned in the dungeons below, the one who'd nearly killed him and his friends before being captured, the one who'd been locked away for many moons now, supposedly rendered harmless by magic-suppressing chains.
There was no chance Marina would have any connection to him or even knowledge of his existence. Was there?
Dread sent a chill through him colder than any winter gust as he passed through the stone archway into the castle yard.
The change from the days long ago when he’d passed through the area and stopped at the castle was noticeable.
Where once the courtyard had bustled with servants, merchants, and guards, now it stood nearly empty.
It was less dilapidated than quiet. The castle felt like a place holding its breath, waiting for death.
A few guards patrolled, but it was clear they had grown unused to frequent visitors. The only reason Vaskel didn’t worry that the imprisoned mage was at risk of escaping was the fact that both Val and Korl checked on his security every time they were on patrol.
One guard noticed them and straightened slightly, though his hand didn't go to his weapon. “You have business here?”
Lira was already moving like she was a rogue and not a tavern baker. “We’re looking for some friends of ours.”
“Dwarves,” Vaskel added.
The guard scratched his head. “You’ve lost some dwarves?” He glanced at another guard across the way and cocked a brow, as if wondering if they should be worried about a dwarf invasion. “How many?”
“Two,” Lira said, flashing her sweetest smile. “They’re friends. Not armed.”
The guard rocked back on his heels. “I saw a dwarf, but she said she was with the healer.” He cocked a thumb vaguely over his shoulder. “She went to deliver something to her room.”
Vaskel stiffened but tried not to let his worry show on his face. Sass was sneaking into Marina’s room? He was both impressed by the plan and terrified. If Marina caught her…
“Up here?” Lira asked, her voice light and conversational as she made for the arched doorway.
Vaskel hurried after her, holding his breath in anticipation of the guards stopping them. But they didn’t, and soon he and Lira were through the doorway and hurrying up winding stone steps.
“You don’t think Sass is really going to sneak into Marina’s room, do you?” he whispered, the words bouncing off the stone and echoing back to him.
“You mean do I think she’s headstrong enough?” Lira asked.
Vaskel grunted. He didn’t need an answer to that question. Part of him was impressed that Sass had come up with the idea to infiltrate where the hellkin was staying and look for a hair there. It was certainly less risky than snatching a hair from Martina’s head. He gulped. Unless she was caught.
They crested the staircase, emerging into a stone hallway draped with dusty tapestries and flickering wall sconces. Heavy wooden doors lined both sides of the hall, with no indication which one could be the hellkin’s quarters. If this was even the right corridor.
Lira moved to one, examining the door handle and grinning. “No locks.”
Small favors, though Vaskel, as he imagined startling the occupants of the rooms and hoping very much that none of them were armed—or were Marina.
“You take one side, and I’ll take the other,” Lira said, reminding him so much of the days when they’d run together that his chest squeezed.
Vaskel nodded without speaking, but as his hand closed around the first iron door handle, a door farther down the hall creaked open. He and Lira both went rigid, and Vaskel glanced at the open stairwell, gauging how fast they could dash to it.
Before he could dive for cover, Sass stepped into the hallway and her gaze snagged on her friends. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” Lira hissed.
Sass held up her small hand where several jet black hairs dangled from her fingers. “I got them.”
Lira waved her toward them. “Good. Let’s go before we’re spotted.”
Sass rushed down the corridor, her feet tapping on the stone floor, then the three of them went down the coiling steps single file until they reached the archway leading to the courtyard.
“You didn’t happen to see Thrain, did you?” Vaskel asked before they stepped into the courtyard.
“He’s not here,” Sass said, her voice clipped. There was something she wasn’t saying.
Lira stopped and turned, causing them all to bump into each other. “How are you so sure?”
“Because I saw Marina.” Sass’s expression hardened. “She’s with someone new.”
Vaskel’s stomach dropped. He knew without even hearing a name that he wasn’t going to like it. “Who?”