Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Emilie
King Vincent was kind enough to offer lodging while we remained in Baumheim. Since our other option was to sleep in the bunks aboard the Aria, we immediately took him up on his offer.
We were each given a room—although I would’ve been happy to share with Ladon. I had a feeling he would sneak into my room later, but neither of us wanted to make a scene in front of Cyrus.
My room was the perfect size for a short-term guest. Large enough to fit a bed and a sitting area, but comfortable too. White linens covered the soft mattress and hung above the window, pushed to the side so I could see the forest around us and the sea in the distance.
While the room wasn’t grand in size, it made up for it with ornate details.
The same green and red gems we’d seen in the portrait hall and entrance were also encrusted in the floor and walls of my bedroom.
The bed frame was carved like a tree trunk with a headboard of branches crawling up toward the ceiling.
Even the chairs in my sitting area looked like the perfect place for a bird to perch, though they were cushioned with plump green pillows.
I didn’t have much time to clean up, so I quickly undressed and hopped in the shower. I scrubbed my body and hair in record time, anxious to get to the Stygian Market. Our host had also provided clean clothes, which I found lying on the bed.
I held up a forest green blouse and a pair of black leather pants. They were both a little big on me, but it was better than wearing any of the dirty clothes in my bag. Tossing my towel aside, I dressed and stepped into my boots once again. Then I grabbed my cloak and went to find the others.
Jade was already waiting in the hall.
“Where are Ladon and Cyrus?”
She shrugged. “Still cleaning up, I guess.”
I rolled my eyes. “I thought women were supposed to be the ones who took a long time getting ready?”
To my delight, Jade smiled. “That’s horseshit. Men are equally vain, if not more so, than we are.” Our laughter was short-lived, though.
Ladon stepped out of his room. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Jade said. “Can you tell your brother to hurry up?”
Ladon ran a hand through his damp hair, looking down the hall toward the door to Cyrus’s bedroom. “I’m not sure I’m the best person for that job. Why don’t you go instead?”
I knew he was only joking, but Jade took his suggestion seriously, stalking down the hall to bang on Cyrus’s door. She shouted, “Let’s go, Your Royal Highness. We’ve got things to do. You’ve primped enough. It’s not like you have anyone to impress.”
She looked back at us and winked. Ladon groaned, and I cringed. We were doing our best to diffuse the situation, but of course Jade would light a match and watch it explode.
Jade cupped her hands around her mouth and sucked in a sharp breath, ready to yell something else, but the door opened and Cyrus towered over her. He frowned and forced his way forward, knocking Jade back a step.
Her look of surprise was something I’d yet to see.
“Let’s go,” he grumbled.
Cyrus led the way again, since the rest of us were unfamiliar with the streets of Baumheim. We treaded down the hill on the opposite side of the bay, deeper into the wooded region. Cyrus hardly said a word the entire time.
There was a section of the route that was surrounded by nothing but trees. The houses disappeared, and so did the sunlight. Other than birds chirping and leaves blowing, I heard no signs of life.
It wasn’t long before voices filled the air again, growing as we approached a black archway.
Unlike the gate around the castle, it was unguarded.
In fact, no one even gave us a second look as we walked through.
We were all wearing cloaks with hoods pulled over our heads that cast shadows on our faces.
It would’ve looked suspicious if it weren’t the standard appearance for everyone around us.
The Stygian Market was shaped like a wheel—a glistening lagoon in the center with a small channel, lined with rowboats, leading away to the sea.
From the lagoon, multiple stone-paved spokes fanned out in all directions.
Unlike most markets, the buildings here were run down and covered in dust. The merchants didn’t set up inside them, but outside in carts and blankets strewn across the ground.
We passed the first few, including a woman selling bottles of substances I was certain were banned. Another woman was missing an eye and selling trinkets and antiques, which she described as ‘one of a kind’.
A man with a bald head and tattooed face inched closer to me, and I grabbed Ladon’s hand. Ladon gave the man a sharp glare, and he backed off, but I tried not to make eye contact with anyone after that.
A bell chimed four times to signal the top of the hour, startling me and causing my hood to fall. I quickly pulled it back up, making sure it was properly hiding my face. If we did come across Reyna, I wanted to see her before she saw us.
“Where should we start?” Jade asked in a hushed tone. Despite the crowds, Stygian Market was still eerily quiet except for the bell. Everyone was whispering their business, as if they feared the trees might eavesdrop and spill their sins to the gods.
“We should split up,” Cyrus answered. “I’ll take the northern side of the lagoon.”
“I’ll go with you,” Jade said, squinting her eyes when he showed the first sign of dispute. She effectively shut his objections down before he ever had a chance to express them.
Ladon nodded. “You can take the top half of the market. Emilie and I will take the lower half.”
We all agreed to meet back in an hour with any findings.
Ladon and I took our time wandering through the crowds, keeping our heads low and sneaking glances whenever we could.
Some had face coverings or hoods, like we did.
Others didn’t care if they were seen, openly showing their faces while bartering with customers.
I tried not to look at any of them for too long, lest they realize and stare back.
“Which way do you want to go first?” Ladon asked when we made it to a fork in the road.
“Left,” I said, side-stepping a man on a horse who otherwise would’ve trampled me.
“Careful,” Ladon said, and I could hear the grin in his voice even if I couldn’t see his face.
In reality, we were being anything but careful. We were stepping into the pit of danger and throwing ourselves to the gods’ mercy.
“Is this a crazy idea?” I asked as we walked by a man with a bloodied face and clothes that were torn to shreds. Wherever he had been, I didn’t want to go.
“Yes. That doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary.”
We made it to the end of our first spoke with nothing to show for it. Walking around the outer rim, we headed toward the next street in our allotted area.
The second street was equally disappointing, as was the third. It wasn’t until we got to our fourth spoke of the wheel that Ladon and I saw anything of interest.
“Do you see that man over there? With the gray coat and cigar?” Ladon asked, pulling me aside and pretending to observe a woman who was bending into all sorts of unnatural positions. It was as if her bones were missing.
I let my eyes leave her long enough to look where he had suggested. There was a table on the other side of the street where three people were playing a card game, one of them in a gray coat just like Ladon had described.
I looked back at the contortionist, afraid to stare for too long. But something made me look back once more. I got a clearer look at the man’s face this time, and when I did, I abruptly faced forward with a gasp.
“Is that…?”
“I believe so.”
Luther, Reyna’s right-hand man, was only feet away from us.
My heart pounded, and blood rushed to my head. If he was here, Reyna couldn’t be far. After all, it was his magic as a traveler that had kept her alive when Ladon tried to kill her. He had taken her from us. Taken our chance at revenge.
But we’d been given a second one.
I grinned as excitement coursed through my veins. Our chase was nearing its end.
My hand reached for the blade sheathed at my waist.
“Don’t,” Ladon said.
My smile disappeared. “Why not?”
“He’s not our target. Let’s wait. See where he takes us.”
I sighed, but Ladon was right. As good as it would feel to gut Luther, he wasn’t the one I wanted most. I wanted Reyna’s blood on my hands, and I would settle for nothing less.
Thankfully, the contortionist continued her performance, giving us the perfect excuse to linger nearby. We took turns glancing back to see if Luther had left, but the only movement he made was to purchase another tankard of ale from the stand a few feet away.
Good. Let him drink himself into a stupor. It would make getting information out of him easier.
We stayed until the bell rang five times to signal the hour was up.
“Shit,” I whispered.
Ladon shifted restlessly. “We can’t go back now.”
“They’re going to wonder what happened to us. What if they get worried?”
“Then they worry,” Ladon replied. “This is more important.”
I hated it, but he was right about this too. We couldn’t leave now. This was the closest we’d gotten to Reyna in over a month.
So we waited. And waited. And waited.
After what felt like forever, Luther finally got up from the table and stumbled away.
Without a word, Ladon tossed a coin into our contortionist’s cup and we turned to follow him.
We kept a few feet between us and Luther, just in case he turned around.
Not that he would likely recognize us in his current state.
He stumbled into several people as he walked away, and they grew increasingly aggravated with him.
I only hoped none of them tried to beat him up before we got the chance.
Luther wandered into the inner ring around the lagoon and continued to the right.
“Where do you think he’s going?” I asked. “Somewhere in the market? Or a hiding place outside of here?”
Ladon rolled his shoulders. “I hope he stays in the market for now. I don’t want to get too far without letting Cyrus and Jade know where we are.”
We didn’t have to wait much longer before discovering his intended destination.
He strolled up to a dilapidated building, which, surprisingly, had a guard at the door.
An odd sight to see, since I couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to enter such a run-down building.
It looked as though it could collapse at any second, killing anyone who dared to venture inside. Why on earth would it require a guard?
Unless something valuable was tucked inside. Or someone.
Ladon and I hid behind a pile of rubble and waited to see what happened next. We couldn’t hear the words they exchanged from our position, but we watched as the guard opened the door and Luther stumbled inside.
“Do we follow him?” I asked.
“Do you know how to get back to our meeting place?”
“Yes,” I replied cautiously. “Why?”
“I need you to go back.”
I scoffed. “I’m not leaving you, Ladon. It could be dangerous in there. Besides, this is as much my fight as it is yours.”
He turned to me with a smirk. “I’m not going in there on my own. I need you to go get the others while I wait and make sure he doesn’t come back out.”
“Oh.”
Ladon leaned closer until his lips were on mine, gently sucking my bottom lip. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling until I was pressed against him. His hand slid down to my ass, and he squeezed before giving me a quick slap.
I broke our kiss with a gasp and found him grinning wide.
“Go. Quick.”
It took a second to remember what he was even talking about. But when I did, I reluctantly turned away and rushed back to our designated meeting place.
When I got to the plaza with the bell next to the lagoon, it didn’t take long to find Jade and Cyrus.
They were bickering in hushed tones. I didn’t need to eavesdrop to know what their argument was about.
They were obviously trying to decide what to do about the fact that Ladon and I hadn’t returned.
“Hey,” I called, coming to a stop in front of them.
They both turned to me—Cyrus with a look of bewilderment and Jade with one of annoyance. Before either could begin interrogating me, I urged them to come with me.
“Ladon is waiting,” I said quickly. “I can fill you in while we walk.”
Thankfully, neither of them wasted precious time resisting or requiring clarification. I walked as fast as my legs could carry me while telling them what we’d seen—Luther, Reyna’s closest companion, and where he had taken up shelter.
“Ladon is there by himself?” Cyrus asked.
The worry in his voice wasn’t lost on me. He might be mad at his brother, but he still cared. That gave me hope for their future.
“He’s fine. He won’t do anything stupid. I’m only in a rush in case Luther leaves and Ladon decides to follow him. Then we will have lost both of them.”
My concerns were unnecessary, though. When we arrived back at the crumbling building, Ladon was still waiting patiently where I’d left him, eyes glued to the door and the guard that stood in front of it.
He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see us approaching, and his shoulders visibly relaxed.
“Any change?” I asked.
“Luther hasn’t left the building,” he said. Then he took a second to glance at his brother before adding, “But many more have entered. They’ve been filing in regularly since you left. I don’t know what we should expect inside, but I can guarantee it won’t be good.”