Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ladon
Doing our best to look inconspicuous, we approached the door to the run-down building. If we looked as though we were certain of our destination and that we belonged, we were less likely to be turned away.
Cyrus allowed me to take the lead—a good thing since boasting the title of King wouldn’t do us any favors in a place like this.
The guard met my gaze as we stepped closer, and I gave him my most condescending glare.
Whatever this place was, he was working the door, and anyone worthy of stepping inside outranked him. I acted accordingly.
“What are you here for?” he asked bluntly.
He was a large man, and he was probably used to intimidating people with a simple squint of his eyes.
“I’m here on business.” I said vaguely. It was believable enough in a variety of settings. Even if it was a casual setting, which I doubted it was, I could play it off as a meeting with someone to discuss discreet matters.
The guard looked down to my feet and back up to my face with a suspicious snarl. “What kind of business?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could speak, two men stumbled into our space. One appeared to have drunk too much and had his arm across the other’s shoulders. The sober man greeted the guard like a friend. “We lost track of time. Have the fights begun yet?”
“Not yet. The first one should start in a few minutes, though. You should get inside and find a spot, or you’ll be watching the back of people’s heads instead of the matches.”
The guard opened the door, and the man dragged his friend inside. Then the guard’s attention was back on me. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for my response.
“I have some bets to settle.” It was a gut feeling, but if there were fights happening tonight, it seemed obvious to me that there would be gambling going on as well. I left it at that, just in case I said too much and gave away that I had no clue what was really happening inside.
The guard nodded and opened the door again.
I strained to keep the smile off my face until we were through and standing in a small entry space.
“That was some quick thinking,” Emilie said.
“You’re not the only one with brains, princess.” I grinned wide and grabbed her hand, leading the way into the building.
The first room we entered was dark, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. It looked like an old warehouse—a massive open space with plain stone walls and a dirty floor. It was less crowded than I expected, but it didn’t take long to realize the reason.
In the center of the room, a massive pit opened up to a basement below, and that was where all the action was.
We walked around the pit until we came to a rickety staircase, so rusted that I was impressed it was still standing. Carefully, I descended the steps while surveilling the room below.
The basement stretched beyond my line of sight. There were two square roped-off areas to my right where I assumed the fights took place. Between them, the word ‘Underground’ was written on the wall in black paint. Must’ve been the name they’d given this place… Very creative.
On the opposite side, there were tables spaced out where people were playing cards and dice games. Trays of alcohol wound through them on a phantom breeze, hovering without a server in sight.
Past the tables, there was a glass wall with a bluish hue. I squinted, noticing movement beyond it. “Is that the lake?”
Beside me, Emilie shivered. “I hate the idea of being beneath the water. What if that glass were to burst?”
I looked back at the wall—no, tank. The entire place was so run down… “If it hasn’t burst yet, I don’t think it will.”
I didn’t know if I believed that myself, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Which side should we start with?” Cyrus asked. “Or do you two want to split up again and leave us?”
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I said, “Let’s stick together this time. Luther was playing cards before. Maybe he’s come here to continue. Let’s take a look around the tables.”
I briefly gave them a description of Luther—a tall, stocky man with a buzz cut and the long dark gray cloak we’d seen him wearing.
Other than that, there weren’t many defining features I could share, except he looked like a man you wouldn’t want to cross in an alley…
which also happened to be ninety percent of the people in the dodgy underground.
There had to be at least fifty tables to check, all of them full of gamblers who didn’t bother to look up as we passed by.
They were so enamored with their games that they didn’t care if we stopped to stare or get a good look at everyone seated.
Some kept their faces half hidden, but others didn’t bother.
Since my description hadn’t been much help to Jade or Cyrus, they walked behind us and watched for any suspicious activity, like someone staring too long or running in the opposite direction.
The place was so packed; I had to squeeze and push my way through, grimacing every time I felt a stranger’s body fall into mine. I tried to think about anything other than the way my skin crawled as I brushed against other attendees. My mission was more important than my discomfort.
We made it all the way to the tank with no sign of Luther.
“He’s absolutely inside here somewhere,” I said. I could feel it in my bones. Every piece of me was more alert than usual. Even the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention.
“Maybe one of us should go back to the staircase. In case he tries to leave,” Emilie suggested.
“No,” I replied. I didn’t want her leaving my sight. Plus, Luther was a traveler. If he really wanted to escape, he could do so without using the exit.
A few fish swam near the glass, and I watched them scatter when a tipsy woman pointed in amusement.
“Let’s check the other side then,” Cyrus said.
We crossed the room, and even though we’d already painstakingly checked every table, I still scanned each of them just to make sure we hadn’t missed him somehow. When we made it to the other side, I was confident Luther wasn’t hiding in the games section.
The two square pits were starting to draw a crowd. The first fights had to be about to start. Before I weaved my way through, I reached back to grab Emilie’s hand so we wouldn’t get separated. I focused on her touch rather than the swarm of bodies around me.
It was much more difficult searching the faces around the pit. The people here were more alert, their attention fixed straight ahead. Annoyance splashed across their faces whenever we got in their way or bumped someone’s shoulder. We had to be careful and move slowly.
Screams erupted, and my head whipped toward the pit. People were cheering as the first two fighters entered the roped area, their faces painted—one blue and one orange. Along the opposite side of the pit, I spotted a few more fighters in various shades of face paint.
A man’s voice broke through the shouting long enough to introduce the fighters. I stopped listening when neither of them was named Luther or Reyna.
I pulled Emilie forward. We needed to keep looking.
The crowd slowly thinned as we made our way toward the second pit. For the first time, I noticed this one had a red light hanging above it, casting a sinister glow on the pit below. Immediately, I sensed a difference in the atmosphere. Was it magic somehow?
The people gathered around the second pit were calm. For all I knew, they could’ve been drugged. One thing was similar though—they were all giving the pit their undivided attention.
For a moment, I forgot what I was supposed to be looking for. I pushed forward until I could see who was fighting, coming to an abrupt halt when the pit came into view.
It wasn’t a fighting pit.
I turned around and tried to push Emilie back. Her eyes met mine with confusion and curiosity. “What? What is it?”
Despite my best efforts, she looked over my shoulder, and I watched the color drain from her freckled skin.
I knew she had seen it… seen them.
Two men and a woman were featured in the middle of the pit—completely nude and tangled together in a passionate position. The crowd was watching while they kissed and groped each other. If I had to guess, this was just the warmup.
“Emilie,” I said, grabbing her chin and pulling her face back to me. “Let’s go.”
Her eyes were wide and unseeing. Or maybe she was seeing too much. She was remembering everything that had happened under Reyna’s roof. The parties we’d been forced to attend, bare and vulnerable while everyone watched with excitement. This was too much for her.
I pulled her frozen body against me, purposefully keeping myself between her and the pit.
I didn’t want her to see anything more than what she’d already witnessed.
It didn’t matter if they were here voluntarily or if they’d been coerced into the pit against their will, bound to bare it all like we had.
All that mattered was that in those few seconds, Emilie saw herself, and she was about to have a panic attack because of it. I had to get her out of here.
Cyrus and Jade stepped aside as I pushed back through the crowd. Cyrus grabbed my arm. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
I didn’t answer. My thoughts were focused only on Emilie, who was beginning to tremble in my arms.
After what felt like a lifetime, I broke through the crowd and made my way to the stairs, but Emilie was in no shape to climb them. I scanned the room for a quiet space away from the sea of strangers, but everywhere I looked was overrun.
Pulling her behind the stairs, I sat her down in the corner and dropped to my knees in front of her.
“Emilie,” I said, cupping her face. “Emilie, look at me.”
Her chest was heaving, and I could tell breathing was hard for her.
“What’s wrong?” Cyrus asked again. I felt him hovering behind me, and Jade’s shadow cast over us too.
“Is she okay?” Jade asked.
Emilie nodded, but her eyes were still unblinking.
“That’s right,” I said. “You’re okay. You’re safe. Can you look at me, princess?”
Her vision slowly focused until she looked up at me. I rubbed my thumb over her cheek.
“There she is,” I said with a soft smile. “You’re going to be all right. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
She nodded again and grappled to get control of her rapid breaths.
Leaning in, I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes. “You won’t let anything bad happen. Ever again.”
She needed to know that she was strong. That she was cunning and skilled now with her knives too. That she was in control. I was just her support.
I felt her nod again, and at last she spoke. “I can do this.”
Her voice was raspy, and I pulled away to get a good look at her. Her eyes were misty but clearing with each blink. She pressed her lips into a thin, determined line, letting me know she was recovered enough to carry on.
A part of me wanted to take her back to the Gem, but I knew that wouldn’t help. She wouldn’t want to wait or avoid her triggers knowing Reyna was within our reach. This was where she needed to be—in the middle of the action and in control of her own life.
I stood and helped her to her feet. Then I pulled up her hood, which had fallen off in the commotion, observing her carefully in case she showed any signs of fracturing.
“Are you okay? Do you need water or something?” Jade asked hesitantly. The cautious tone didn’t suit her.
Emilie shook her head. “I’m fine. Let’s keep searching.”
When I turned around, I found Cyrus staring at the two of us with a strange expression on his face.
Like he was beginning to understand the connection Emilie and I shared but still couldn’t grasp how it had happened.
There was a certain codependency that we shared that couldn’t make sense to anyone but us, no matter how hard he tried.
“Cyrus,” I started, but he turned away.
I sighed. Now wasn’t the time anyway. We had bigger tasks at hand. I’d try to speak to him again once we’d captured Reyna.
“We should go back to the pit,” Emilie said from behind me.
I spun on my heel. “No.”
But Emilie wouldn’t hear it. “It’s where Reyna would be, and you know it. That is exactly the kind of entertainment that would appeal to her.”
Fuck. I hated that she was right.
“Fine,” I said. “But stay close to me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Like I would be anywhere else.”
The four of us traveled back to the pit where the threesome was taking place, but we were no more successful than our last attempt.
After three laps around the pit, disappointment set in.
Maybe we’d gotten it wrong. What if Luther had snuck out through a hidden entrance?
Were we wrong to assume that Reyna had been here at all?
I put my hands behind my head and looked up at the ceiling, cursing the gods who never seemed to favor me.
But as I looked up, I saw half a dozen balconies. Private viewing areas hidden in darkness. I looked through each of them, my heart racing as I tried to spot a familiar face.
The first was completely empty, with a closed red curtain. The second held a pair of men, the taller one standing behind the other with his arms wrapped around his partner and nuzzling his neck.
I moved onto the third and blinked rapidly, not sure whether to trust my eyes. Was I hallucinating or had the gods finally shown me mercy?
There, standing on the balcony with two unknown companions, were Reyna and Luther.
A strange mixture of elation and agony washed over me at the sight of her.
I’d spent all my time thinking of how much I wanted to kill her, and not enough time processing what it would be like to see her face to face again.
It was a pain that would only be dulled once I drove my sword into her heart.
Reyna and Luther were too focused on the pit to see my face, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I looked back at the ground, secured my hood, and turned to the others. “They’re here.”
“What? Where?” Emilie asked, searching frantically.
I grabbed her face and held her steady. “There are private rooms above the pit. We need to find a way up to them without drawing attention. Stay calm and follow me.”