15. Raelyna
RAELYNA
I was so royally fucked if anyone caught me up here.
The two guards I’d been tailing had quickly made their way to the fourth floor of Solis Court. A floor I damn well knew was strictly forbidden to anyone but Lucanus and those he’d selected to enter.
Not that it mattered.
I knew my hunch that something was happening to angels in Solis Quarter was correct. And now, I just needed to let these two guards lead me straight toward the answers.
Only, what I hadn’t expected was for them to turn into the court temple, taking the female with them.
I clung to the shadows, praying that I was hidden enough from view as I slid through the opening of a side door and watched as the two guards unceremoniously dropped the female before an altar.
“Cutting it close tonight,” a low voice rumbled from the far wall. I watched as a male stepped out from the shadows in the distance, greeting the two guards, two priestesses emerging on either side of him.
“It won’t happen again,” the first guard, the one I’d gathered was in charge, stated with determination. “We thought this was one of the willing volunteers from the Temple District. Had we known it was one of the Remnant that the king is hunting down, we would have gone in more prepared.”
“I don’t need excuses. Willing or not, see that it doesn’t happen again,” the unknown male replied, his voice tense as he approached the unconscious female whose body had been dumped onto the marbled floor.
“What are you going to do with her?” the second guard inquired.
“The king’s business affairs are his and his alone. They are not for you to concern yourself with,” the male in the shadows replied tightly, his voice brooking no argument as the priestesses began milling about the temple grounds.
“Come on, man. Let’s just take our money and get out of here,” the first guard said, his footsteps already guiding him toward the doorway of the inner temple.
I watched from the darkness as the two guards grabbed their payment before hurrying out of the room. And then, it was just me, alone in the shadows, as I watched the male step forward, his features cloaked in heavy garb.
I felt his affinity pull through the room. The air around the female shifted as he lifted her with ease and began floating her toward a less identifiable doorway in the back alcove of the room.
Stars-damn me.
I was about to leave when a voice from the main door sounded, and the blood in my veins chilled.
“What do we have here?”
Astara take me now.
Lucanus stepped into the temple room, walking down the center pathway. His steps were slow and measured as the heel of his shoes thudded against the marbled floors.
I stopped breathing, controlling my heart rate as he walked further into the space.
“Your Majesty.” The male who had greeted the two guards stopped what he was doing, turning and bowing toward the king of Solis.
I watched as Luc scanned the room, his eyes lingering on each of the priestesses through the space, before settling back on the male who’d spoken.
“Kymond,” Lucanus replied in greeting, and I sank further back into the shadows, attempting to stay hidden from view.
I could not be caught now. Not here . . . and not with Lucanus in the temple.
“This is the latest request. She holds two aetherial elements and one elemental.”
“Willing or Remnant?” Luc’s voice was cold as his gaze trailed over the female’s limp body.
“Remnant,” the male spat the word.
“The sooner we rid Solis Quarter of the last of those who worshiped the god from before The Rift, the better.”
“There can’t be many more, Your Majesty,” the shadowed male replied without hesitation. “The most recent drops have all been willing participants for the gods.”
“Hmmm. And you said she had two aetherial affinities?” Lucanus questioned, assessing the female who was hovering mid-air. He walked over to her, tracing markings on her arm that I couldn’t see. “How soon can we transfer her affinities over?”
“As soon as dusk tomorrow, Your Majesty,” Kymond answered, his head bobbing in deference to the male before him.
Luc’s words rang through my mind.
Transfer affinities. Remnant. God from before The Rift.
What was he talking about? And how does no one know about this?
“Arrange it,” he affirmed as he took a step back. “But, Kymond . . . it had better work this time. I grow weary of these failed transfer attempts. The texts state it is easy enough to transfer an affinity from one angel to another. Get it done correctly this time, or it will be your last.”
Kymond’s throat bobbed as he started guiding the female’s body from the room. “Consider it done, Your Majesty.”
Both males exited the temple on the fourth floor, and for a long moment, I sat there . . . too stunned to move.
I’d been right. Something was happening to those angels. But what, I didn’t know. Only that, somehow, Lucanus was behind it.
I only waited a few more minutes, ensuring the floor would be clear, before I took off in a hurry, backing out of the inner Solis Court temple and out into the corridor.
You shouldn’t be here, Rae.
You know better.
You know . . . and yet, you still thought it was worth it to risk your sister’s safety over some stars-damned information—important, shocking, information. But information nonetheless.
I backed up further, rounding the corner of the hallway, and collided with a firm body.
Because of all the hallways to turn into, I had to choose a hallway that was occupied by Royal Solis Guards.
And evidently, I’m just flat out of luck tonight.
A strong arm grasped my forearm, the grip bruising, and I could feel their gaze looking at my affinity mark.
“What are you doing here?” the gruff voice bit out in a demand. “This level of the court isn’t for lowers.”
“My apologies,” I stated, dipping my head even though I already knew this level wasn’t for anyone other than King Lucanus or his royal guards.
That detail hadn’t seemed quite as important earlier this evening when I’d first snuck up the back stairwells to get to the fourth floor of the court.
But now . . . I wished I hadn’t snuck up this high.
“Well,” another guard approached, stopping before us.
I took in the firearm he held at rest between his hands, the symbol for a fire affinity indicated above the trigger.
His dunewrap was firmly in place, his deeply bronzed skin hardly visible in the court’s low lighting.
My gaze switched from one guard to the other, then back again.
Both males towered over me, their wings flaring behind them as they trapped me in place.
My breath caught in my lungs as my gaze darted nervously between the two guards.
Okay . . . you can get out of this one, Rae. Use your brain—it’s got to be good for something.
“You’re going to have to come with us,” the second guard stated in a no-nonsense tone as he gripped my upper arm and began guiding me down the hallway.
“Where are you taking me?” I protested, even as I followed the guards.
“All lowers found in marked-off areas are to be brought to King Lucanus’s holding room until after the festival.”
“Are you sure you want to make him go through the hassle? All because I got turned around in the Solis Court? It’s just such a big space, so easy to get lost in. I would hate to waste the king’s time on something as trivial as a directionally-challenged dancer.”
“You’re a dancer? For King Lucanus?” the first guard asked, his tone a tad kinder than it had been when he first found me lurking through the corridors.
“Yes,” I replied sweetly, putting an extra chirpy lilt in my tone that had the Solis Guards at the Tilted Tavern eating out of the palm of my hand.
“I danced the first portion of the festival. Although, I must admit, while I excel enough as a dancer to keep the king’s attention, I fear I’m absolutely horrible at directions. ”
His gray eyes softened slightly, and a hint of a smile crept up my lips.
A smile that was deflated just as quickly when the other guard, the one with an iron-clad grip on my upper arm, replied, “It doesn’t actually matter to me whether you’re a directionally challenged dancer, King Lucanus’s starbound, or Astara herself.
No lowers are allowed on the upper levels of the court.
And seeing as that is where you happened to be found, we will put you in holding until after the festival. ”
Another firm yank on my arm followed his righteous speech, and then we were making our way down the levels of Solis Court to the holding rooms.
I forced my steps to quicken, trying to keep up with the guards’ long strides as we made it down one flight of stairs, then two flights.
What’s wrong with the elevator? That’s what I want to know. Sure, I’d taken the stairs when sneaking up. But they have keycards . . . we could have easily taken the elevator, rather than hiking down the stairs for all to see.
Three flights.
“What do we have here?” A low voice interrupted from the entryway of the staircase.
“Just another lower-affinity caught sneaking around where she shouldn’t be,” the guard answered, and I watched as his gaze scanned over the male’s uniform, taking in the higher ranking. When he spotted the two lines on his uniform, he gave a proper salute, acknowledging the ranking.
My gaze snapped up, meeting a vaguely familiar green-eyed gaze. I’d met this guard before . . . he had a habit of appearing anywhere a striking sergeant seemed to be.
“I’ll take her from here,” he answered as he turned toward me, his eyes sweeping over me in a cursory glance before dismissing me once again.
“Are you sure about that, sir?”
“Are you questioning my authority?” the higher-ranking guard questioned.
“No, sir,” they both emphasized. “We’re just under orders to bring all lowers found on the upper levels to the holding cells.”
“You think I don’t know that?” the male asked in a commanding voice that had ice coursing through my veins.
I was so screwed.
“Apologies, Lieutenant. We just weren’t aware that we were to take new orders. It’s nothing we can’t handle, sir.”