“Croak!”
The dust settled, and she swiped at her eyes, blinking against the grit.
“Are you all right? Croak!”
A groan drifted up from the hole and a long time later, the dust cleared enough for her to see her brother’s lanky form sprawled in the dirt below.
“Fuuuck,” he cried, his voice cracking on a whimper.
Terena hung her head, a sigh of relief escaping her mouth. “Are you hurt?”
He whimpered. “Not at all,” he answered, his voice an octave higher. “Just having a lay down.”
“Stay there,” Terena called down. She heard his weak laugh.
“I have rope in my bag. I’ll be right back.”
She turned away, scrambling for the bag she’d left near the walled area she’d been working in. Turning it over, she let the contents drop onto the ground.
No rope.
She turned, eyes darting around until she remembered she’d left it tied to her saddlebags on her mare, Nyx.
Terena yelled out to her brother to hold on as she ran for her horse, cooing nonsense words at the black beauty, and tugged the rope from where she’d secured it.
Her brother shrieked curses at her.
Terena knelt over the hole and peered down at Croak, sitting up now, covered in dirt.
“Can you see anything in there? Is it a room?”
“It’s dark, Ren, I can’t see shit.”
“Tie this around your waist and I’ll pull you up,” she called down.
“Fuck’s sake,” he grumbled, but grabbed the rope, wrapping it around his waist. He made to rise, then stopped.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Her brother continued to look off to his left. He held up a hand to her for silence. “Wait.”
Croak stood slowly and untied the rope. His neck stretched out as he squinted into the darkness.
“Are you kidding me now? What can you possibly see down there?”
Croak flapped his hand at her and took a step. After a moment, he looked up at her. “I think it’s a tomb.”
Terena stilled. In all her research, there’d been no mention of anyone being buried in the palace. Or under it. The royal family lay buried in the crypt beneath the Temple of Gaia, which was a mile from where they stood.
“Croak,” Terena called again, “is it a tomb? Do you see?—”
“Just… give me asecond, woman!”
Terena rolled her eyes, dropping her hands to grip the lip of the hole, and waited.
“Ah!”
Terena leaned forward, trying to see into the gloom below.
