She gently pushed Kamari’s back, leading her down the winding staircases where they’d eventually follow the narrow path to the keep.
“Wait!” Kamari stopped. “Where is my handmaid, Hanna? If she’s still asleep–”
“I will go to her next.” Nev pushed Kamari forward.
The bells chimed again. Six sharp rungs that pierced her ears. “Nev, we can’t leave her up there.”
“You are my priority.” But as she said the words, a muscle in her jaw flexed. She was just as worried about Hanna.
“Let the other knights take me the rest of the way,” Kamari insisted. “Go to her. Make sure she joins me.”
Nev paused and glanced at one of the women at her side and with some unspoken command, she took her place by Kamari’s side. “No one enters the keep without the password,” she said, a sharp edge to her voice that raised the hairs on Kamari’s neck.
Six more chimes.
“Go!”
Nev didn’t hesitate again. She spun on the heel of her boot and ran back toward Hanna’s room.
Theastrasconces lit a path as the three knights escorted Kamari into the keep. The rough, stone walls felt more like a cell than a room and even though Kamari knew it was protocol, panic clawed at her chest. “How long will I be down here?”
“Until the lieutenant gives us the clear,” one of the women said. Her skin was dark, eyes a hazel that reminded her of Aesira. “We’ll be right outside.”
“But–”
They shut the door.
Six more chimes.
Theastraflickered, creating dancing shadows across the jagged walls.
She’d only been in the keep once before, but with Desmond, when a lone snake-like creature slithered over the wall, large enough to swallow several guards whole. She’d never been so afraid. The screeching and screaming and horrible crunch of a massive jaw. The sounds were embedded in her memory, and now, alone in the same keep, the memories rushed forth, drowning her in fear.
“Breathe, Kamari,” she said to herself. “Breathe.” The air was stale underground and her mind knew there wasn’t enough of it to last forever.
If something happened outside, would she have a way out?
That thought had her on her feet in seconds, cracking open the keep door. She fully expected it to be locked, but to her surprise, it slid open with ease. Relief unclenched her shoulders.
Six more chimes, this time accompanied by various shouting.
No screams yet.
She peeked through the door, expecting to see the figures of the knights Nev had left for her but the small corridor was empty.
She was alone.
Over her shoulder, she looked into the keep. Theastraflickered once before snuffing out,leaving an unending pit of darkness. Herfingers gripped tighter to the door when the dark shifted, snaking from one side of the room to the next.
“Nev!” She backed her way out of the door. The darkness slithered further, spilling over the floor in inky tendrils, reaching, reaching. Just like the serpent from last time.
“It’s just the shadows,” she said aloud. “Just the shadows.” Weakness spread through her legs, her arms holding her up against the wood door. More shouting rose outside but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the darkness that seemed to rise and fall, move and shift as though it had lungs to breathe.
A clatter sounded behind her, drawing her attention and in the instant her head was turned, the shadows swept around her ankle, moving up her leg. She stumbled backwards, nails clawing into the ground as she pulled herself farther and farther away.
“Your Majesty!” a voice from behind her made her jump. “You need to come with me.” The knight grabbed Kamari’s arm, pulling her to her feet, leading her away from the keep. Over her shoulder, Kamari watched the darkness retreat, slithering back into the keep like a serpent and theastralight flickered back on.
She shuddered, facing away. “Where are we going?” More shouting and screams sounded outside. Whatever was approaching the wall had arrived. When the knight said nothing, Kamari studied the woman.
