I can see his mind spinning, trying to come up with a reason to come along or to be the one to go in the castle, and I fear he’ll be stubborn like he was this morning, when no arguments swayed him.
All he does is pass me the extra cape, then he scowls at Mirella. “If this is a trick, I swear you’ll pay.”
She grimaces. “My life is notthatworthless for me to throw it away just to trick you, Renel.”
Mirella turns around and I follow her to a small opening in the rock at the base of the castle. Inside, it leads to a tall spiral staircase. We climb in silence, then emerge in a hallway where she points to a door. It’s indeed a deposit with some uniforms. I grab one and change quickly, making sure to put back the cape as soon as I can.
When I walk out, I see no sign of the fae princess in the hallway, but I keep walking. I guess I’ll walk back and forth if I have to, but my fear is that she alerted someone despite all her promises. This could be a big, convoluted trap, and here I am, stepping in it like a mouse who’s hungrier than wise.
Mirella comes out of a door, then puts something in my hand, but her touch is hot and cold at the same time and feels like being stung by a bee. I drop the metallic object on the floor, then crouch to retrieve it. A key. A guard comes from the other side, but doesn’t even look at us.
“Follow me,” she whispers.
We enter another narrow staircase, then she tells me to go first, and I advance through a dark corridor with no lightstone.Thiscould be a trap.
The only reason I don’t worry too much is that I don’t think they’d have any use for me—unless they need a king’s blood. Does she even know I’m a king’s son? She knows a lot, but she sees Renel, and I don’t recall anyone telling him exactly who I am.
Still. For a second, my confidence deflates. I touch my opus stone still securely attached to my neck, and feel its power coursing through me. If anything goes wrong, I still have mywater magic. The thought doesn’t quiet the frantic beating of my heart.
I take slow steps until faint light reaches us from a fissure up ahead.
“Ziven,” she whispers.
I almost want to turn to her and quip that I’m astounded that she knows my name, but the gloomy hallway and the danger up ahead don’t leave much room for lightness.
“Yes?”
“You’ll go on your own. When you get to the end, push the door like it’s a normal door, and leave it open. You’ll come across a hallway with six doors. Tarlia’s door is the sixth. There could be guards there. Just enter normally. You can lie you’re under Zorwal’s orders or something. Find Tarlia, then use the key to open the cell, come out with her, then go down the main stairs on the other side of the hallway. On the bottom floor, you’ll find a passage just like this one. I’ll wait for you there and guide you out of the castle.”
“What if there’s any trouble?”
“Do your best and meet me downstairs.”
Not reassuring. “All right.”
My best. In the end, it will all fall on my shoulders, and I’m the one risking my skin. Tarlia then comes to mind, planning to come to the Fae Lands just to see her friend, then later staring at me as if she could love me. And yet she’s in a cell now. Perhaps waiting for Marlak could be a good idea, but sneaking her out might be better. Hopefully.
I push the door like Mirella told me, and come to a hallway. Two guards stand at either side of the sixth door. Should I just walk by them? Is there a way to address them that confirms I’m part of the guard? I look back wondering if I should ask Mirella more questions or make a contingency plan. If the fae princess can’t lie, Tarlia should be there, but at the same time, even ifshe believes every single word she told me, it doesn’t mean there couldn’t be issues she didn’t foresee.
With my chin up, I walk to the door—and the guards step in front of it, blocking my way.
“I need to see the prisoner,” I say. “Zorwal’s orders.”
“What’s the password?”
Great. The first hurdle already. A few thoughts cross my mind in quick succession. I could try to argue that Zorwal said the password was unnecessary, but fae are guided by vows. If they promised to only let through guards who know the password, there’s no talking my way out of it.
“Rose,” I say, just because it’s the first word that crosses my mind.
They step aside. “Go in.”
No. I was hoping they’d tell me this isn’t the password, then I was going to tell them Zorwal changed it.
I swallow, wondering if I can be bold enough to fight fae guards in their own castle, wondering if my opus stone magic can defeat them. But I don’t think I have a choice. There’s enough humidity in the air for me to conjure some water. It’s not as easy as in the island or when we were by the Jewel City, but the water’s here.
In a swift motion, I create layers of ice blocking their feet and around their mouths, so they won’t scream, then I block their hands.
I’ll have to be fast.
