Aristea reached out her hand, about to grasp the tapestry that covered the opening to the underground passageway, but before she could, her guard tapped her on the shoulder, and she spun around to face him.
He looked at her, bewildered, and she felt as if her surroundings came back to her with ringing in her ears. She’d been about to follow a strange voice into the dark. Had she gone mad?
She shook herself.
“I thought I heard something behind the curtain. Check it. Mathias might be lurking about.”
“Your highness.” Her guard leapt to do her bidding, running down the stairs.
The voice didn’t speak again, but she remained in place, arms wrapped around her torso, as if it could keep out the horrors she sensed beyond that door. He returned a few minutes later with a shake of his head. There was nothing there, and no sign of Mathias. It had all been in her head. Or so she should have believed, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness. She’d heard the voice in the tower, too. Something was trying to reach out to her. And it terrified her because it tempted her more than she would like to admit. She shoved the thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time to worry about mysterious voices. She had work to do. If Mother wouldn’t help her, then she prayed Captain Rosen would. She’d been the first to tell her about Mathias’ betrayal. She at least believed Aristea. If no one else would, perhaps she’d help Aristea in the fight to come.
The guards greeted her politely, as if they’d been expecting her in the middle of the night. She went straight to Captain Rosen’s office. She was seated at her desk, dressed and waiting. She’d known to expect Aristea. She hoped it was a good omen.
“Your highness, I’ve just heard the news.”
Aristea inhaled sharply. “You were right. He is working with the elves. I think my mother’s judgment is clouded, but I fear we must prepare ourselves to protect the empire from invasion.”
Captain Rosen nodded. “I feared much the same. But going against your mother...”
“Do what you must. I’ll take any measure to protect the empire and anyone who defends it.”
“Understood.”
27
Erich couldn’t think of a worse place to be than trapped under a pile of rotting corpses. Thick black blood dripped down onto his face, and the dead weight evoked the sensation of being buried alive in a mass grave. A fear he hadn’t realized he had. If it wasn’t for Liane’s sake, he wouldn’t have gone to such extremes. But this was his only way into the temple dungeon with minimal bloodshed.
“Do we really need to ride the carts all the way from the butcher?” Erich asked, not really expecting an answer, but talking helped distract him from the clawed hand that was cupping his calf and the horn poking into his kidney and the black ichor soaking into his hair. The smell was enough to make him retch, and he feared it would take a thorough scrubbing to wash out the stench.
“It could be worse. You could be dead,” was Fritz’s muffled reply, as he too was buried beneath rotting corpses.
“Thanks,” Erich replied sardonically, but wasn’t sure if sarcasm translated from beneath dead chimera bodies.
“No more chatter, you two,” the butcher chastised. “Unless you do want to end up dead. We’re nearly there now.”
Silence descended, and Erich heard nothing but the rattle of wheels on the track echoing on the stone walls and the butcher’s heavy footsteps.
Erich disappeared deep within his own subconscious, a place that he’d often gone when his father would beat him or while Erich had used his powers to torture his father’s political enemies. It was the same place the dragon resided, chained and silent for now. But Erich suspected it was just biding its time, waiting for a chance to break free. It helped a little until the cart shook and a deer or bear carcass would push into his ribs and he’d be brought unpleasantly back to the present, holding in his vomit. Being covered in his own sick would make this infinitely worse.
He had to focus on their plan. Keep a cool head until it was time to move. Fritz would find the oracle while Erich rendezvoused with Ludwig to help free Liane. Then they’d all meet Luzie in the escape carriage they’d hired and travel through countryside villages to their next destination. Ludwig knew of a vein the Midnight Guard was protecting. They’d take her there and help Liane draw the sword from her back by entering the pool. It was a straightforward plan ripe with the opportunity for everything to go horribly wrong. A prickle of warning raced up his body, and he felt the approach of some magic.
The feeling of it grew stronger the further down the hallway they went. Erich counted each breath as they got closer to their destination, his body tensed in preparation for their inevitable encounter. But as much as he wanted to spring into action, he had to be patient. They had a meticulous plan, one that required perfect execution to pull off. The tower had an alarm system that, once triggered, would alert the entire temple, and if they didn’t disable the guards at the tunnel entrance quickly, it would bring the guards’ collected force down upon them. They couldn’t fight their way free, not even if Erich transformed. They came to the end of a long hallway, and Erich felt the cold breeze of their new surroundings and waited.
They weren’t supposed to pop out of their hiding spots until the butcher started unloading the carts. But minutes passed, and nothing happened. Erich felt a crick in his neck and a spasm in his back. If they didn’t move soon, then he might pull a muscle trying to escape. After what felt like an eternity, yellow torchlight filtered in between the gaps in the bodies. This first phase of their plan was crucial. Erich held his breath and did his best to appear corpse-like.
“Who’s there?” a Midnight Guard said with disinterest.
“I’ve got a double shipment,” the butcher said.
A pause followed, and then the guard said, “Bring it through.”
Erich clenched his borrowed dagger tightly. It felt wrong in his hands, but it was better than nothing. Large metal doors creaked open, and they were rolled into the Midnight Guard’s dungeons. As they passed beneath the archway, a pulse of magic rippled over him, and Erich glimpsed the runes racing along the arch of the doors a second before the wards were tripped and something made a high-pitched screech.
“What was that?” the Midnight Guard asked.
They hadn’t been counting on the runes. The dragon rushed to the surface of his consciousness, as if summoned by the scent of magic in the air. This wasn’t the plan; they were going to wait in the carts until the guards were gone and then crawl out.
“I’m not sure. It is the usual delivery,” the butcher stammered.
