“Exceptional.” I sigh. “So there is a greater, more powerful enemy to look out for.”
“As I said, they’re rare. The early lords might have cleared them all. There’s not a record of a sighting for centuries.”
“What makes them different than the others?”
“As I said, I only have partial records, but other lords who have encountered them and survived have noted that they are large, winged monstrosities. They’re fully immune to silver so they have to be cut down. And perhaps the most dangerous is that they are able to hypnotize using sound.”
I wait for him to say that he’s just joking, that none of this is real, but his expression is deathly serious. “Well, then let’s hope we never run into one and find out if those legends are true.”
“Agreed.”
The old castle is quiet, as quiet as it was when we first set out. The darkness is still inky, thick. I can feel the other entities we share these halls with. We are not safe by any stretch. But the monsters around us slumber. There is no feeling of movement. There are no currents on the still air.
It takes me half the day to realize that the path we’re taking is familiar. It is the ghostly outlines of tapestries. The forgotten tables that have crumbled under their own weight underneath chandeliers that I saw glittering in my dreams mere hours ago.
I slow to stop in a large banquet hall.
Ruvan pauses as well when he notices that I’m no longer following. He walks back to me, encroaching on my personal space to whisper, “What is it? What do you hear, or see?”
“I know this place.”
“You mean it is similar to something you have seen before?”
I breathe soft laughter. “No, I’ve seen nothing like this castle in my life. There is nothing this grand in Hunter’s Hamlet, not even the fortress.”
“Then—”
“I think I saw it…in my dreams.” I look to him and hastily add, “I realize it sounds impossible to say aloud. But I promise you, I’m not—”
“Youcan’tlie.” A frown tugs on his lips.
“What do you think it means?” I whisper.
Ruvan looks around the room. I wish I knew what he was thinking. For all the hints and glimpses the magic we share gives me, I have no real idea what’s going on in that head of his.
“We shall see,” he answers enigmatically.
I take him by the arm. “Tell me.”
“Not yet.”
“You don’t think I have a right to know?”
“I don’t think I want to share something until I’m certain of it, one way or another.” He pulls away from me, the knowledge retreating with him. “Now, we need to carry on.”
“No.” I don’t move.
Ruvan slows and looks over his shoulder. “No?”
“I said no,” I repeat. “I won’t carry on until you tell me.”
“This isn’t the time or place.”
“Then speak quickly.”
“You are relentless.” He rubs his temples, though I don’t feel any genuine agitation across our oath. If anything, I think he’s using the motion to hide a smirk.
“I’ve been told I hammer at something until it submits to my will,” I say.
