Crow might be a better choice for coercing Adela, given how close she was with the pirate queen. But it was precisely because of that proximity that Eira wanted Crow watching over their ship in the harbor. It had been relinquished from Qwint’s control, but Eira knew that it wouldn’t take much for the ministers to decide to reclaim it. And, should that happen, Eira trusted Crow to do what was necessary to keep their vessel safe.
As for Lavette, she was going to stay as their eyes and ears with the ministers. Varren wasn’t about to leave her side…especially not to return to Carsovia. And none of them were about to ask him to do anything otherwise.
The farewells were brief. When Eira shifted from giving Crow hasty reminders, Lavette took her hand. Without warning, she pulled Eira close, arms going around her shoulders, holding her tightly. Eira hadn’t thought they were the sort to share tearful embraces, but?—
“They’re telling you three days, but you have two,” she whispered hastily. “I heard rumors of it this morning. They’ll move to deem you dead before full time is up. I’ll stall as I’m able. Be early.”
“Thank you.” That was all the gratitude Eira could offer for the warning. If they clung to each other much longer it’d look suspicious.
“This way.” The leader of the knights before them gestured with a nod of his head and guided them toward the wall.
The rest of them stayed back at the city’s edge, watching as they ventured into the strip of barren earth between the vertical buildings and steep wall. No architect dared to venture too close. No citizen would consider living within a breath of Carsovia’s border. It was as if the earth itself was poisoned.
An arm snaked through hers. Alyss took a step closer.
“We have to do this,” Alyss whispered. Though, Eira didn’t know if the solemn reminder was for her, or if Alyss spoke for herself. Eira tensed her bicep and Alyss’s eyes swung her way.
Eira inhaled sharply. Somehow, in a breath, she saw Noelle standing there. Looking up at her, questioning that unending wondering.
Why?
“We’re going to be fine,” Eira whispered to Alyss. “Allof us.”I’m not about to lose another friend.
“I know,” Alyss mouthed more than spoke. She dared a brave smile. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s just another thing to get over with.”
“And we’ll be stronger for it.”
“One of these days, I’ll have enough strength and won’t need it tested.” Alyss laughed softly. “I’d be fine if that day came sooner over later.”
Rather than guiding them through the formidable steel gates that dominated the sheer face of the wall, the knights led them to the side. The one in charge rotated his bracelets, glancing back at them, as if resenting them for making him share this secret. Pursing his lips, he snapped his fingers, and the stone rippled and redesigned itself, retreating like a curtain to reveal a narrow stair that led down beneath the wall.
“Carsovia always has knights trained on the gate,” the knight explained as they descended into the darkness. Eira drew in a breath, about to ask Noelle for light. Instead, the air burned her lungs, the question unasked, as a glyph flickered into existence over Olivin’s shoulder. “The moment it opens, they’ll strike.”
The stairs ended at a landing, barely large enough for all of them to cram into. Opposite the last stair was a dark hole, a single steel rung of a ladder glinting in the light of Olivin’s glyph.
“Down that way. There’s only one passage. You’ll go down before up again. Be careful with your magic; you don’t want them to sense you.” The knight stepped back onto the stairs, paused, and glanced over his shoulder. “Good luck.” With that minimal encouragement, the knight left them, starting back up the stairs, as if he were all too ready to leave them behind.
“Shall we?” Eira looked to the start of the ladder.
“I’ll go first,” Alyss offered. “That way if we’re in a real pinch, I can sort the stone.”
“You heard him about magic.” Olivin glanced at his small, spinning glyph.
“I’m not going to let us—” Alyss stopped short. “I won’t let us die. We’ll be careful, but safe.”
“I’ll take up the rear, then,” Ducot said. “My magic is more of a blunt tool than yours, but it’ll work in a pinch.”
They were more words than Eira had heard from him in weeks. Perhaps having a mission was what they all needed. Especially when that mission involved an opportunity to fight against Carsovia once more.
Had they taken on this task truly because they had to, or because they were all ready for any excuse to fight?The question followed her down into the depths. That was one of the many bright spots to her future with Adela. There would always be a distraction whenever she needed one so long as she kept pushing forward.
The deep tunnels started out narrow and condensed into suffocating. The air was thick and stale, a poignant blend of earth, the sweat that rolled off them, and lingering dread from whatever poor souls had slowly carved out this place with pickaxes. Each of the walls bore the scars of their labors: toiling in the dark, using physical effort over magical for fear of discovery.
“Brace yourselves,” Alyss whispered, somehow sounding both near and far at the same time. Sound played oddly off the damp walls. “Narrow, here.”
Even with the warning, the tunnel condensing around Eira threatened to squeeze out her breath. It was as if the earth had swallowed them whole, gulping them down past one jagged wall at a time. Yonlin’s ragged breathing was the first sign of the panic that was beginning to thread through them.
“Yonlin.”
