Shea couldn’t help the impulse as she touched one of those runes, tracing the words with a soft touch. A sense of wonder filled her. How long ago had this been made?
The curiosity that had fueled so much of her life weighed on her, sparking her imagination. Perhaps the maker had hoped their work would never be discovered, but if that was the case, why make this place so beautiful?
It was ethereal, the candle reflecting off the pale metal in the door in a way that made Shea think of fireflies in summer.
A pattern had been inlaid into the wood, a reflection of some Shea had seen in the Keep above, but this one was more ornate, almost disorienting in its complexity. Again, who would make such a thing and then hide it away where no one could see?
“Something’s wrong,” Lainey said, her expression dismayed as she gazed at the door.
Shea stepped close, seeing what had drawn her mother’s notice immediately. The door wasn’t fully closed, sitting open by several inches, unnoticeable until you were close.
“It’s never supposed to be opened,” Lainey said, not moving any closer.
“Well, it has been,” Caden said, moving closer.
Fallon snagged the back of Shea’s pants and pulled her out of the way as the Anateri armed themselves.
“Let them go first,” he cautioned her.
She nodded. That was probably best. They didn’t know what waited on the other side of the doors. The chamber they guarded could be empty; it probably was. Then again, Griffin might still be in there or have left a lovely surprise for anyone that followed him.
They waited, as first Caden and then several Anateri disappeared into the room. The rest of Fallon’s Anateri created a ring around them and the clan elders, some of whom were visibly impatient at the delay.
Her mother and father watched the doors like they expected beasts to pour from them at any moment, their faces resolute and slightly grim. Guess that answered the question of whether her mother had shared what was in the chamber with her father.
“It’s clear,” came Caden’s strong voice. “You’ll want to see this.”
Shea and Fallon moved forward, slipping through the partially open doors. She hesitated on the other side, taking in the room before her.
It wasn’t particularly big. The group with them would fit into it easily enough, but that was about it. The thing that struck her most was the amount of white, even the stone floors looked like they’d been carved from bone, washed out and almost gray. Runes had been inlaid everywhere—on the ceilings, the walls, the floor.
The same vine pattern that was on the doors was here too, but instead of metal it was made of something that had turned pearlescent white. Above, a ball hovered, shining so brightly it was as if the room had its own sun where the ceiling met in a domed arch.
Unlike the passageway they’d taken to get here, this place was perfectly formed. A lot of thought and work had gone into its creation. It was beautiful, a delicate work of art that very few would ever see.
“You knew this was here?” Fallon asked, his gaze coming to hers.
She shook her head. “I’ve never been inside. I just heard my mother talking about it and followed her as far as the doors. I put the rest together from there.”
His gaze was thoughtful. “So, you don’t know exactly what was here. What makes you think it’s important?”
Shea’s eyes turned to the pedestal in the middle of the room. “You don’t go to all this trouble to hide something unless you don’t want it found.”
Especially considering the other secrets her people protected, the Koa and whomper among them.
Before she could say anything more, Caden shifted giving Shea a look at what his body had concealed until now.
Blood pooled on the floor, red footprints disturbing the scene. The red was glaringly obvious in the monochromatic room, almost jarring against the elegance.
Shea stepped closer as Caden grabbed a handful of long brown hair and lifted a woman’s head up so they could see her face.
Shea felt a sick sense of recognition as Victoria’s blank eyes stared up from a face frozen in shock. Her disbelief at her son’s betrayal still obvious, even when the woman’s essence, that thing that made her Victoria, had fled.
Caden looked back at them with a darkly satisfied expression. “Looks like her son isn’t the dutiful offspring she thought.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Caden let go of the hair and Victoria’s head hit the floor with a thunk. He stood, wiping his hands against his pants before aiming a look of distaste at the dead woman.
