“Lina. Lina Velghe,” she rasped.
Fairbridge froze.
Viggo’s breath caught. Solomon swore softly.
“Princess Eloïse’s friend?” Viggo said.
Lina’s eyes rounded. “Yes,” she whispered.
“She’s been looking for you,” Viggo said. “She never stopped looking.”
Tears welled and spilled down Lina’s dirt-streaked cheeks. She pushed herself unsteadily to her feet.
Viggo examined the lock on the door. It was made from heavy iron and reinforced with runes. His magic immunity would make short work of the enchantments, but breaking down the door might alert the guards in the room behind them to their presence.
A few of the prisoners began to stir as Lina approached the cell door, fear bubbling into murmurs and half-formed words. They began speaking all at once, in several languages.
Fairbridge raised his hands. “Please. You must stay quiet.”
The men and women didn’t listen, panic overcoming common sense.
Viggo’s scalp prickled.
Amber glowed in Fairbridge’s eyes, his magic dancing across Viggo’s skin in a faint, warm breeze.
The prisoners sagged into silence, muscles loosening, breath evening out.
Lina stared from her companions to Fairbridge.
“You’re an Enchanter,” she breathed.
Fairbridge nodded curtly. “I apologise. I needed them calm.”
“I understand,” Lina murmured.
“We’re searching for two women who were brought here tonight,” Solomon told Lina tightly. “One of them wore a green gown.”
Lina bobbed her head. “I saw them. They were down here briefly before they were taken back upstairs.” She clenched her jaw. “Those animals have a special room set up, in one of the prayer cells. It’s where they like to torture people.”
Fury darkened Solomon’s face. He made to move toward the stairs.
Viggo grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“You can’t just rush up there!” the Brute snapped. He turned to Lina, urgency hammering through him. “I’m sorry. We need to rescue our friends. They are in grave danger. We will come back for you, I swear it.”
To his surprise, Lina shook her head vehemently.
“No, you need to stop him before you come to our aid. He’s about to open the convergence.”
Viggo’s blood ran cold.
“The convergence?” Fairbridge frowned. “You mean the place where the Crimson Codex was supposedly hidden?”
“But the Codex was broken into seven fragments and hidden in different locations across the continent,” Viggo said sharply, his chest tight. “We presumed the convergence was a lie. A distraction.”
“The convergence exists,” Lina said urgently, gripping the bars of the window with white knuckles. “And there were eight fragments.”
Viggo went very still.
