Good, that would keep these fuckers occupied for a while.
I hopped out of the wagon, keeping my weapons in both hands, as they circled a knot of Fae guards, those enormous jaws snapping loudly. The guards fought back with fire and blue magic—ice, maybe—but the Grimbeasts were faster.
Snapping teeth and powerful jaws backed by hunger made for dangerous foes, and two of the guards went down in a sloppy gush of black blood, spilled out onto the snow.
“That’ll keep them busy.” Varian unhooked the horses and slapped them on the asses, sending them crashing into an oncoming patrol of soldiers, as Ryland pulled down a torch and tossed it into the back of the straw-filled wagon.
The blaze was licking up the front walls when we disappeared into the castle, where the stone stank of decay, and somewhere in the distance, a crow’s caw cut through the stillness.
Rooke, keeping an eye on us.
37
LYRAE
The corners of Evernight Castle stretched into shadow, its vaulted ceiling lost in the oppressive darkness above, hallways ending in tunnels of black.
Ancient, tattered tapestries flapped in the winter wind, since the entire fortress lay open to the elements. Even with the influx of fresh air, the smell in here was wrong, carrying the metallic taste of corrupted magic and something far worse—a choking sweetness like rotting flowers that clung to the back of my throat.
Whispers chased behind that chill wind, the worn floors were slick with a thin layer of snow, our every breath hung like white ghosts in the air before they were swept away.
My sister was here.
Had been held prisoner, for decades.
In this cold, dark place that had no soul.
Rage that had been building all day threatened to spill over, to scorch the dark stone of this castle the same way flames burned out front.Patience, I told myself, not for the first time today.
Anger leads to mistakes and mistakes cost lives.
I glanced at Varian, then Ryland. Then imagined my little sister, somewhere up above us, a prisoner in that tower.Everyone in the world I cared about was in this awful place, and I would not risk a single one of them through my own carelessness.
No, we were all walking out of here, in one piece, holding the Crown.
Then we were killing Gravelock, slowly and creatively, with maximum pain and suffering.
That was the only outcome I would allow myself to imagine.
“Cheery place,” Varian muttered, peering down the meandering, darkened hall.
“Love the decorations,” I added, throwing him a stiff grin. “I wonder if the Butcher did all this himself, or if he hired it out?”
“Focus.” Ryland’s face was a harsh mask, hand tightening on his sword hilt. “We don’t have time for your usual pithy commentary. We get this done and we get out.”
I hummed in agreement, nerves on edge, eyes fixed on the flickering torches along the corridor that bent and swayed with the air currents. We flattened our backs to the wall as a trio of guards bolted straight across, racing into the fray outside.
We’d ended up in the correct section of the castle, so that part of our plan had succeeded. Ariel was somewhere to my right, in the topmost tower, behind a door that was probably bolted shut, protected by layers of magic.
The Crown…could be anywhere.
The relic would be well warded and the inside of this place was a maze.
But Varian would sniff the artifact out, no matter how well hidden.
“This is where we split up.” Ryland monitored the long hall, his voice steady. “We meet back here in half an hour,whether we have what we came for or not.” He shot me a pointed look and I pinched my lips together, biting off my argument before the words could escape.
After I’d convinced them the only way this rescue mission would ever work was if we split up,afterRyland finished shouting,afterI’d been forced to agree to his list of ridiculous rules, I’d be godsdamned if I was leaving here without Ariel.
