Grumbling, I unlatched my pouch and took a pinch of crushed dandelion leaf and whispered the spell for opening. “Vata lai.”
Nothing.
“Am I going to have to break down this door?” I muttered, flicking the end of my braid over my shoulder in irritation.
Movement on the parchment in my other hand caught my eye. The riddle faded away, replaced by something new.
Patience is a virtue of wisdom.
My lips thinned. I was being lectured by a piece of paper.
The clock read three minutes until nine. I flexed my hand, forcing myself not to reach for the door and try again. It was obvious this little condescending riddle master was keeping me prisoner in my own room until the clock struck nine.
Where was I going to go, anyway? The part of the clues that hinted at Alchemy spoke of “bones and echoes.” The only thing I could think of was some sort of graveyard—plenty of bones lived there. But I knew nothing about the capital. I would need a map, at the very least.
Maybe that’s where I would start. Find a record hall or library that would let me see maps of Veridia City.
My gaze flicked up to the clock, following the big hand as it ticked, ticked, ticked closer to nine o’clock. I looked down at the parchment one final time to catch new words scrolling across.
Let the Decemvirate begin.
The handle gave way beneath my touch, and I bolted out the door.
I barely madeit down two hallways before I knew something was off.
The corridor was silent, the air heavy and strained. Every hair on the back of my neck rose as I turned another corner and reached into my satchel to place an amaranth stem of protection on my tongue.
Where was Horace? He’d been there this morning when I peeked my head out the door, but now he was nowhere to be found. I quickly retraced my steps back to my room, thinking I’d gone the wrong direction to get to the main stairwell, when I saw?—
Was thatblood?
Small beads of red were splattered across the dark floor mere feet from my door, creating a crimson path leading down the hall and to a small alcove on the left. With alarm singing in my veins, I followed the blood with my dagger in hand until…
I saw him.
Black boots peeked out from the shadowed nook of the corridor. My hand trembled as I crept forward. Inch by inch, my eyes trailed over the length of the body, over the familiar silver guard’s uniform and long blonde beard smothered in blood. A pool of it rested by his head.
Red leaked from his slit throat.
The edges of Horace’s body seemed to flicker as my stomach fell to my feet, a memory resurfacing. His form was replaced with another, more familiar one?—
I backed away quickly, bile rushing up my throat. Who would have done this? And right outside my room—it must have beensecondsafter I left. What if they’d been targeting me?
My breaths came out ragged as I turned to race down the hallway, only to find myself face to face with a haughty smirk. Smooth hands grasped my elbows while a cruel chuckle echoed off the walls.
“Where are you heading so quickly, Feywood?”
I glared into the dark eyes of Callum, the Iluze challenger I’d almost suffocated the day before. Rage burned in my core.
“Did you do this?” I snarled, yanking out of his grasp. “Did youkill that guard?” Without realizing it, my blade was already aimed at his chest, the sweet amaranth charm on my tongue itching to be put into action.
“What are you talking about, girl?” a gruff voice said.
The air left my lungs. I spun around to find Horace standing behind me, not a speck of blood on him, his face twisted in confusion as his beady eyes flashed between Callum and me.
My pulse pounded in every inch of me. The shock of seeing his throat slit and bleeding to him appearing as good as new in the span of a heartbeat was making my head spin, unable to keep up with reality.
It was an illusion.
