Thank you.
It wasn’t until I’d gotten ready for bed and slipped under the covers, blue blanket clutched in my grip, that the paper heated with a response.
You’re welcome, darling.
Three days.I’d been in Scarven’s mansion for three days without a hint of the governor to be found. I was about to crawl out of my skin.
I convinced myself he somehow knew I’d been the one to help set his prisoners free and was now torturing me with some convoluted mind game. Seeing how long I’d last before I cracked under the pressure.
Every day, I worried he was gone because he’d found the Keep’s hiding spot and had ransacked it. I thought Nox was getting tired of my constant checking in during the days, but it was the only way to ease my fears.
The servants and guards weren’t treating me hostilely, at least. They weren’t exactly friendly, but otherwise, I felt like a normal guest. The same servant brought me breakfast in the morning before drawing me a hot bath. I was allowed to roam the open, public spaces—the library, dining rooms, wine cellar, gardens.
Everywhere I went, guards were stationed up and down the halls, those lion masks they wore still eerily off-putting. If I tried to venture down an abandoned wing or darkened corner, they abruptly turned me away. When I followed the route we’d taken the night of his private party to get to the downstairs level, I was stopped. It was obvious Scarven had laid out certain rules. Even though he let me stay here, he didn’t trust me. Or anyone, for that matter. I was scared to press my luck and raise any alarms by continuing to search where I was forbidden.
Personal growth, honestly.
But I could still practice my shadows. When nobody was around, I heard Thecae and Calyra’s voices in my head, guiding me and my magic. I let it flow from me in the privacy of my room or the silence of an empty corridor. My shadows were as hungry for information as I was. They crept from my skin and along the cracks in the floor and doors, searching for sounds to bring back to me. ForsomethingI could pass along tothe Order.
Truth be told, I was growing lonely. In a way, it reminded me of the months spent in Nox’s tower, with only my festering thoughts to keep me company. At least I had my shadows now.
But when a knock sounded on my door on the fourth night, I found myself wishing for the silence.
“Selena,” Scarven said when I opened the door, eyeing me like I was his next meal. “It’s been far too long.”
I shoved down the fear his presence always brought and slipped back into the mask of Miss Selena Nyte. Crossing my arms over my chest, I cocked my head. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me.”
“Never. Simply caught up with business. But no more of that—tonight, we’re going out.”
“Out? What should I wear?”
His gaze roved over me, lingering on my curves. He smirked. “Something you don’t mind getting dirty.”
38
Devora
Apparently “out” meant a seedy tavern on the outskirts of the main village square, with cobwebs and some sort of dried bodily fluid I didn’t care to question smeared on the outside of the cracked wooden door. When Scarven opened it, the scent of sweat and stale ale hit me in full force. I wrinkled my nose as I stepped over the leg of a man passed out in the entryway.
Gnats buzzed around my ear. I almost missed the small red coin Scarven passed to the bartender from the sleeve of his shirt. The bartender’s eyes scanned the motley crew of patrons mulling around the tavern before he jerked his head, and without missing a beat, Scarven lifted a section of the bar top and held his hand out for me to pass through.
I swallowed my trepidation and stepped behind the bar, with him close on my heels. My shoes crunched over nut shells and broken glass as the bartender led us to a door in the back of the kitchen. I’d chosen a loose black tunic over leather pants tucked inside my calf-high combat boots. I had no idea what to expect of our little “outing,” but I had a feeling my gowns wouldn’t help me tonight.
The bartender inserted a key into the lock, then tugged it open to reveal a narrow tunnel curving to the right and out of sight.
I stopped at the threshold. There wasno wayI was going down there.
Was this it? Scarven’s way of capturing me, lulling me into a sense of security before he struck and made me one of his experiments?
His hand slipped under my tunic to rest on the small of my back, against my bare skin. I tried not to flinch at the unexpected contact. “Don’t be scared, Selena,” he murmured in my ear. “I think you’ll like this.”
I think you’re very wrong, I thought, but forced my feet to step into the tunnels. The path sloped down at an angle, leading us underground. Clammy sweat formed on my palms, even though the air dropped several degrees as we descended.
At first, it was mostly quiet. Water dripped to the stone floor, creatures scurried across dirt, and glass hitting tables echoed from the tavern we’d left behind.
Then…I heard it.
A low rumbling. Feet pounding. Voices shouting. Growing louder, like thunder rolling down my spine, the farther we walked through the tunnel, until suddenly, the path opened up into a large dome.
