“Who?” Drazen squinted at our captive.
“The high ruler’s daughter. Before the attack, I was her servant.”
Drazen winced. “Not much of a lady anymore.”
“I thought they’d escaped.” Serafina’s gaze snapped to me, sharp with accusation.
I held up my hands, the picture of innocence. For once, it was true. All I’d done was lighten their load, stealing their weighty treasures. Which, in theory, would have allowed them to travel faster.
“I had nothing to do with the fact that they were captured after they served you up to the wendigos to save their own asses.”
“Right.” Sera frowned at my not-so-subtle reminder and then smoothed her expression. “Now what?”
“Now we locate their tunnels and let the ghoul lead us inside like a hound chasing a fox.” I turned to Kronk. “Think you can find one of their entrances?”
“Already have.” He jutted his chin toward the ruins. “Follow me.”
Dragging our captive, we trailed Kronk through the shattered manor, down into the servants’ corridors, descending into a root cellar. As we entered the chilly earthen room, the moldy scent of spoiled food hit my nostrils. One whole wall was destroyed, the shelves splintered, stores trampled. The wendigos had burrowed through the wall, smashing anything in their path.
“No wonder they overpowered us so easily,” Serafina said, her words heavy. “They bypassed the manor’s defenses, tunneling directly inside.”
Just as they had at Pyrrhus. The memory tightened my gut.
Drazen untied the bag we’d placed over the ghoul’s head, whipping it off the creature. “Apologies, love, but we’ve no time for melancholy.”
The moment the monster was free, it lunged at Serafina, shrieking, “You.”
I jerked it back by the rope, bringing it up short.
“Yes. Yes. I’m me,” Serafina said coolly. “I’ve grown quite famous since you saw me last. Even though you insisted that I’d never make anything of myself.”
Drazen snickered, but Kronk only gazed at her, lines of confusion crinkling his forehead. “I did not know you were famous.”
She waved away the comment. “What’s next?”
“Next…” I stared at the yawning tunnel, unease prickling my spine. “We get your friend back.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
SERAFINA
I trudged after Penelope,or rather,the ghoul. It was easier if I didn’t think of her as a person. Whatever The Dark One had done, she was no longer the spoiled girl I’d served. Her clothing hung in filthy rags, her pale skin mottled and torn. On the back of her head, a patch of her scalp was missing, greasy bone peering through her scraggly hair. Ironically, her outsides now matched her rotten insides.
The ropes we’d used to restrain her were missing. Her lifeless fingers circled my wrist, the touch of her icy flesh making my skin crawl. Our plan had almost gone to hell, Thorne ready to pull the plug on the whole thing once we realized the ghoul wouldn’t lead three scary-ass men into the tunnels, only me. Even in death, Penelope still managed to get her way.
And so, I followed her, solar crystal held aloft, dagger tucked into the belt on my pants. Somewhere behind me, Thorne and crew followed, out of sight. I found myself glancing back, hoping for some glimpse of them to reassure me. At least Thorne could track me through his flame if things went wrong.
Flarking Penelope. This was not the plan. Had I realized I’d end up following a ghoul into the tunnels alone, I may have reconsidered. I only prayed she was leading me to the prisoner holding cells, not to The Dark One.
With nothing to look at but the oozing wound on her skull, I began to wonder if any part of Penelope remained.
“Penelope, where are your mother and father?”
“You,” she groaned, her dragging steps scuffing the soil.
“And The Dark One? What is his plan?”
“You.”
