We rolled on and arrived at the palace. The garden was illuminated with metal bowls filled with fire set atop pikes stabbed into the ground. The palace itself was ablaze with candles and lanterns, so that it was a cheery welcome.
But my companion wasn’t quite as cheery. He helped me out of the vehicle, and we slipped quietly inside. Our muffled entrance, however, didn’t go unnoticed. Marius stood in the middle of the foyer with his hands clasped in front of him as I’d first seen him. Those gray eyes would have looked dull in any other face, but not his sharp one.
He spoke in a low, quiet, and even voice. It was like listening to old paper rattle. “Praeter Scaevia informed me you had gone.”
Cassian looped an arm around my lower back and grasped my hip. “Yes. There’s something I’ll discuss with you later, Marius.”
Marius bowed his head, but I swore those sharp eyes studied me again.
Cassian guided me past his servant and into the ground-floor depths of the main part of the palace. I looked over my shoulder at the foyer. It was empty. I lifted an eyebrow and glanced at my companion. “Who is Marius? Is he your resident shadow?”
“My oldest adviser.”
“Centuries old?”
“I couldn’t say. I only know he served my father, and has had that appearance for as long as I can remember.”
My face drooped. “That…doesn’t sound creepy at all.”
“He is a good adviser.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I replied as I investigated our surroundings. He had led me down a central corridor that was without any lit lamps or candles. “Where are we going, anyway?”
“Into the deepest, darkest shadows of my palace.”
I tripped over my feet. I couldn’t help it. The place was pitch-black now. “I don’t think I like this idea. Why do we have to go there?”
He stopped us, and I couldn’t see a speck of light either in front or behind us. Heck, I couldn’t even tell what direction we had come from. Cassian stretched out his free hand. “So we can find this.”
I heard him turn a knob, and a door opened. Light poured over us. I blinked against the harsh glow, but my eyes quickly adjusted.
And they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
The door led into a huge chamber filled with chests and pots, all of which were bursting with gold and jewelry. Coins covered the floor, and statues made of gold, silver, and precious gems stood proudly among the other valuables.
And nestled in the middle of that beautiful, fantastic mess was a pedestal, atop which was a glass case. A plush pillow sat inside the case, and atop that was a familiar object.
I gasped. “A Dreadwrought!”
“Yes,” Cassian confirmed as he led me down the narrow aisle to the pedestal. “It’s the most prized possession among all these priceless treasures.”
He released me and brushed his hand over the case. A faint bit of light emanated from the glass, and he grasped either side before drawing the lid up on its hinge.
I pointed at the casing. “What would happen if I touched it?”
“You would have had your hands burned away by a fierce, magical fire,” he told me as he picked up the Dreadwrought in both hands. He turned to me and showed me its face.
I pointed at the metal. “This one has different symbols. And its metal looks redder.”
“Yes. This is the Ignivane. The one given to you was called the Chronocapra.”
“Do all twelve have names?”
“Yes, but I know only these two.”
I cocked my head to one side. “Why these two?”
“Several of the Dreadwroughts are related, in a way. That is, they are said to be a part of the same ‘constellation.’” He nodded at my locket. “The Dreadwrought the stranger gave to you is the ‘brother star’ to this one.”
