“Wise choice,” the nobleman commended. “Take them to their quarters,” he instructed. “And this time, keep them separate.”
Two guards broke away from their line to apprehend me. Allowing them to haul me away, I watched as two more grabbed Seth, and another took Eleos.
I was dragged through the door first. Seth’s crimson eyes followed me until we rounded a corner into a dark hall, and I lost sight of them.
8
Aethra
Exhaustion swept over me the moment we left the lake behind. Breathing heavily, I followed my escort through the ancient halls, wondering if this place had always been meant for torment.
Phaedrus said monsters the likes the Merchant Isles had never seen roamed this land. Would there be more like the hydra awaiting us further in?
Perhaps all creatures of legend hailed from a long-forgotten truth.
“So.” I turned to the guard on my left. “What happens if we win your little games?”
“Few have ever passed the trials,” he answered in an even voice.
“What happened to them?”
He looked away, remaining silent.
“What an encouraging response,” I muttered, scanning the halls.
I had no sense of where we were, how deepunderground, how close to an exit. Planning an escape would be difficult without a lay of the land. Dark corridors branched off from the one we walked, leading to cramped dungeon cells.
An isolated cell at the end of the hall was our destination. Pulling the heavy stone door open, they pushed me through and moved to lock it behind me.
Hurried footsteps echoed through the halls. Leaning out of the cell, I saw a torch approaching us through the gloom, carried by the nobleman from before.
“Hold a moment,” he ordered, silver eyes flicking to me. “I have orders to take this one elsewhere.”
Throat tightening, I shrank into my cell. Noticing my hesitation, the guard I’d tried speaking with caught my arm and dragged me outside, shoving me toward the noble. Sweeping aside his deep blue cloak, he laid a hand on the pommel of his sword.
“Turn,” he ordered.
Cradling my injured arm, I obeyed. He grabbed my wrists, yanking them behind my back to lock into shackles. Grimacing, I bit back a yelp of pain as my injured arm twisted.
When he released me, I scanned every inch of his appearance, trying to learn as much as I could from a mere glance.
If the Oracle had been a queen, this man was a wealthy merchant, at best. Fewer jewels encrusted his tiara, and while the Oracle’s dagger had been decorated with enough gold to pay off my debt, this man’s sword was of relatively simple, if elegant, make.
A lesser noble? Maybe I could use that information to my advantage.
Tilting his chin up, the nobleman peered down his nose at me like a bird of prey. He was sizing me up, too.
Grabbing my shoulder, the nobleman steered me ahead of him, guiding me down a new passage. Carvings of ancient heroes and tormented souls alike watched us pass.
Lifting my chin, I caught his eye. “Who was that girl?”
“Girl?” He asked.
“The one who was sent out to die with me.”
“I don’t know. I don’t make a habit of keeping up with everyprisoner,” he drawled.
“Then why did you ask to seeme?”
