“Or you could both be hurt or… or worse.” Like his cousin, Ellis didn’t say what that worst option was. They all knew, but saying it would make it real. “I’m not mad at you, Eiri. I’m mad at whoever went after my brother, and when I find them, they’ll pay for what they did.” A quiet fury laced his words. This wasn’t a threat; it was a promise.
He felt the ward fall, another gentle brush of foreign magic, and Xan opened the door, peering around the edge.
“There are guards out there,” he whispered back to them. Slowly, likely to avoid drawing attention, he eased the door shut and turned back to them. The hallway they were in now was empty for the moment, but Eiri could hear voices not far away.
Ellis frowned, studying the door in front of them. “Guards? How many?”
“I counted at least six. Why? Where does this go?”
“That hallway leads to the old gardens. There’s an abandoned observatory beyond them. No one uses it anymore, ever since my grandmother had the new one built at the university.”
Thanks to the countless hours Eiri had spent sitting on the windowsill in Syrus’ room, staring out at the palace grounds, he remembered the old tower on the far edge of the palace. It was hard to forget a crumbling old tower with a roof made of glass.
“Well, someone is using it now. There’s no way we can get through there.” Xan paused, eyes widening. “That must be where they’re keeping Syrus.”
“You think so?”
“How do we get in?”
Ellis and Eiri spoke at the same time, words intermingling in matching desperation.
“Why else would anyone set guards on an abandoned section of the castle?” Xan swept the hallway with a quick glance, making sure they were still alone. “We can’t get in thisway, and I don’t know of any other ways to get up there. We have to find somewhere else. Ellis? Do you know another way out of the castle?”
Ellis blinked, and it seemed to Eiri that he had to force himself to stop looking at the door. He shook his head. “Not any way that won’t be guarded. There are secret passages; I know that much, but I don’t know where all of them are.”
“Then we need to find somewhere to hide. Or I do, at least,” Eiri said. “You two might be alright as long as no one realizes you helped me, but I’m dead the moment they find me.” He could almost feel the brush of the executioner’s axe across the back of his neck. He doubted the Vaetreans would give him such a merciful death, though.
“There’s no hiding my magic from anyone who goes looking, so I’ll be in just as much trouble as you,” Xan murmured. “Let’s keep moving. There are a lot of abandoned rooms and corridors here. We just need to find one of them.”
Pulling Ellis away from the door wasn’t easy, and Eiri felt the same pull, knowing that Syrus might be up there, but they didn’t stand a chance against that many guards, plus however many more waited past those they could see.
He’d never been in this section of the palace before, but Xan seemed to know where they were going. They were bound to run out of luck sooner rather than later, with so much chaos in the hallways, so when Xan came to a sudden stop near the intersection of two corridors, Eiri couldn’t say he was surprised.
“Where to now?” he asked anyway, on the off chance that he was worrying needlessly.
“I… I don’t know,” Xan whispered. “Everywhere we passed, I heard people. We can’t go back, but we’re too close to the courtiers’ living quarters now. There are too many guards.”
“I can try to distract them.” Ellis shrugged helplessly when they both glanced over at him. “I don’t know what else to do.”
“Is there any chance there are any courtiers who would shelter you?” Eiri knew it wasn’t likely, at least not with him in their company. Xan and Ellis stood a much better chance without him. If he couldn’t save Syrus, he could at least save Syrus’ family.
“Not likely,” Ellis murmured, shaking his head.
“We’ll have to try to get across and just hope no one notices us. We don’t have a choice.”
“If you two are seen with me, there will be no one left to help Syrus.” Eiri had to believe that Syrus was still alive. There was no other option.
“If you’re suggesting we leave you, think again. We’re in this together,” Xan hissed, his tone brooking no argument.
“Then let’s go before someone spots us. I can hear people coming,” Ellis whispered back. He’d supported Eiri as they traversed the halls, but Eiri stepped away now, locking his knees to stay upright. They’d draw even more attention if he couldn’t walk on his own.
“If we can get to the library, we may be able to hide there for at least a little bit. No one will be using it in the middle of a crisis. Don’t get separated. We’re going to make it.”
Eiri didn’t know Xan well, but he knew Xan didn’t believe his own words.
“Alright. Let’s do it.” Because what other choice did they have?
Xan met his eyes for only a moment, but long enough for Eiri to see a bleak, hopeless desperation that matched his own. Ellis was steeling himself, still determined, but like Eiri, Xan knew this was impossible. It wouldn’t stop them from trying, though.
