It was a relief when it swung open and we emerged into a narrow stone tunnel. The black rock that made up thewalls was pitted where air bubbles had formed in the lava, and the entire corridor smelled like sulfur.
The heat was oppressive, and claustrophobia swamped me as sweat slicked my skin. We were miles below the base of Mount Dorthus with an entire demon army swarming above us. I didn’t want to think about how we would escape this place once we found Kaden.
We made our way down the passageway, checking every chamber we passed. Each time we opened a door, I braced myself for a horde of demons to come spilling out. But we must have been traipsing through a seldom-used part of the fortress because we encountered no one.
Finally, we reached a locked cell with a small grate at the top of the door.
My heart raced as I peered inside and saw a dark figure slumped against the wall. Reaching out with my senses, I tried to feel for the hum of the connection between us, but I knew before Sorsha sent her ball of faelight inside that the prisoner wasn’t Kaden.
We pressed on, Adriel taking the lead. The tunnels formed a complicated maze, but the royal guard seemed to know exactly where he was going.
I supposed he’d walked these passages before, though I couldn’t imagine he’d memorized all the corridors that split off from the main tunnel, leading into even narrower passageways.
A sinking feeling gnawed at the pit of my stomach. The tunnels seemed to stretch for miles, and I felt it had to be a small miracle that we hadn’t encountered a single demon.
How would we ever find him?
Going inward, I searched my mind for the goldenthread of our connection, but I could no longer sense Kaden through the mating bond.
Grief yawned like a pit inside of me, threatening to swallow me whole. I returned my attention to the tunnels, trying not to let my thoughts spiral.
We didn’t even know for certain that Kaden was down here. What if Semphrys was keeping him somewhere else? How could we possibly search the entire palace without being discovered?
But then I felt it — a light prickle along the back of my neck.
It was faint at first, but it was definitely there. The dark hum of magic that was as familiar as my own.
“This way,” I murmured, shoving past Adriel and leading the way down the tunnel.
Once I’d grown attuned to it, the tingling sensation became more pronounced. I broke into a run as I followed that deep sense of knowing, reaching out occasionally to feel for Kaden.
I skidded to a halt outside a heavy wooden door with the same style of grate at the top. Emotion clogged my throat as I peered through the slats and laid eyes on the dark form within.
Kaden hung suspended from the stone wall, his head drooping against his chest. Damp locks of black hair fell into his face, but there was no mistaking the fine set of his jaw or the ominous power that buzzed against my skin.
“It’s him,” I whispered, tugging on the handle. Of course, this door was locked.
“Probably warded,” Adriel muttered.
Not warded. Sealed with runes that formed an impenetrable magical barrier.
Squinting through the dark once more, my chest clenched with worry. Kaden hadn’t stirred at the sound of our voices, which meant he was either asleep or . . .
No. I couldn’t think like that. I wouldn’t have been able to sense him if he were dead.
Feeling desperate, I concentrated all my might on unraveling the runes that denied us entry. I’d inadvertently dismantled a locking rune sealing a drawer in Caladwynn’s study, but this rune was unfamiliar and stubbornly resisted my efforts to unlock it.
Cursing softly, I racked my brain for any unlocking runes I’d glimpsed in Mankara’s text. But I’d barely had a chance to skim the book, and my memories of it were fuzzy.
“Stand aside,” Adriel growled, elbowing me out of the way.
He placed a hand over the stone holding the door in place, and I staggered as a powerful tremor shook the ground beneath my feet.
Rock crumbled around the door frame, creating a hole large enough to slip through.
“Hurry,” he said. “Someone will have felt that.”
But I was already clambering through the gap, tripping across the uneven stone floor to where Kaden hung limp against the wall.
