“Careful, siren,” Amaya purrs, “or my men will cut out that sharp tongue.”
Vesper glares, her hand twitching toward the scar on her wrist. “They can try.”
“Enough,” Arion snaps. “This isn’t helping.”
When neither Amaya nor Vesper stands down, a growl rumbles from deep in his chest, and Amaya’s knife erupts in blue flame. With an indignant curse, she flicks a hand and douses it with rainwater, effectively ruining the map. “Neat trick, warlock.” A brilliant flash of lightning punctuates her next words, piercing the clouds behind us. “Mine is better.”
Exhaling slowly, Gavriall shakes his head and picks up a corner of the ruined map. It peels from the rest before turning to paste in his fingers. “Well. I hope we didn’t need this.”
The dangerous current around Arion intensifies. “What we need is to shut the fuck up and listen to Zephyra.” Though he doesn’t take my hand again, his wings brush my shoulder encouragingly. We both know that if I don’t speak, there’s a high chance we’ll all fight to the death instead. Vesper’s gaze snags on the soldiers’ weapons. Gavriall eyes the skull nervously. And thunder continues rumbling around Amaya as if we’re seconds from incineration. As if we are all standing at the edge of a cliff, centimeters from tumbling off.
I hasten to say, “The heart isn’t inside the castle—at least, not that I’ve ever seen.”Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.I count each one, forcing myself to keep going. To remember, to relive the worst moments—years—of my life. “I used to hear noises at night though. From beneath the castle.”
“And…?” Gavriall asks.
I swallow roughly. “I asked the sorcerer about them once, and he told me there is nobeneath the castle.”
Vesper crosses her arms, entirely unimpressed. “So he lied.”
“He wouldn’t have lied. Not about that.” At the heat of Arion’s gaze on my cheek, I clench my jaw and stare at the ruined map. My stomach churns viciously. “He would’ve wanted me to fear whatever was down there. He would’ve wanted me toknow.” Anythingto torment me. Torture me. Punish me. I try swallowing again, breathing, but this time… I can’t.
“My sweet, sweet Zephyra,” his voice croons in my ear, though I can’t see him. The halls darken. The shadow of the walls begins to warble around me. “Are you trying to escape?”
“N-no,” I manage through unsteady breaths. My lungs ache. I’ve been wandering the castle for three days straight. I’ve been searching for any way out, but there is nothing.Nothing.I’m fucking trapped.
And he knows.
“Ah, ah. No lying, dear.” The walls converge then, slamming into me with unbelievable force, and unconsciousness drowns me in the echoes of his laughter. I wake on the cold floor to the same strange sound of whispers below me. Always below me. The shackles on my wrists are nailed to the floor, and purple bruises cover my arms.
Even with the winds raging around us, there isn’t enough air to work my lungs.
“So that’s your plan?” Vesper ignores my panic as her lip curls on a sneer. “To follow disembodied voices to the ruins of a fabled utopia that may or may not exist? You can hardly evenspeakabout it. How the shit are you going to navigate us through it? You have never been able to lead. You have always been a liability.”
Each word is an arrow that impales my heart exactly as intended. It’s a stupid plan, and I am the wrong person to trust. But we’re out of time, so I cross my arms against my chest and hold myself together. “Do you have a better idea?”
The table quiets as Amaya regards us both with pointed scrutiny, drawing another knife from her belt and toying with it almost absently. She runs her tongue along her teeth before clearing her throat. To Vesper, she says, “The pink-haired merrow is right. There is no other plan.” And to me, “Tell me more about this castle, Zephyra. We may stand a chance if we know what storms lie on the horizon.”
I swallow. “Well, first of all, it’s in the water.Deepin the water.” I wave a hand when Gavriall opens his mouth to interrupt, needing to finish this despite how hoarse my voice has become.You have always been a liability.“That won’t be the problem. I can drain the water myself, but the rest—the hallways shift every ten to fifteen minutes, rearranging themselves on an endless loop. Most of the objects within those halls are cursed, not unlike her”—I flick a glance at Amaya’s great-great-great-grandmother, who cackles wildly—“only they’re more inconspicuous. Doorknobs with teeth.” The scars on my palm burn at the memory. “Mirrors that beguile you.”That make you never want to leave.“Fountains that explode with white-hot flame.” The entire table stills at the last, but I continue on regardless. “If you touch the wrong object—evenlookat the wrong object—that’s it. If it doesn’t kill you, it could trap you, enslave you, torment you until the sorcerer decides to let you go. And he won’t.” My voice breaks slightly, but I ignore it. Everyone ignores it. Even Vesper. “And if wedomanage to navigate the halls intact, we’ll still need to contend with his guards—scores of them.”
Amaya presses her thumb to the tip of her knife. “Those will be easy to deal with.”
“No,” I say sharply, and Arion frowns as the cord snaps taut between us. It thrums erratically with the spike in my pulse. “I don’t want to… we’renotkilling anyone.” When thunder crackles in response, I add, “They’re enslaved. They shouldn’t be punished for the sorcerer’s cruelty.”
Amaya waves her knife irritably. “Fine. We’ll knock them out. Continue.”
“If we can find them before they find us. The sorcerer doesn’t allow any of his puppets to roam free. Most of the guards remain dormant until he has need of them—or until the castle senses danger. Many have been there so long, they’ve begun to grow into the walls and twist into the furniture. We’ll never see them coming.”I never saw them coming.Time after time I tried to escape, and there wasalwayssomeone there to drag me back. Someone there to lock me up.
I close my eyes briefly, forcing myself to breathe through the pain. The shame.
There was always someone there… until there wasn’t.
“Let me get this straight.” Gavriall pinches the bridge of hisnose and starts to pace. “Not only do we need to drain the Sceleratus Trench—thedeepestpart of the ocean, mind you—but we also need to navigate a cursed, labyrinthian castle while locating, incapacitating—but not killing—the enslaved guards within it.” He shakes his head, pacing faster. “All in an effort to follow these disembodied voices to Mortem’s heart, or Abysses, orwhatevernightmarish horrors reside beneath the castle. Am I forgetting anything?” Snapping his fingers for dramatic effect, he continues before anyone can answer. “Oh yes, we also need to displace or defeat an agoraphobic sorcerer who refuses to leave said castle. Ever.”
“That isn’t true,” I rasp. “He leaves to make deals.”
“And to hunt you,” Arion says quietly.
At last, his gaze falls away from my face, and his wings curl inward. I shiver at their absence. He doesn’t look back up again as he adds, still in a murmur, “He wantsyou, Zephyra.” A pause. “How long has he been searching?”
