“I sent your letter, by the way.”
Camilla’s words had Thalia’s head jerking up. “What?”
“Cassius was busy this morning, but I sent it. Just wanted to let you know.”
“Thank you.” The thought should have settled her. After all, she’d told her mother in not so many words that the courts weren’t as strong as they appeared, how the prince being away was causing strain. But she hadn’t mentioned the sickness, not yet. Not until she figured out how that all tied in.
But for some reason, it didn’t calm her nerves.
Camilla didn’t say anything more, and silence stretched as Thalia went deeper into the library.
When the door to the library creaked open, Thalia craned her neck around a bookshelf.
Keegan strode in, urgency lacing his footsteps. “The meeting has been moved up,” he said to Camilla, the shifter having gone back to reading.
Camilla set the book aside, rising. “To when?”
Keegan glanced behind him. “Right now.”
Camilla cursed, looking around until she spotted Thalia. “Are you wanting to join?”
Thalia’s fingers tightened on the book she held. “No.”
Both of Camilla’s brows rose, and even Keegan seemed surprised at her answer. “No? Weren’t you pushing to meet with all the Houses?”
Thalia forced herself to not react, to not allow her body to give away any scent that would indicate her lie. “I was … but is the prince here?”
Keegan shared a look with Camilla before shaking his head. “No, he’s still away.”
Thalia shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Then the meeting must not be too urgent if it was moved up and he’s still away. I’m sure you can fill me in on anything I miss, but I want to keep researching. I think I might have found something.”
The Vampyr and shifter shared another look.
“All right,” Camilla finally said, taking a step toward the door. “I’ll find you after, then.”
Thalia forced a smile, waving the book in her hand. “I’ll be here.”
The two left, closing the library door behind them. Thalia waited, counting in her head. When five minutes had passed, she tiptoed to the library door, pressing her ear against the wood, but she heard nothing on the other side.
Heart pounding in her throat, she pulled out the map of the castle from her dress pocket. She’d found it when visiting the library days ago, and now was the perfect opportunity to put it to use.
She stared at the drawing, then glanced around the library until her focus landed on the tapestry in the back with the different courts stitched on the surface.
Thalia hurried over to it, lifting up the tapestry to stare at the cold stone beneath it. She glanced down at the map, then back at the wall. There—a small emblem of a raven with three eyes appeared carved in the corner of one stone.
“There you are,” she whispered, pressing her hand against the stone.
The wall gave away with a groan and Thalia froze, glancing back to the door, but no one came to investigate.
Thalia counted to thirty in her head before glancing into the secret passageway. Cold, musty air floated to her.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled her spine.
Thalia didn’t look back as she stepped into the dark.
Chapter Twenty-One
Thalia dodged cobwebs thick with dust, trying to push aside the thought of spiders crawling into her dress. The cold stone soaked through the soles of her slippers, the dirt leaving footprints in her wake marked by the shafts of lights spilling above her from vents high in the castle walls.
