Keegan’s eyes went past her, to the shouting echoing down the hall. “Get to the stables. Keep following this hall and go through the kitchens and out the back. There are horses waiting. If we aren’t there in five minutes, you leave.”
“But Cass—”
“Would want you to get the fuck out of here,” Keegan finished. He drew his own sword, heading for the hall Thalia had just fled. His footsteps echoed as loud as the shouting.
Thalia stared at his disappearing form, then made it all of two steps before she gasped—the teeth.
She didn’t want to think about what would happen if Lord Adrian or Julian discovered the poisoned barbs in the chamber or how they might use them to whatever advantage they hoped to obtain.
Thalia’s eyes snagged on a brick with a three-eyed raven carved into it. Making a split-second decision, she ran toward it, shoving open a secret passageway. She didn’t want to think about what Cassius and Keegan were facing in the halls. Gods, there must be at least thirty Vampyrs that Lord Adrian and Julian had gathered. Apparently, the lord’s hatred for the prince and his council—and his sway with the other Vampyrs—had won over the other Houses over in the end.
Her mind formed a map of the passageway, and she was silently grateful she’d taken the time to actually study the drawing before Camilla found her in the library. She flew over old stone, choking on the dust motes in the air.
She followed the twist and turns, praying she was right, until she came to the end of the passageway.
Thalia shoved against the stone, and the wall gave way. She burst into the torture chamber, the wall closing behind her.
The teeth were still on the table, glowing a faint greenish color.
She carefully wrapped each jar in a different part of her cloak before she shoved them into a satchel she’d taken from her room before fleeing.
She heard a scraping sound and whirled, faltering.
Julian stood in the doorway, his green eyes blazing as he took her in.
“You don’t have to do this,” Thalia got out, raising her dagger. The blade looked like a pitiful needle compared to the double-headed axe the Vampyr wielded.
“The prince has been ignoring our blight for too long,” Julian snarled, stepping further into the room. “Banishing us for trying to save those we love.”
“And what? You think burning down his home will get him to listen to you?”
Already she could smell the smoke in the air; the Vampyrs hadn’t wasted any time putting their torches to use. They’d burn them alive if they didn’t make it out. Her insides trembled.
“No, but killing you might,” Julian got out.
Thalia let out a laugh, trying to figure out how she might pass him. He blocked the only exit. “The prince hasn’t even met me. The only thing I am is part of a treaty. One that, if you ruin, will affect my mother far more than the prince.”
“You’re right,” Julian said, his axe lowering a fraction of an inch. Thalia almost breathed a sigh of relief. “The prince won’t care about some human’s death, but his hand will.”
Thalia jerked, blade posed. “I mean nothing to Cassius.”
“Lies. I’d like to see his face when he realizes he couldn’t save the one he loved. When he has to watch his lover die!”
Thalia paled as Julian raised his axe. But it wasn’t because of the imminent death looming before her—it was the death hovering behind the Vampyr.
Julian tensed, slowly turning over his shoulder, and let out a scream.
The headless creature launched itself at the Vampyr, taking him out in a tangle of limbs and steel. Thalia didn’t stop to see how muchof its head had reformed, but its claws still worked. She bolted up the stairs, heart in her throat, as Julian’s screams followed her.
Her arms pumped as she flew down the halls; the smoke had spread. Her eyes burned from the hot air, her lungs near to the point of breaking as she half fell down the stairs into the kitchens. Cassius caught her before she could land face-first on the stone floors.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Cassius snarled.
The edge of his sleeve was torn, an angry line bleeding under it. His face was splattered with blood that didn’t appear to be his.
“Julian,” Thalia gasped, trying to get clean air into her lungs. But the fire had spread; they needed to get out. Now. Cassius’s face darkened into the edge of a blade. He made to move past her, but Thalia clutched him harder. “Creature.”
It took a split second for Cassius to register her words between her pants. Then he grabbed her hand, pulling her out the back door. Thalia sucked in a sharp breath of clean air.
