“Brom, I am here on official business,” Basil called out.
To whom he was speaking, Lucy could not tell. The square room had no doors aside from the entrance, no stairs, nothing but cracked windows and old, mismatched crates. It looked more like a storage room that had given up on storing things—or a backup chicken coop that never received chickens. Currently, it housed only a spider, which was crafting an intricate web.
Lucy really hoped he was not talking to the spider. She wondered if the lack of sleep and traveling had taken such a toll on him that he was imagining things. He was no longer in his prime, after all.
Just as she opened her mouth to question Basil, she heard footsteps beneath them.
Creak.
A trapdoor snapped open in the corner. Metal hinges screeched, sharp enough to make her teeth ache.
Lucy shifted her weight automatically, ready to bolt or strike. Old instincts didn’t retire just because you were tired.
A flash of bright red hair appeared before the rest of the man’s head popped up.
“Basil. My dear brother and his companions. Come in, come in,” he said, cheerful and far too loud for such a room. Cool air rushed up from the dark opening, smelling of stone, old parchment, and something faintly metallic.
“Let us go,” Basil sighed, descending the hidden stairs.
“Go where?” the Baroness shrieked, but Basil was already gone.
Lucy had read about stranger entrances in adventure books, and she was too tired to question weird holes in barns. Heck, even the palace guards had secret passages to get intimate with the maids. She had seen some really creative routes taken there.
Stone steps led them down into a long hallway lit by glowing orbs. Every step echoed sharply, bouncing off the walls in hollow rings. The air grew colder the deeper they walked, until her breath fogged faintly in front of her face. Dust mixed with the scent of leather, ink, and old stone. The walls were slightly damp when her fingers brushed them, grit clinging to her skin.
Sadly, the Baroness also followed, her heels clicking angrily behind them as she muttered nonstop.
“Who are your friends? Oh wait, where are my manners. I am Brom, pleased to meet you.”
“This is—” Basil began.
“I’m Lucy,” she rushed forward. “I can introduce myself, thank you very much.”
“Wow. She is a spicy one. I like her,” Brom whistled and winked. His hair shimmered like copper wire in the orb light. “How about the well-dressed madam back there?”
“I am Baroness Irene Levon,” she said, executing a perfect curtsy despite the cramped stone tunnel.
Lucy rolled her eyes. They were in a creepy tunnel where there was no reason to maintain etiquette. She was beginning to seewhy Esther never graduated from her lessons with the Baroness—her standards were unreachable.
“Lovely to meet you, madam.” Brom took her hand and kissed the back of it. The Baroness turned pink. “No ring, I see. How is such a beautiful woman still single?”
Her eyes darted to Basil. Lucy nudged him hard in the side, silently screaming for him to save them all. Lucy had perfected the art of redirection. Unfortunately, Brom appeared immune.
“That is enough, Brom,” Basil sighed. “Stop evaluating my companions.”
“Spoil sport,” Brom chuckled, continuing to lead the way.
“So, who exactly are you?” Lucy jogged beside him. “You called Basil your brother.”
“Exactly as you heard, young miss.”
“Brother-in-law,” Basil clarified. “He is the guild leader of the Brass Sparrow.”
“This guy?” Lucy blurted, scowling. “He does not look like it.”
The Baroness scolded her for her manners while Brom laughed. Lucy still could not believe this stringy, flirtatious man was the infamous guild leader.
“Oh, we are here,” Brom announced in the middle of the hallway.
