“This may work to our advantage,” Alec remarked. “Everyone will be readying themselves for the king’s funeral, then the princess’s succession to the throne, and then the Matches. Nobody’s going to be paying any attention to what’s going on in the Wood.”
Jax nodded. “It will give us more time to document everything too. We won’t be rushed.” Jax pulled several looking glasses from his pocket.
Last night while I’d been sleeping and the group had been discussing the best way to free the half-breeds, it’d been agreed that it was important to document everything that King Paevin had done.
On the rare chance that anyone tried to further hurt the half-breeds or accuse them of being a part of the king’s devious plan—should it ever come to light—documentation would prove that the half-breeds had all been innocent. Especially if anyone tried to accuse them of breeding since such an act was punishable by death.
“Let’s get to work.” Jax took off down the wildling trail, the rest of us following.
The scent of the Wood wrapped around me, and the familiarity of it breathed life into my soul. A few of my old wildling friends made appearances in the trees and shrubs, and I called greetings to them, but try as I might to find Esopeel, she wasn’t one of them.
When we reached the clearing that held the trap door to the caverns below, a pulse of sickly, dark magic tingled against my skin.
“The repulsion spell surrounding this place is obviously still intact.” I shuddered. Everything about this part of the Wood made me want to run.
“Push through it,” Jax instructed everyone. “Hold your breath if you need to.”
We all stepped through the slimy spell that screamed at one’s instincts to flee. Once free of it, I breathed easier, but the pulse of its repelling magic still beat against my skin.
Not wasting any time, Phillen dropped to one knee and pushed colorful leaves that had fallen over the trap door out of the way. When the door’s small blue handle appeared, he slipped his hand around it and yanked it open.
A stairwell cut into the rock appeared, but despite all of the males being ready to jump into action should any guards be present, the stairway was empty. The fusterill guards who had previously been at the bottom of the staircase were nowhere to be seen.
“Follow me.” Magic shimmered around my mate as he descended below. He held a looking glass in front of him, recording everything as he plunged into the caverns.
One by one, we joined him, moving in a single-file line down the stairs, then through the tunnels cut into the damp rock.
Nerves clenched my stomach, but the tunnels were eerily quiet. The only sound that greeted us was the steadydrip dripof water dropping from the tunnel’s ceiling.
We went single file down the winding dark walkways, and I called upon what the semelees had shown me of these caverns, remembering the way. But unlike the first time we’d ventured here, there weren’t any illusions covering any tunnels or turns.
“Is the magic already starting to wear off in here?” Bowan asked, cocking his head.
“It’s hard to say,” Jax replied, still moving forward. “It’s possible it needs to be activated each day, and nobody’s done that yet this morning.”
We finally reached the cavern that Bastian had been kept in. The circular room opened up before us. Eerie silence filled the space. Only a single torch remained lit high above. Like before, chamber doors cut into the rock were all closed and locked. But the dead bodies that we’d left in our wake last time we’d been here had all been removed. Not even blood stains remained. Someone had thoroughly removed all evidence of Bastian’s rescue.
Jax nodded toward the door closest to us. “We’ll likely have to break through them to make sure nobody’s being chained inside. We’ll have to check each room and each cell in every tunnel and cavern down here.”
Bowan sighed. “This is going to take a while.”
Bowan and Trivan broke through the first door while Phillen and Lars set about getting into the second.
I called upon my knowledge of unlocking spells and quickly undid the locking mechanisms upon the rest of the doors. One by one, we opened them and peered inside.
And behind each door, we found half-breeds either lying despondently on the ground or slumped against the walls. Most of them had their eyes open, dazed looks upon their faces, while others appeared to be sleeping.
Rage thrummed from Jax’s aura. “It’s exactly as we feared. They left them here to die.”
“And even worse, the anklets’ power is still caging them.” I waved toward the rhifilyte gemstones. Just seeing that stone made me want to recoil. For so many summers, I’d been caged too.
Phillen’s nostrils flared. “Cowards ran this place. It’s appalling that all of the guards have fled.”
Jax’s lips thinned, and his fury coasted toward me along our bond. “Everyone activate your looking glasses. All of this needs to be documented.”
One by one, we did as he said. Looking glass in hand, I crouched by a female’s side. Her lips were dry, her skin covered in dust.
And when we checked on the others in this large cavern, just to ensure each still lived, none of the half-breeds moved or even seemed to know we were there.
