So not everyone had truly given up. I was rusty, as I hadn’t broken many locks in a while, but I soon heard the satisfying click of the lock as the cell opened. Alexei shoved past me the minute the door was open and slid on his knees to embrace Kiara. She hugged him back, although weakly.
“I’m so glad we found you,” Alexei whispered.
“I always had faith that you’d rescue us, though you nearly came too late,” Kiara replied. “The only reason Odette and I are still alive is because they know she’s a prophet.”
“How did they find out about her?” Emma said in astonishment.
“Lady Redwine,” Kiara said glumly. “Remember her, from when Odette used to read tea leaves during brunch at the palace?”
“Godsdammit,” Emma whispered. “Iknewsomeone would figure out that wasn’t a fun game eventually. We should’ve been more careful.”
“I guess Redwine had her suspicions, and told Gabby thinking she’d get a reward,” Kiara said. “But it backfired on her, because Gabby considered Redwine a threat and had her executed that same day. Ladies of the court who turn on their former monarchs aren’t accepted around here, and that she betrayed you so easily made Gabby ready to get rid of her.”
“Well, Odette predicted Redwine would be betrayed when she read her tea leaves, so serves the bitch right,” Emma said viciously.
Alexei lifted Kiara upward. “Can you stand?”
“Not very well, but I’ll be able to walk far enough to get out of here,” Kiara whimpered.
“Get Kiara home safe. We’ll find Odette,” I told him.
Alexei nodded. He guided Kiara out of the cell, down the way we came and back toward the trap door.
Theo was worried sick as he faced us. “What if Odette’s—”
“She’s not,” Emma said immediately. “She’s down here somewhere, we just have to find out where. Can you follow your bond to where she might be?”
“She’s weak, I can tell that much,” Theo said. “She’s confused… she doesn’t really know where she is, and if she’s that lost, I can’t locate her.”
“Well, she has to be down here somewhere,” I said. “Let’s start by searching the larger chambers.”
There were bigger parts of the dungeon that I’d used to hide my Phantom equipment. If any part of the university had been turned into torture chambers, that’d be it. It was far enough underground that Gabby wouldn’t be annoyed by the screams of her victims.
We took another set of stairs downward, and it got even colder. I opened a door, and my heart dropped in my chest as the smell of death filled my nose.
There was a figure hunched over in a chair, her wrists and ankles bound by noxite cuffs. Her head hung low, hair stuck to her face as dried blood coated her clothes. I didn’t recognize her. This woman was a stranger to me.
I proceeded forward and put a hand on her shoulder. She was stark cold. She’d died a few hours ago.
“This poor girl,” I said.
“I know of her,” Theo said, fear infecting his voice as he looked the girl over. “She was one of Finlay’s associates. A maid spying on Gabby from inside the palace.”
“What do you think Gabby knows?” Emma asked in a choked voice.
“With hope, she didn’t tell them anything. Looks like she died of blood loss,” I said as I checked her over. “She probably passed away before the guards could break her. Bastards.”
Theo’s voice was on the edge of breaking. “Odette…”
“Kiara said they’re keeping her alive. Don’t go there,” I warned.
I wished we could bury this girl, but there was no time if we wanted to save Odette’s life. We were forced to leave her body behind as we continued through more torture chambers.
We didn’t find any more bodies, but there were definitely remnants of brutality. Blood and the reek of innards filled almost every room. Emma had her hand over her mouth and nose as we ventured forward.
Theo stopped so abruptly that I almost ran into him. “Our bond just flared,” he said. “I know where she is.”
He took off running. We abandoned stealth and rushed after him. As Theo led us through a twisted set of halls and doorways, the sound of screams began to echo around us.
