“Could be true. Maybe they’re coming in waves to wear us down, instead of all at once.”
“Oh, shit. Do you think we’ll run into them?”
“Gods, I hope not. Let’s stick to our side of the perimeter, and pray they don’t come our way. We can’t get in trouble so long as we don’t leave our post.”
“Wewillget in trouble if they get away.”
“Let the others handle it. Our only assignment is to guard the prison, and that shithead’s not getting out of there alive.”
There was a bout of silence, before the nervous oppressor added, “There’s a rumor going around.”
“You and your rumors.”
“Itmustbe true this time,” the other insisted. “There’s mention of a reward, agrandone, if a fae leads the dark god to a lost city. He’s promising anything— magic, positions of power, money, if someone can take him to it.”
We all paused. A lost city?
“What interest would that be to Droga?” the other asked scathingly. “Sounds like something a chambermaid made up to get some attention.”
“This is more than just a bit of gossip! It comes directly from Droga’s inner circle,” the oppressor argued. “I’m sweet on a maid who serves the queen at the palace, and she overheard—”
“Oh gods, Iknewit came from a chambermaid.”
“Itmustbe important. My sweetheart says Droga is refusing to raise Queen Gabriella to godhood until this city is found.”
Gabby must be displeasing Droga in her effort to get him the Crystals. I tried to listen closer, but even with my advanced shifter hearing, the oppressors were getting farther away.
“Can you imagine ifwefound the city? We’d be rich!” the oppressor said in a giddy tone. “No more patrol duty, no more cleaning the barracks. Hell, Droga might even make uslords.”
“Your fantasies are running away with you again.”
“I’m telling you, this is our chance at greatness. We should bargain with our commander for some time off, so we can go looking for it ourselves, and get the reward!”
“Droga is a god. He knows everything, and has lived for centuries. Why wouldn’t he know where to find a lost city? Why would he even care?” the other replied, irritated.
“Well, maybe there’s something he wants there—”
“Get these rumors out of your head, rookie. You’re an oppressor. Your job is to serve Droga with a smile on your face and no questions asked, understand? No one is going to make your dumbass a lord, got it?”
“Got it…” his friend replied with a sigh.
The oppressor finally left the area. I didn’t allow myself to breathe until the light from their torches had faded out of my sight.
“The wall is this way,” Alexei whispered. No one commented on what we’d overheard. We reached the wall again in a matter of minutes, and were able to cross to the other side undetected.
Theo had already made a portal on the other side. We flew through it, and I changed from wolf to man as my feet set back on Irish ground.
“The Unseelie stone,” Theo said once the portal closed behind us. “I bet anything it’s hidden in this lost city that Droga wants to find.”
Finlay gave a moan of pain. We glanced at him. Alexei, who was still supporting him, said, “I’m gonna get him to Miroslava.”
He trotted off toward the double doors of the estate. Stefan, ever the skeptic, scowled at Theo’s theory.
“That guy sounded like an idiot,” Stefan countered. “Maybe his buddy was right and it was all a bunch of bullshit.”
“It would give us a reason why Gabby hasn’t been established as a goddess,” I said. “That’s something.”
“Okay, but whatkindof lost city is he looking for? Is it here, or in Edinmyre? We can’t even narrow it down to one realm, and apparently, neither can he. Doesn’t this seem like an impossible task?” Stefan argued.
