Holding the chest tucked under her arm, she continued down the tunnel rather than turn back immediately. There was one more staircase carved into the stone ground under the castle cellars, which led to the deepest part of the tunnel itself, and she wanted to see it before she hid the treasure. If Onric and Erich were with her, they could go all the way to the end of the tunnel and pry open the far door into the forest. But it was likely overgrown and would be too difficult to force open on her own. Since her brothers were consumed with preparing the castle defenses, she did not think they would approve of opening the tunnel which led directly into the heart of the castle. That didn’t sound like an upgrade in defense.
Surprisingly, the rustling breeze grew stronger as she descended the lower staircase. In fact, she had never felt air flow this far into the tunnel. She distinctly remembered how stagnant the deepest area felt, as though this place was frozen in time forever. The tingling in her hands and feet wormed its way into her stomach. Perhaps it was not a good idea to come down here alone. Especially without telling anyone she was doing so.
Meena turned around, deciding she had gone far enough. She had hardly taken two steps back up the tunnel before the wind suddenly picked up, howling through the tunnel. It whipped around her hair and instantly blew out the small flame of the lamp. With a gasp, Meena threw her back against the wall, holding up the now dead lamp as though its power could still ward off the darkness.
As her heart pounded in her ears, Meena reminded herself that she knew this tunnel inside and out, she could find her way to the top very quickly and easily. She would do so in just a moment, after she caught her breath. Her feet seemed quite unwilling to move. Her heart sounded loudly in her own ears.
With a brave inhale, she pushed herself off the wall and leaned forward to move back up the tunnel. She nodded reassuringly as the sound of her footstep lightly crunched across the soft dirt below her. But her bravery disappeared and her knees threatened to crumble beneath her.
Her feet were still glued to the floor, and she hadn’t moved them.
Someone else had made the footstep.
Someone else was here with her.
Meena froze, listening as the footsteps grew closer. They were firm, but wary. Their owner moving very slowly to the tunnel. Toward her.
Meena didn’t dare to breathe. She was deep enough in that there was no light at all. It was completely black. Perhaps it was just a servant and whoever it was would walk right past her. She closed her eyes. Trying not to remind herself that if it was a servant, they would be carrying a lamp. Except that maybe their lamp had gotten blown out in the wind as well. She inhaled shakily, should she call out?
Of course she should call out. No one knew this tunnel existed. King Gareth wouldn’t know to send a surprise attack at them through the tunnel.
The footsteps stopped. The intruder—or servant—was standing right next to her. And if they stopped exactly at that spot, they clearly knew she was there. As silently as possible, Meena reached into her pocket, searching for anything that she could use as a weapon.
“Aizel?” a deep voice whispered, as a small flash of light suddenly formed in front of her.
Meena’s heart stopped in her throat. The stranger was doing magic. The last time Meena had seen someone holding a ball of light, her brother Aden had been cursed and turned into a beast. Through sheer strength of will, Meena refused to give in to her weakened knees. Whatever was about to happen, she would take it standing. At least that’s what her mind was saying. Her eyes were blinking against the new light source. And her mouth was already open. “Aizel?” she asked. “How do you know Aizel?”
The stranger leaped backward, holding his glowing orb in front of him as though it were a weapon as well as a light source. He was young. Much younger than the councilor who’d cursed Aden. He could be as young as one of her brothers. But his dark eyes, lit from below by the orb between them, looked tired and wary.
“Who are you?” He asked, his voice low and rough.
Her mind told her to scream for help, or to hide her identity, or to refuse to answer him at all. But apparently, her mouth still wasn’t listening. “Who am I? Who are you and what are you doing in my castle?”
“How did you find me here?” he said, stepping forward. He was considerably taller than she was, and she had to tilt her head up to meet his eyes.
“How did I find you here? Again, this ismycastle,” Meena said, straightening her spine to stand as tall as she could. Her mind screamed at her to stop aggravating the angry Majis.
“Where’s Aizel?” He leaned toward her, still holding his orb of light between them menacingly.
“Will you stop answering questions with questions?” Meena spat back.
“This was not part of the plan.” The man leaned back, removing himself from Meena’s direct space. His eyes darted quickly to the left and right of the dark tunnel.
Meena took a moment to take him in from head to toe as well. His brown hair was lighter than her own, and it was glowing a bit in the soft light. His face was hard, wary, and defensive. He was tall like her brothers, but his broad shoulders and wide stance definitely made him larger. He was tense, every muscle in his body prepared for action.
Her heart thudded in her chest. She was frightened, but not scared. She knew it didn’t make sense, so she focused on things she could understand.
Like the color of his eyes, which was somewhere between gray and green. She thought she even saw some flecks of gold in his iris, but that was probably her imagination in the flickering light.
She did not have time to imagine things. She had to get herself safely out of here.
If it was still dark, she was sure she could beat him out of the tunnel. He was clearly new here, and she had the advantage of knowing the space. Unfortunately, he controlled the source of light and she didn’t know how to extinguish it.
“I can’t leave you down here,” he muttered to himself. “You’ve already seen me. But I don’t suppose killing you would help further the plan either.”
“That definitely would not further the plan.” Meena’s voice was high, and she shook her head. “I would prefer not to be killed.”
“I would prefer not to kill anyone.” His eyes scanned her from head to toe. It seemed that his eyes never stopped moving, as though he was always in full awareness of his surroundings. “But it’s a little too late for that.”
