CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
I will follow you. Beyond the Crimson Sea and what awaits us in the dark.
—Correspondence from Ordell to Enya. Date preceding Sultiran Calendrical System.
The long, gray fortress of Demon’s Door slid into view as we rounded the peninsula. Over a mile wide, the six-level prison held Sultira’s most dangerous criminals, reserving the cells at the bottom of Mount Telum for prisoners of a more secretive value. Large, sharpened ivory tusks of some ancient beast lined the battlements like the gaping maw of massive fangs.
Sentinels stood at several posts above and below the prison, eyes on theHydraas it approached in the distance. The slight breeze carried the soft floral scent of purple lapis trees off its coast.
Ready to make an entrance?
Let’s make them shit themselves,Tiberius replied with a smile in his voice and an edge of anticipation.
I allowed myself a sliver of a smirk. Aquila leveled out next to us, and Ronan grinned widely as he took in the Rising’s men stationed at the prison. Seated in front of him on Aquila’s long back, Nerissa shot a look at me and Drystan before nodding.
My heart sang as Tiberius and I stretched our shadows into a large, sail-like shield, the Obscura bending to the Transcindiel’s guidance as it transformed the darkness. We descended, aiming straight for the courtyard on the other side of the prison. Shouts rang from guards as we approached. We came in hot and tight, close enough that several sentries had to duck as we barely eclipsed the upper battlements, the caelumas’ massive shadows like black clouds flying overhead. While arrows were poised, none were released as we landed.
Tiberius’s hooves thundered down the gravel road, and as he flared his wings, slowing his speed, he allowed a small bit of gold and black power to escape into a cloud of shimmering darkness. Aelius’s brilliant white light sparked from Aquila’s wings, and he dropped down in the center.
I shot a look at Nerissa, whose palms held a little ball of swirling, white light as she dismounted and stood next to Ronan. Though Nerissa’s face was a mask of neutral boredom, her skin paled from our entrance.
Drystan hopped off Tiberius with ease, my dear friend accustomed to being airborne by now. I swung my legs over Ti’s broad back before hopping down. The massive, steel-plated domed doors clicked and slowly opened.
A middle-aged man with dark skin and a wicked scar along his neck stepped from the large archway and slowly clapped his gloved hands.
“Impressive, Commander,” he said as he stalked forward.
Ronan tensed before straightening and striding up to the man.
“Good to see you, Lieutenant.” Ronan clasped hands with the man, who eyed the rest of us with a kernel of distrust.
I did my best to match Nerissa’s unimpressed look as we entered the Demon’s Door.
“Most of thecells are used as barracks, but we maintain the lowest level as a functioning prison,” Lieutenant Einar said as he walked us through the prison’s dark halls.
“What did you do with their previous occupants?” Drystan asked, Ronan interpreting for him.
Einar scoffed. “Seeing as half of them were Rising fighters, they’re still here, only now they’re well-fed and not tortured. The others, we took care of. No need to feed more mouths than necessary.”
I blinked, the unease that arrived in the face of such brutality curiously absent.
“How many do you have stationed here?” Ronan asked, surveying the barracks and earning glances of admiration as we passed various groups of soldiers.
“Six thousand here in the prison and another five thousand at Khasimir,” he murmured.
Ronan nodded his appreciation.
“But Saros has a force of about ten thousand occupying the Rellenor Fields. We’ve been trying to find a way around them for weeks,” Einar continued.
We stopped as we reached the inner courtyard, where groups of men sparred in designated areas.
“Why not take Skyscape Pass?” Drystan asked, as he surveyed the warriors. A gust of autumn air whipped through the space, sending his shoulder-length hair flying across his face.
I interpreted for Einar.
He pursed his lips, shaking his head. “Skyscape Pass isn’t safe right now. We’ve sent several scouting parties, and none have returned.”
“Skyscape Pass isn’t wide enough to house an entire host of soldiers unless they are passing through,” Drystan replied, his brows furrowing. “What could have taken them out?”
