“And you already used up that once in a century mercy?”
“Yeah.” Dommik froze and my blood ran cold at the thought of getting caught here.
If I thought the punishment delivered at the Southern Hive was horrific, I couldn’t imagine what kind of creative and nightmare-inducing sentences were carried out here.
Light bloomed from a nearby lantern. “We need to be quick.” Dommik pressed the cold metal handle of the clunky fixture into my palms.
“I could be quicker if you unchained me.”
He all but ignored the comment as he went to work. “You said the book from your vision was green?”
“No, black.”
His fingers floated over the stacked shelves of the dim office, reciting the colors of their spines, most of which were brown and red.
I turned my attention to the large, ornate desk littered with papers, some perfectly legible, others crumpled with drops of dried, dark brown blood droplets. I wondered which of Talia’s sisters' life force stained the orders and missives.
Carefully, I set the lantern down and scanned the tabletop.
“Black!” Dommik celebrated, before scoffing and quickly returning the book to its home on the shelf.
There were two drawers framing the space where Eryx would sit. One by one, I slid them open, using a quill to poke through the items. I knew next to nothing about Eryx beyond his cruelty, but was surprised to find his office in such disarray. Gorvin would never allow Rhazien to work in such conditions.
I smiled and chuckled to myself at the thought, catching Dommik’s attention. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s nice to see you smile.” He paused his search. “I hope to see more of that when this is over.”
“I smile,” I said under my breath.
“Only when you think people are watching you.” His fingers traced another row of books. “But when you’re alone…”
He stopped talking when he noticed me glaring at him from the desk.
I couldn’t dispute it and I wondered why he looked so confident while making such a claim. Had he really been watching me that closely?
“I smile,” I said again as if it were a fact as solid as the Irriset mountain range.
“My mistake.”
I clicked my tongue at him as I continued to survey the contents of the drawers. The last thing I wanted to do was touch too many things, leaving a scent in this forbidden space.
Quills, files, papers, boxes, bags of coin, odd trinkets, and books haphazardly filled the compartments. I turned my attention to their twins on the other side of the desk.
The smaller of the two opened without complaint and held more of the same contents. But the larger one caught, giving a thud when it refused to budge against a lock.
Dommik’s head snapped to me.
We listened, wondering if the loud bang had drawn any attention. But nothing. No rushing footsteps, no whispered orders.
My heart pounded underneath my gray robes. The black form of the commander appeared at my side and went to work on the lock.
I watched him intently. The speed of his fingers, the flicker of shadow that came and went as he clenched his jaw, the smirk revealing a mischievous dimple as the drawer slid open.
It was thrilling.
Unlike the others, this drawer was nearly empty. And inside, as if it was just waiting to be discovered, the black tome from my vision.
