Lydia didn’t approach the bars as I worked to release the lock on her cell. She stood frozen, petrified. The metal groaned as the door swung inward. I didn’t enter, but reached a hand forward.
“Come on. We don’t have much time.”
She shook her head. “We’ll die out there.”
Cova pushed past me, not showing the same restraint or sympathy. “We’ll die if we stay here.”
Lydia stepped back from the woman who raised her but Cova captured her face in her hands. “Listen. I know your world is absolutely shattered right now. And I want to tell you everything. I want to fix this. But I won’t have that chance if we die in this horrible place. So, please. You need to come with us and do exactly as Reyva says. Okay?”
The poor girl sniffled and my heart broke all over again for her. Everything I had done, everything I had gone through, it had all been to keep her safe. But despite my efforts, she was here all the same.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay,” Cova echoed before turning back to me. “What’s the plan?”
Destruction was all around us as we snuck through the wreckage. What had once been grand and golden was now bloodied and broken. A Hive of absolute ruin.
“Did they not mean to make this place their home?” Cova whispered, looking down her nose at the haphazardly discarded items.
“I’ve seen their home. It’s not much better,” I muttered back to her before pausing at the end of a corridor.
I lifted a finger to my lips. Cova’s knuckles blanched on the hilt of a small dagger. A moment of silence, then two. When I was sure the coast was clear, I motioned for Cova and Lydia to follow me.
We would freeze at the sound of shuffling boots, sinister laughing, or a fearful scream. The culling was ruthless. We needed to get to Dommik.Ineeded to get to Dommik. But there were countless places Vaspar could have taken him for his sunrise execution.
I knew little about Eryx, but what I had learned in my limited time with him was that he appreciated pageantry. If he was a part of planning Dommik’s public execution, it would be spectacle. Something visible from various parts of the Hive so none of his followers would miss it. I needed to get my family safely to my rooms. From my balcony, I would be able to see a clear view of the south side of the grounds. It would help eliminate a few possible locations for Dommik to greet the dawn.
Moving quickly while remaining undercover was a careful balance. My heart leapt when we reached the familiar hallway to my chamber door. Only when the latch clicked softly behind us did I give myself permission to fully exhale.
“Let’s be quick,” Cova instructed as Lydia sank into a chair.
I grabbed a satchel, threw a few pieces of jewelry I thought we could barter with into it and then made my way to the armoire. It would be a shame if we managed to survive escaping Eryx and the Hive only to become ill or die from the cold of the Eckwood. I removed the hangers holding shawls and furs and handed them to my sister.
Cova was fastening a fur-lined cloak around Lydia’s slumped shoulders when the sound of an approaching conversation froze us in our tracks.
Ever so carefully, I closed the armoire doors. Everything looked as it had. I motioned for everyone to move to the bathing chamber as the handle to my room twisted.
“If I could bottle this smell, I would,” a voice declared, their words laced with hungry admiration.
Cova and I exchanged a glance in the dark corner of my lightless bathing chamber. We were barely hidden and a sense of defeat descended on me. This was it. We would be found, sent back to the dungeon or brought straight to Eryx, killed eventually—all of us.
“Her aroma is lovely. And if the regent wants her this bad, I bet she’s delicious,” a second voice agreed.
My hand found my sister’s in the dark and gave her an apologetic squeeze. Sorry for failing her. For failing Lydia.
The sounds of the two vampires inspecting objects drew closer until one of the shadowy frames stood in the bathing chamber doorway. Cova released my hand and sent her fingers wide.
The featureless figure sniffed. “It is absolutely ripe with her in here.”
“Of course it is—it’s a bathing chamber,” the shadow’s companion replied like they were bored of this task.
“There’s something else though. A second scent. Come here,” the figure insisted.
Cova’s shoulder trembled next to mine. We were going to be found.
A second shadow appeared. They wafted a hand in the air, welcoming the fragrances of the room. After a silent moment, the second shadow disappeared. “Have you even smelled a clean human before?”
“Huh?” The figure’s profile showed a long nose scrunched in confusion.
