Zara knelt. Sure enough, there was a wire running across the path. So thin it was almost invisible.
“Everyone back up,” Casimir ordered, stepping to the front.
Assured the group was behind him, he unsheathed a dagger and whipped it directly at the wire. With a snap, it was cut, and three enormous blades swung from a hidden slot in the ceiling, back and forth like pendulums across their path. If anyone had been standing there, they would have been sliced in two.
“Shit,” someone muttered.
“Thank you,” Zara said to Ava.
After about ten seconds, the hazard stopped, the clicks of a mechanism echoing in the wall as they were pulled back into place.
“Watch for more of these wires,” Casimir said.
The group plunged forward, silent. Tension and fear hovered in the air, so thick it was almost tangible. Ava tried to keep her breathing even, but all she could think about was getting disemboweled by one of these blades. Or worse, it happening to one of her loved ones.
They spotted three more trip wires, but Casimir repeated his motions with the dagger and set them off before anyonewas killed. The wooden path seemed to extend forever, no end in sight.
They’d been walking for almost an hour, pausing each time they spotted a hazard. But it had been almost ten minutes since they last saw a wire. Perhaps they were closing in on the next room.
Ava took a step forward, and the plank beneath her feet moved.
Shit shit shit, she thought, preparing to duck or back away.
But as the wood sank further, hot pain shot through her right foot and she cried out, almost crumpling to the ground in agony. Casimir rushed to her side, putting his arm around her waist to hold her upright.
Tears stung her eyes as she looked at her foot. A sharp metal spike poked out of the top of her boot, covered in her blood. And every few inches, along the whole board, were more.
“You’re alright, love,” Casimir said softly, trying to hide the worry in his eyes. “Take a deep breath. I’ve got you.”
She groaned, leaning into his hold. Raine and Maeryn knelt to inspect her foot. The soldiers who had been leading stood in front of them, watching with wide eyes.
“We’re sorry,” Zara said. “We didn’t know. We must not have stepped on that board. I’m so sorry, Your Highness.”
“It’s not your fault,” Ava said through gritted teeth. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“It looks like you’ll need some new boots when we go shopping, little frog,” Raine said.
Ava released a pained laugh. “Get my foot off this damned thing, and we’ll shop to your heart’s content.”
“Deep breath, Ava. On three,” Raine said, gripping her ankle while Maeryn stabilized her leg. “One…two…three…”
They pulled. Ava whimpered, a wave of nausea and dizzinessalmost overwhelming her. Casimir scooped her up. “Heal her foot,” he said to Jareth.
Jareth came forward and carefully pulled off Ava’s boot. A whimper escaped her as the leather brushed her wound, sending a shockwave of pain up her calf. Her foot was covered in blood, making it difficult to see the injury. Placing a hand atop the lesion, Jareth closed his eyes. Nothing happened. Ava didn’t feel the tingle of his healing magic. Didn’t feel anything aside from the throbbing still creeping up her leg.
“Well? Heal it,” Casimir ordered again.
Jareth shook his head. “My magic’s not working.”
“I think whatever stopped our magic at the beginning is suppressing it along this stretch,” Gisela said. “We are not allowed to utilize our magic to get through this passageway.”
Casimir grumbled, brow furrowed.
“I’ll be fine. It will heal on its own.”
“But not quickly enough.”
“Put my boot back on,” Ava said. “Let’s keep going.”
