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She pulled this aura with Caiven in mind, but no, she didn’t trust the girls. She pointed at the graft. “Looks like you don’t either.”

“I only trust myself, and I’ve learned you can never be too careful.”

Lily dismantled the lamp to check for oil, flicking glances to Estelle and Gwyneth who were combing over the mantle. She released her pride with a sigh and tightened the lamp back into place. She offered it to Aarin.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“It’s a tunnel. It might be dark.”

“The manor has electricity. I’m sure his tunnels do too.”

“Then why does he have it? Can’t be too careful, right?”

Aarin cautiously took the lantern before returning to his task.

“I need to thank you for sticking around,” she said.

Aarin’s maneuver of the knife froze. “I don’t think you’ve ever given me a kind word, Lily.”

“If we succeed, I won’t forget this. I mean that.”

His mouth turned up in an obvious smile as he pricked his finger, brows pinching, but his voice remained airy. “Is it true what they say? An Imordial’s favor reflects through all of a soul’s reincarnations?”

“Let’s not go that far. I don’t give out favors to people who call me names.”

“I was talking about the Allay. I’ll bask in a few praises for a job well done, then take the chance to drag your name through broken glass after forcing me to be here.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Lily mumbled. Not much more damage you could do that I haven’t already done myself.

Twirling the graft betwixt his bloody fingers, Aarin shivered, and his eyes flashed the color of the soul inside. A few blinks, and they were a stormy blue again.

The scrape of rock against brick shot both of their heads toward the other end of the room. Shrouded in kicked up dust and debris, Gwyneth and Estelle clung to each other. Aarin and Lily scrambled to them. Gwyneth slowly let go of Estelle and stepped into the cloud.

“We got it! With a twist of that clock, there.” She pushed open the stone wall with all of her might. “See?”

“What do you think?” Lily asked Aarin.

“I think it’s a viable option. Safer than the kitchen if it really is empty.”

“Is that what your intuition is telling you?”

“My gut,” he said, staring intently at the opening. “A positive outcome for one doesn’t guarantee that for the rest of us. I’m not going to look.”

He broke the graft’s seal, and it evaporated like an invisible wind tore it into particles.

Lily sighed again, glancing at the girls who looked at her like they were frail kittens. She begrudgingly gave the word for them to file onto the tight space. Aarin yanked on the jammed lever until the lift rocked. They all held their breath, leaning on one another until it started its descent, leaving behind the yellows of Caiven’s chamber and entrapping them in total darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The lift landed with a noisy thunk, and an unsettling silence followed soon after.

Lily slowly stepped down, and one of the girls tried to push past.

“Wait,” Lily demanded, holding her back.

It was completely dark. And so cold.

Aarin went ahead first. “Gwyn,” he said. Gwyneth fidgeted against Lily’s hold. “Are there lights?”