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Come on…just one more.
With a soft click, the lock gives way. I exhale a shaky breath and glance back at my two shadows. “Got it. Let’s move.”
The door groans as I push it open, and the stench of damp and decay hits me like a wave. But it’s more than that; the metallic tang of blood and excrement stains the air, making my stomach churn.
With a glance at Maxim and Kallias, I force myself to follow the stone steps inside. But when we reach the bottom, Kallias waves his hand, and torches lining the walls flare to life. I go completely still.
The room is a nightmare.
The cellar stretches farther than I expected, the shadows deepening around the edges. Two wooden tables stand side by side at the room’s center, their surfaces stained with blood. The nearest wall is covered in bloodied tools and sketched diagrams on parchment. My eyes linger on what looks like an enormous pair of bird wings nailed to the stone.
I wrench my gaze away and look toward the other walls. And they are even worse.
Over a dozen nymphai are huddled together behind cell bars, their bodies trembling and eyes wide as they watch us. Some are as young as children.
My hands tremble as I approach the first cell, dropping to my knees and working on the lock. The nymphai flinch back, and I wince.
“We’re here to get you out,” I whisper. The lock bows to my picks, and Maxim wrenches the gate open and the occupants tentatively shuffle out. “Is Espris here? And Deke?”
An older nymphai shakes her head as she tugs two children out. They all have eyes as blue as the ocean and a smattering of scales on their foreheads and arms. “Espris didn’t make it. They were experimenting…trying to take our theïkós.”
A chill rushes over my skin, my stomach hollowing. “And Deke, do you know him?”
She shakes her head.
“Speak to my companions. They’ll give you directions to some vessels nearby. Get out quickly,” I say, and then I dash to the next cell and get to work.
Light flashes through the dungeon, and I glance over my shoulder as an intense heat sears my back. Kallias stands by the opposite wall, watching as the huge wings crumble to ash. Then he sets to work on the parchment, seemingly reading the documents before destroying each in a brief burst of fire.
The scent of smoke fills the air as I redouble my efforts, searching each face that passes through the cell doors. Finally, a battered nymphai steps forward, familiar horns curling out through matted brown hair.
“Deke, thank the Anemoi you’re all right,” I say as the lock clicks and I pull the gate open. “Thena has been worried sick about you.”
He hesitates, uncertainty flickering across his face as he exits the cell.
“Thena?” Deke murmurs, and the unfamiliarity he says her name with locks me in place.
I tug the fabric of my wrap down, heart pounding as I bare my face. His green eyes glimmer with distant memory, but I prod him further. “From the palace?”
He shakes his head slowly. “I hardly know her.”
My body stills.
No. That can’t be right. That doesn’t make sense.
“Well, Deke,” a voice cuts in. Familiar. Sweet. But wrong. “That hurts.”
Chapter 41
Aella
My words echo, though I can’t tell if they reverberate through the pavilion or only within my own mind. The sound of them feels too loud, too final, as if they’ve taken on a life of their own, slipping from my control the instant they left my lips.
I wish I could pluck them from the air, gather them back on my tongue, and swallow them whole.
“You want to take Iphigenia’s Leap?” Queen Khione says slowly. Her wings shift, catching the aurora’s light, and she steps closer, her presence pressing against me like a blade poised at my throat.
Her voice drops to a whisper. “Consider your answer carefully, Aella. There is no turning back once you set foot on that path. You could walk away now; you could be free.”
