Page 112 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

Was that a yelp?

I barely hold back a flinch, my head jerking around, but Stavros doesn’t react to any sound. He simply strides forward to where the staircase must be.

A chill ripples down my back. Another hallucination. My break didn’t buy me much of a reprieve.

But I can’t turn back now.

I keep pace with Stavros through the dim, stone-walled hallway, past a few soldiers who are heading into a room farther down on the first floor, and up the narrow staircase. Muffled voices waver from other parts of the fortress, but I’m no longer sure which are real and which my mind has made up.

We pad carefully over the thin carpet in the second-floor hallway to a door with the king’s sigil etched on it.

At Stavros’s gesture, I set my hand against the bronze knob. It’s only sealed mechanically, no enchantments reinforcing the lock.

With a twist of my magic, I yank the deadbolt over in exchange for a few cracked twigs on one of the distant trees.

We wait for another soldier to amble by and then push into the room as soon as the coast is clear.

It’s a small, windowless space, the air dank between the stone walls. There are no furnishings other than the lantern that flares on automatically at our entrance—and the gold-framed mirror hanging on the wall opposite the door.

I lean against the side wall where I hope I’ll be out of view and release the magic that was concealing us. “He’ll be able to see you now.”

Stavros shrugs his cloak back from his arms and then hesitates. Just for a second, his jaw tightens with the emotions he’s reining in.

I can’t imagine what he’s feeling right now. I never pledged myself to the man he’s about to contact—the man who’d like to see us all sent to the gallows for our supposed betrayal.

The former general presses the notches in the mirror’s frame in a pattern I don’t follow and steps back. We wait in silence, hearing footsteps scrape by in the hall outside.

A niggling fear rises up in the back of my head. The soldiers could have realized their fortress has been breached—they could be gathering outside the door right now?—

I give myself a mental shake and force myself to listen hard. There’s no sound beyond the door at the moment.

Just my mind addling itself again.

As I resist the urge to hug myself against the realization, the mirror’s surface shimmers. An image of King Konram appears on the glass as if he’s reflected there.

His eyes widen, his stance going rigid. “Stavros.”

Stavros drops to one knee in a supplicating pose. “Your Highness, I apologize for intruding this way. I have urgent news that affects the security of the entire country. Please, hear me out.”

The king’s mouth presses flat. He gives his former general a wounded look, as if he’s the one who’s spent the last several weeks being harassed all across the realm.

I’d like to stop the scourge sorcerers from murdering this man, but right now, I’d also like to punch his pompous face.

His voice comes out sharp but commanding. “General Leslam gave you access to this?—?”

“No,” Stavros breaks in. “He doesn’t know I’m here. I couldn’t risk— Any rumors you’ve heard that the mutinists from Eppun are marching on your current residence are true. They’re using their scourge sorcery to conceal themselves. From what we understand, they expect to arrive in the vicinity of Iblin by this evening. There are several hundred of them, and they have their magic on their side—you’ll need more troops?—”

“Giving military advice is no longer your job,” King Konram interrupts, but he sounds at least as disheartened as he does angry. “I’ve heard no reports confirming any significant force nearby. Surely even their illicit sorcery couldn’t hide them completely.”

Stavros gazes at him as if willing his king to believe him. “I’ve seen them with my own eyes—and seen how well their magic hides them and covers their tracks. There must be reinforcements you can summon. I expected to see more troops on hand already.”

“Scouts have noted Darium gathering forces where the channel narrows. They may have heard of the uprising and—” Konram cuts himself off with a grimace, as if reminding himself that he shouldn’t reveal anything to the man he considers a traitor. “It will take at least a couple of days to summon a significant additional force. But I have plenty of soldiers on hand as it is.”

Stavros bows his head. “Please, Your Highness. You know I’m not one to beg. But I’m convinced that these menaces will do everything in their power to destroy your family. Take every measure you can to prepare and protect yourself. I’d suggest you move to a different residence if I wasn’t afraid that you’ll be even more vulnerable on the road.”

The king considers him for a long moment. “You’re truly worried.”

I hear Stavros swallow. “We’ve done what we can to disrupt the uprising and stop the scourge sorcerers, but there are many more of them than us. And the power they can wield…”

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