Page 69 of From the Myths of Kings

“We should think of ways to make the garden more tempting,” Neia mused. “If there is anything I know about Grivur, it’s that he loves seeing people go on a wild goose chase. What if we designed a task so impossible that there was no chance that we’d be successful?”

“That could work,” Sloane agreed. “He’d delight in watching you all pursue a fool’s errand. That might just convince him.”

Saoirse half-listened as they tossed ideas around. Their voices faded as she thought about her mother. She’d meant every word of what she’d promised her. She would not abandon her in the Under Kingdom, left to a fate of unending darkness. She’d lived with the reality of Eleyera’s death for nearly a decade, and she wouldn’t live one more year without her. Not if she could help it.

Her eyes found Rook’s piercing gaze across the cell block. The warmth in his eyes sent a thrill up her spine. Through his gaze alone, she somehow knew that he was thinking of Eleyera as well. He gave her the barest hint of a nod.

“Then it is decided,” Sloane was saying with an enthusiastic shake of her head. “I’ll propose the new trial location to my father. He won’t be able to resist.”

“There’s something else,” Saoirse said quietly. Her companions all swiveled to face her curiously.

“We…we can’t leave immediately from the Garden of Gods. My mother is alive. She’s being held within the flooded tunnels.”

For a moment, only uncomprehending eyes blinked at her.

“It’s true,” came Rook’s steady voice. She closed her eyes, listening to his familiar cadence, letting it settle her racing heart. “Saoirse’s mother, Eleyera, has been a prisoner of the Order of Elders for the last eight years. We discovered her cell during the second trial. She’s alive, but barely. We need to free her.”

Thick silence stretched on as everyone processed the news. Saoirse opened her eyes again, taking in their expressions, which ranged from dumbfounded to utter disbelief. The air in the room seemed to vanish and she suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

Neia was the first to break the silence. In a whisper, she asked, “What?”

Saoirse closed her eyes, imagining her mother’s shining blue eyes in the darkness. The truth poured out of her in a rush: “Ballar Grimstone’s rebellion was not responsible for the assassination attempts. Eight years ago, my mother uncovered secrets about the Order and the Myths of Old. She arranged a meeting with Rook’s parents so she could share the truth. The Order discovered her knowledge and sought to silence her. To silence all of them. They framed the assassination on Ballar’s followers so no one would suspect the truth. But my mother was kept alive as a prisoner because she knows things about the Myths of Old that not even the Elders know. She is the only one alive who has read Queen Cira’s ancient letters. They’ve tortured her for eight years over the information.” Saoirse opened her eyes and found Neia staring blankly at her.

“This changes everything,” Hasana breathed.

“Rymir,” Neia rasped. Her gaze went unfocused and hazy, as though she were in a trance. Tears pooled in her eyes as the true horror of the Order’s deception sunk in. “The Barrow family. All those families?it was all?all?”

Saoirse crept over to their shared cell wall, slipping her hand through the bars. She grabbed Neia’s hand and squeezed gently. “I’m so sorry.” While the truth cleared Ballar and his followers of any guilt, the horrifying reality that they’d been executed for a crime they hadn’t committed was worse than if they’d been responsible.

Neia tore her hand away and threw herself into the corner of her cell. She retched violently. Saoirse’s heart broke for the woman. She couldn’t imagine the flood of insurmountable guilt she was feeling. She already carried the innocent lives she’d taken with her every day since the inquisition, but this was so, so much worse. None of Ballar’s followers deserved death, not even Ballar himself.

When Neia had finished vomiting, she wiped her mouth with a tattered sleeve. Her cheeks shone with tears as she turned toward Sloane. “We need to tell Rymir. He is convinced he’s continuing his father’s legacy. He wants to eradicate the remaining royal Houses of Revelore. He needs to know the truth. Can you grant me an audience with him?”

Sloane shook her head sadly. “Commander Barrow set sail for Coarinth on an assignment for my father. He left just after he turned you over.”

Neia cursed under her breath. “I don’t know what he’s planning next, but he has to know.” She turned her focus back to Saoirse. “We cannot leave your mother to further torment. We’ll find a way to free her.”

“After we locate the Relic, I can form a passage to the flooded tunnels using my magic,” Tezrus offered. “The Garden of Gods is positioned much closer to the flooded tunnels than the Mines of Norae. We might be able to use this to our advantage. If Neia didn’t even know your mother was imprisoned here, then it’s likely Grivur and his horde don’t know of her either. The underguards wouldn’t think we’d returned to the flooded tunnels. They won’t be looking for us there. After we break your mother out, I can create a passageway up to the surface and we will all escape together.”

“It’s true,” Neia confirmed. “Grivur does not know of Eleyera’s imprisonment. He is a worm of a man, but he wouldn’t have let the Mer Queen waste away in a cell. He doesn’t respect much, but he does respect royal blood. Their murders destroyed Terradrin’s reputation and severed what fragile peace treaties held our kingdoms together. He’s spent the last eight years trying to repair relations with Aurandel and Elorshin. If he’d known Eleyera survived the attack, he would’ve used her to further his atonement.”

Sloane nodded slowly. “This might just work after all. If I can convince my father to move the final trial to the Garden of Gods, you can find the Relic and free Eleyera relatively quickly.”

“And if you cannot convince him?” Saoirse asked. She was suddenly bombarded with a heart-shattering image of her mother wasting her life away in that small cell, never feeling the sun upon her face again. Saoirse would never forgive herself if they couldn’t rescue her.

“I’ll convince him,” Sloane promised.

They continued discussing the plan for a few more minutes, perfecting each component until everyone felt satisfied. It felt like Saoirse had been locked away in the Under Kingdom for a lifetime. She couldn’t imagine how her mother felt after eight years.

I’m coming, mother, she thought. Just hold on a little longer.

30

ROOK

The Stone Circle burned with the light of a thousand stars.

Aris watched from between gaps in his fingers as the molten light gradually faded, the amphitheater returning to its normal stone hue. When the blinding beams of divine fire dimmed into nothingness, he dropped his hands from his face and stared at the stretch of scorched earth that sank into the arena’s center like a crater.

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