Page 102 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

We moved through the tunnels at a pace that had me jogging to keep up. “I hate to point out the obvious here, but we still haven’t found any uniforms to borrow from… disposed Drakkarians,” I whisper-shouted.

“Ye thenk? We’re jest gonna have te take them from the, er, less willing,” she shot back.

“Maybe we should just portal,” I grumbled—the idea of facing another Drakkarian in combat didn’t fall high on my list. “I’m recovered enough—I shouldn’t be at risk of the in-between, not at this distance. We can stay out of sight.”

“Ye don’t know what’ll be waiten’ en the other side of a portal, ye daft fool. I know these routes akin te the back a’ me hand. Yer plan es good. We’ll go tru the servants’ quarters, an’ listen te the other side. Where do ye thenk she’ll be?”

She meant Olea, no doubt understanding the innocent maid would be my priority. While Cas would have returned to defend his home, he couldn’t be my focus.He was likely either already captured, or dead,Leiya had said, when we debated the strategy of searching for survivors. Fayzien shuddered at the comment—I had the feeling his motivations for joining us in the return to Viribrum extended beyond just finding the queen. He’d opted to go in alone, given he was skilled enough to portal right into a broom closet, and seemed to be used to working solo. I bit the inside of my cheek harder, willing the distraction away.

“Servants’ quarters, most likely. Unless… she went back to my chamber. I told her if anything went wrong, to take the ring I left under my floorboards. I meant for her to take it in case I didn’t return, so she could care for herself… but, I suppose she could have thought I meant to guard it during an attack.” My lips formed a silent curse. “I don’t know if she would have fled right away or not.”

“How loyal was she te ye?” Leiya asked, her voice still quiet.

“Very, I think.” The words caught in my throat.

“Then she probably went back fer what ye promised her.”

I nodded, more to myself than Leiya. “I stayed in the crown’s wing, the east.”

Leiya’s head of fire-red hair reflected the torchlight. “Alright, Lassie. Keep yer knives raised and yer ears open.”

As soon asthe passage neared the castle, we could hear them—shouting, reveling, looting. The merriment of soldiers carried through the palace’s grates into our subterranean route. There must have been thousands roaming the halls, searching for their rewards.

Leiya’s Fae ears pressed into the stone wall, one I knew would move on a hinge with the right pressure into a hidden brick. I’d seen passages like this before, had used them myself when I visited…

Jana. My vision blurred, and my throat tightened. I’d barely known the woman, and yet… it was my fault she?—

A shriek from the other side of the wall shook me from my spiral. It was female.

“Foul Drakkarian felth,” Leiya muttered. “Thes—oh thes well be fun.”

She pushed through the secret opening, and the door swung as if on an axle. Her hearing must have been incredible, for the timing was exact, and the door collided with a Drakkarian. But she continued pushing with a warrior’s strength and unnatural speed. Before he could make a sound of surprise, the stone door crushed him, connecting with the adjoining wall and obliterating his skull.

I could see little of it other than the spray of blood and brain that escaped from the space between the two. I blinked, and then my head snapped toward another noise. A servant girl—her hair and blouse disheveled but otherwise unharmed stood in the middle of the dressing room. Leiya must have gotten us to the East Wing, but we weren’t in my chambers.

“Know any cleanin’ spells, lassie?” Leiya gestured towards the mess before dragging the body behind a dressing screen.

I swallowed the bile creeping up my throat. “Emundare.” The gore on the stone wall and wooden floor evaporated.

“Can ye mind thes door?” Leiya asked the girl. “From the other side? Only open ef ye hear three quick knocks en a row. Ef we find others, we’ll send ‘em here. The passage leads outside a’ the palace.”

The girl sniffled, still gaping at us, but said nothing as she nodded furiously.

“Give us a few hours te direct others yer way. If we don’t return by then—make a run fer et. Et’ll be dark; shouldna be too much trouble to get outta the city unnoticed.”

I gave her a smile of encouragement and she hid behind the secret door, Leiya pushing it back into place. I went to the dead Drakkarian and removed his cloak, averting my eyes from his smashed face. Blood stained the cloak, but mercifully, most had painted the wall rather than the fabric.

Leiya took it, fastening the dark cloak around her neck in one fluid motion. “Stay here,” she growled.

I made to protest, but again, she’d already gone. Though my pulse hammered my throat, I froze, as still as a statue, waiting with a knife, ready. I didn’t have to stand at attention long—less than two minutes later she crept into the room, another Drakkarian cloak in hand.

“Now, though every bone en me body es screamen fer a fight w’ these fuckers, let’s try te stay unnoticed, hey?”

We wove through the hallways,keeping our heads down and our pace measured. Occasionally, we lifted our eyes to check for survivors, but we encountered only a few warriors in this part of the palace—and they were either too drunk or high on celebration and spoils to notice us.

I prayed Olea would be there, hidden in my quarters, unharmed.She will be.The gods cannot be this cruel.

Minutes later, I pushed through the wooden doors of my chamber, Leiya flanking me.

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