Page 10 of Court of Secrets and Flames

Finishing my braid, I follow the frowning guard into the hallway. “Where are we going?”

“Good morning.” Zale falls in step with us, glancing from me to Hyde. “King Jasper wants…” Hyde shoots him anit’s in your best interest not to say anythinglook, and the one guard who’s been friendly in my brief time here, or at least not gruff, snaps his mouth shut.

What are they not telling me? Have I somehow displeased the king already? Is he going to have me executed and mounted for display outside the palace along with those other poor souls?

My heartbeat accelerates. Blood whooshes in my ears. I force myself to quit hyperventilating, hoping to tame my rising fear by concentrating on deep breaths in and out.

Stay calm. Panicking won’t help.

Desperate for a distraction, I do my best to memorize the route as I walk between the guards. “If you won’t tell me where we’re going, could you at least tell me what we’re doing?”

Zale knits his brows together but doesn’t answer. That can’t be a good sign.

Quickening his pace, Hyde shakes his head. “You’ll find out soon. The king has requested your…presence. That’s all I can say.”

Our path veers suddenly, deviating from the grandeur of marble and velvet-draped corridors. Hyde lifts a hand and presses a panel no different from the others around it. A section of the wall slides away to reveal an entrance shrouded in darkness.

A tunnel stretches before us, its walls hewn from the earth itself. The scent of damp stone tinges the cool air trickling out. Light from the sconces that line the passageway throw our shadows ahead of us, dancing specters leading us deeper into the unknown.

Zale ushers me inside, and the panel closes.

Dread grips me like a vise as we descend into the bowels of the palace. Visions of secret torture devices prance through my head.

Were the two men who challenged the king taken here? When the king said he wanted to get better acquainted with me, is this what he meant?

As much as I’m tempted ask questions, to beg and plead for these guards to tell me what’s going to happen to me, I know it won’t do any good. They’re loyal to their king. Simply obeyinghis orders. Just like Knox was when he posed as an instructor at Flighthaven, won my trust, and kidnapped me.

At the thought of the prince, my heart squeezes.

“What we just shared…that was real.”

Knox’s words from last night, after he kissed me like I was the only person he’d ever wanted, echo in my mind.

Did he mean that? Does he know I’m here now? If the king has some nefarious plans to torture and murder me, would he intervene? Could he stop his brother even if he wanted to?

“Almost there.” Zale points ahead, where the tunnel appears to end, while continuing to avoid eye contact.

Yet another less-than-auspicious sign.

“Why didn’t we skip this tunnel and fly outside? If the king is in such a hurry to ‘see’ me…” Flying would be much quicker than this creepy trek beneath the palace.

The sneer Hyde directs my way proclaims he’d rather eat alicorn dung than serve as my pack mule, but neither he nor Zale responds.

I should probably stop pressing my luck with all the questions. Zipping my lips has never been one of my strong points.

The tunnel finally comes to an end, and I blink to let my eyes adjust to the early morning light. What I see when the glare fades ices every muscle in my body.

“No,” I whisper.

Past the iron bars blocking our path, a massive, oval-shaped space formed from grass and sand sprawls before us, surrounded by rows of elevated amphitheater-style seating filled with people. Anticipation buzzes in the air as their chatter reverberates through the space.

An arena. Another godsforsaken arena.

Memories pound my skull. Behind my eyes, I relive the end of the Flighthaven trial. Fledglings battling and bleeding. Alicorns fleeing the burning stables.

Olive, incinerated by a dragon into ash.

My stomach dives as I shake off the past.

---