Page 43 of Heir of Illusion

Not too close, I remind myself.

Pointing to the tunnel, I ask the question that’s been on my mind since I found him. “What happened over there?”

“That one.” He points to a ginger-haired soldier at the back of the group. Even covered in grime, he appears younger than the others. His lanky arms shake with exertion each time someone hands him one of the larger rocks. The poor mortal can’t be older than nineteen.

“He worked down here with Darby,” the captain continues. “His name is Kipps.”

He pulls a folded piece of paper from his pocked and hands it to me. My eyes widen as I open the parchment to reveal a map of the tunnels. “Where did you get this?”

“Kaldar gave it to me before sending us down here.”

My lips purse. “Would have been nice if he’d given me one too instead of sending us down here blind.”

Remy rolls his eyes and taps the paper in my hands. “What do you see?”

Huffing, I push aside my annoyance and focus on the task in front of me. Using the tip of my finger to trace over the page, I track the path Thorne and I took, briefly pausing when I reach the staircase. According to the map, the staircase leads to a dead end. I’m tempted to ask Remy if he went up there, but some strange instinct has me holding my tongue. Instead, I continue scanning the map and realize all the tunnels are connected by a circular path that leads back to the first chamber we entered.

“There’s only one way in or out,” I whisper as the skin on the back of my neck prickles.

“Exactly,” Remy says, his hazel eyes watching me intensely. “And there were guards stationed at several points throughout the palace above us. Darby couldn’t have gotten out that way without anyone noticing him.”

GrellDarby could still be here.

A shiver coils up my spine. Did Baylor know that? If so, why wouldn’t he warn me? We should have been told there was a possibility we’d meet a sword wielding thief down here.

“But here’s where it gets interesting.” Remy points to the spot on the map that’s directly across from where we’re standing. “According to what this shows, there isn’t supposed to be anything there. So what is that?” He gestures the collapsed tunnel. “Funny that the only place we haven’t searched yet was conveniently left off the map and blocked by a cave-in. So, it’s possible Darby was crushed by the debris, or he could be hiding on the other side of it.”

“Or the more frightening option,” I murmur as a horrible thought occurs to me. “There could be a second exit behind that collapse that no one knows about.”

I’ve no doubt Remy established a perimeter around the city as soon as he learned the weapon had been stolen, which means that if Darby exited through the palace there’s a good chance he’s still in the Solmare. However, if there’s a second exit we don’t know about, it could release somewhere outside the city.

“Exactly.” His hard eyes meet mine, both of us understanding the weight of that implication. If Darby escaped through another portion of the tunnel, then he could be anywhere.

“What did Kipps have to say about all this?” I ask, sneaking another glance at the ginger guard.

Remy huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “He was pretty insistent that we do not try to remove the stones. He said the cave-in happened last year, and no one was in a big hurry to fix it.”

I turn my attention to the partially blocked tunnel, noting how most of the broken stones have jagged edges. Squinting through the darkness, I make out a few cracks that appear fresh. “Kipps said this happened last year?”

He nods as the two of us share a meaningful glance, both understanding what the other is thinking. The rocks haven’t settled yet, which means this cave-in was recent.

“Either Kipps is lying to protect his friend…” I trail off.

“Or he was involved,” Remy finished my thought.

“Did you know about any of this?” I gesture to our current whereabouts. The idea of Baylor being able to hide such a large secret right under our noses is terrifying. But the thought of Remy knowing and keeping it from me is somehow worse.

“No.” He shakes his head, sending a wave a relief through me. “I remember Darby from the wall, but I didn’t get to know him well before Kaldar requested him for a special assignment.” His features tighten. “I guess this was it.”

“Strange that this has been down here all this time, and we never knew.”

“Very strange,” he agrees. I can tell he wants to say more, but he’s holding himself back. Given my reaction to our dangerous conversation this morning, I can’t exactly blame him.

“Captain!” Warrick shouts, pulling our attention. “We’ve cleared the path!”

As we join the group, the soldiers begin discussing strategies for entering the tunnel. Ignoring them, I squat in front of the opening and peer through the dark hole. It’s completely black inside, like some kind of unholy void. My skin prickles at the thought of going in there. It’s narrow, only a few feet wide. The height appears tall enough for us to crawl through on our hands and knees. Glancing at a few of the soldiers, I shudder as I realize how tight it’s going to be for them.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath through my nose before releasing it from my mouth, repeating the action several times. After a few moments, my heartbeat begins to even out as I force myself to accept the inevitable. Swallowing thickly, I stand up and turn back to the group.

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