Page 99 of A Fate Unwoven
Roston met her gaze through the settling dust, lips twisting in a triumphant smirk. He was going to win, and Lena was going to be trapped in her own mind whilst Venysa used her body to destroy everything Lena had ever known.
Lena was pulling as much power back into herself as she could manage, preparing to defend herself against another blow of Roston’s dark magic, when a hand wrapped around her wrist. Her head snapped to the side, gaze falling on the ashen face of the emperor she’d been so ready to kill just minutes before. For a second, she thought he was going to try to kill her, too. To take her life before Roston could use it to carry out theHæsta’s plans. She wouldn’t have blamed him if he did.
Instead, he tugged her toward the door to the prayer chambers, his threads bright against the dust and shadows of the church. “We have to go,” he said, eyes shimmering. “Now.”
“But—”
“He’s right.” Casimir appeared beside Dimas, his usually rich-olive skin a sickly shade of gray. There was a gash on his cheek from where some of the rubble had fallen on him. “I used what sleep bombs I had on the priests, and as skilled as I am with my blades, even I don’t think I can take him. If we stay, we lose.”
Roston was already back on his feet, the air around him shimmering with unrestrained power. Lena instinctively reached for hermagic, pulling it from the deep pit inside of herself despite the searing pain it caused.
In a whispered breath, Lena said, “Get ready to run.”
This time, instead of willing her magic to gather around her like a shield, Lena instead commanded it outward, just as she’d witnessed Venysa do in the memories she’d seen. A silver arc of magic cut through the air, not toward Roston, but toward the stone pillar beside him. Dust and bits of stone clouded over the regent. Lena used the distraction to dart toward the small wooden door. Dimas was at her heels, and there was a brief, heart-stopping moment when Lena realized Casimir wasn’t with them.
But then the smuggler reappeared, his curls covered in dust. “Let’s go.”
Lena wasted no more time before slipping through the door and into the narrow hallway beyond. She slammed it shut once Dimas and Casimir were safely inside, the iron lock clicking in place with a painfully loudclang.
“This way.” Dimas led them back through the twisting corridors toward the Hall of Worship, where Ioseph’s body still lay slumped on the ground, his face paler than it had been when Lena had left him.
Dimas’s mouth tightened at the sight of him. “I’d assumed this was Korvus, but I take it this was your doing?”
Lena winced. Hurting Ioseph had been a necessity, but it didn’t mean she’dlikedit. “I—”
“No time,” Casimir said, saving Lena from having to explain herself. “Ehmar, when I let you lead the way, I was expecting anexit.” Casimir glanced at the thirteen prayer chamber doors surrounding them and frowned. “If your plan is to pray our way out of this, then I feel it’s my obligation to tell you that we’re all going to die.”
Dimas glared. “There’s a tunnel underneath Næbya’s statue. It should bring us out at the western side of the palace.”
Lena knew she was already on thin ice, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Should?”
“I’ve never had reason to use it before now.” Dimas paused, hooking his hands underneath Ioseph’s legs and back and, with no small amount of effort, hoisting him into his arms. The emperor had figured outshe’dbeen the one to knock out Ioseph, no doubt due to the fact that she’d also just tried to kill him.
And yet he still saved you.
The thought made her look away, stomach clenching uncomfortably as Casimir strode past Dimas and pushed open the chamber door. With a tight nod of thanks, Dimas shuffled through, dragging Ioseph with him.
Propping the unconscious guard against the wall, Dimas stood in front of Næbya’s statue, dark brows knit. “There should be a small switch on the palm of the statue’s left hand.”
Lena was already moving, fingers fumbling around the back of the statue to brush against Næbya’s stone palm. There was a second where all she felt was a flat surface, but then her fingers brushed against something cold and circular. She pressed it without hesitating, theclickof something unlocking telling her she’d found her mark.
Næbya’s statue slid to the side, ancient stone creaking in protest. A stairwell appeared in its place, leading down into the dark earth beyond. There was no time to worry if it was a trap.
Dimas lifted Ioseph into his arms, his legs buckling under the weight. When Lena reached out to help, the emperor winced away. “Don’t touch him,” he warned. It was the deadliest Lena had ever heard him sound, and so Lena did not try to argue.
One by one, the three of them hurried inside in the same order they’d entered the prayer chamber. Lena paused only to search the darkness for another switch, a way to close the tunnel and buy them some extra time.
There. A small button hidden just beneath a wooden sconce. Lena slammed her palm down onto it, not waiting to watch the statue slide back into place before she began her descent. Darkness made theirmovements slower, but the space was narrow enough that they could use the walls on either side to guide their way.
She didn’t know how long they were walking before they finally came across the exit, a small, stone door with light creeping along its edges. Lena pushed against it with her shoulder, magic-drained muscles aching with the effort.
And then they were outside, the starlit sky above them. Lena sucked in a deep breath, letting the fresh air fill her lungs.Just a little farther.They’d come out on the east side of the church, close to the palace’s main entrance. If they cut around and through the royal gardens, they’d reach the tunnels where Casimir had left Finæn and Maia unconscious, and then—
“Lena!”
The ground beneath her spun as she whirled, dagger raised. But the figures stumbling across the palace grounds weren’t cultists.
It was Maia and Yana.
