Page 36 of Forged By Heart and Claws
Mine stemmed from strategy.
But it didn’t matter. She was right either way. And the way she thought of others, even now—it stirred something warm in my chest.
I pressed a kiss to her temple, then pulled one of the glowing vials from the bag and wrapped a clean bandage loosely aroundit to dull the glow enough to offer light without making us a beacon in the dark. “We’re going to get Elias.”
Thalen frowned. “Would they have already taken him?—”
“Not if Physician Morlo kept his secrets,” I cut in, voice firm. “And I believe he did. Until the end.” I stepped toward the door, still gripping the wrapped vial. “Come on. We need to hurry.”
Thalen stepped into the corridor first, the stiff black leather bag clutched in one hand. Briar hesitated, glancing back at Morlo’s body. Grief shimmered in her eyes, raw and quiet, even though she’d barely known him.
I followed but paused in the doorway, unable to tear my gaze from the man who had been the royal family’s most trusted physician. A man who had brought me poultices and lectures in equal measure. A man who deserved so much more than this.
A man I’d avenge.
I swallowed hard, anger and guilt warring inside me. There was nothing we could do for him now.
Thalen’s hand rested on the heavy, dark oak door. He met my gaze with grim understanding. I gave a single nod, and he closed the door. The sound echoed, a final punctuation to a life of service.
The hallway pressed in, the air thick with the scent of blood and loss.
A familiar and suffocating weight settled over me. The weight of loss—of my father, my mother, and all those we’d lose if we failed now. There wasn't time for grief.
Vad?Briar’s voice brushed my mind, tentative but steady. She slid a hand over my arm.I’m here. I’m with you.
I closed my eyes and let the sensation of her presence anchor me, her strength and the way she held my hand, allowing the buzz to jolt between us.We’ll mourn him and all the others. But not tonight.Right now, we survive. We get everyone out. Then we make them pay.
I forced my legs to move, quickening my steps as I led Briar and Thalen into the shadows.
Behind us, the door to Morlo’s chamber stayed shut. But in my mind, it burned like a promise. His death would not go unanswered.
We paused only long enough to grab a few more items, including warm blankets, spare clothing, and rations, before slipping out a side door and deeper into the quiet corridors. The hallways were thick with shadow. Every door we passed was closed and silent as a crypt.
I kept Briar close, my hand hovering protectively just above her back, needing to know she was there and safe. The faint light from the vial Thalen carried lit our path in a low amber shimmer.
I counted our steps: six to the ornamental archway, and three more to the carved panel embedded in the stone.
I pressed my palm to the panel, fingers seeking the pressure-point switch hidden in the spiral pattern.
Click.
The seam opened with a muted pop, and a whisper of cool air rushed out to greet us, thick with the scents of healing herbs, lavender, cedarwood, and faint traces of lamp oil.
“Quickly,” I murmured, ushering Briar through first, then Thalen.
The narrow passageway curved slightly and then descended. Silence curled around us like a second skin. Most of the rooms we passed were shrouded in darkness, abandoned and untouched, except one.
A faint strip of light spilled from beneath the farthest door.
Someone was here.
I passed Thalen the vial, moved closer to the door, and pressed my hand against it to open it on silent hinges.
Every instinct in me screamed to fight. No one should be in here. No one but Morlo, my father, and me.
The small chamber held a bed, a table, a narrow cabinet, and a glowing oil lamp.
And in the bed lay a figure, tangled in rumpled blankets.
