Page 37 of A Tale of Treachery

Bullseye.

The first guard dropped to the ground as the other panicked. He crouched down to help his friend, his brows furrowed in confusion as he plucked the dart from the other man’s neck. The second dart hit the remaining guard between the eyebrows. He looked around, searching for his attacker. But before he could spot me, his body fell motionless to the ground.

I scouted the area to ensure the coast was clear. Rushing toward the entrance of the dungeon when it was safe to move, hoping and praying my clothing blended into the darkness. When I reached the piled heap of guards, I bent over and pressed my fingers to their necks to track their heartbeat, measuring their breathing to ensure they hadn’t received too large of a dose. My body relaxed when I noted they were still alive, their chests rising and falling with each breath.

The hairs at the base of my neck stood on end. Someone was watching. My head whipped towards a rustling noise, my eyes scanning the surrounding area. Nothing to the left or right of me. The prickle chased down my spine, and I looked behind me, catching a brief flash of armor.Goldenarmor. The flash was gone before my eyes could even process the sheen.

I cocked my head and peered closer at the space that had been formerly occupied. Aiden was the only person who wore golden armor, but he wouldn’t be here. He wouldn’t follow me. I shook the thought from my head, concluding that it was nothing but a figment of my imagination. He’d occupied my thoughts all day since there was still so much to discuss, but somewhere deep inside, I knew our relationship had to end. His father would never approve, and my feelings for Aiden had become a jumbled mess.

It was only reasonable that my mind would conjure him up at a time like this.

I shifted my attention back to the bodies in front of me. There couldn’t be any evidence of this jailbreak left behind, so I plucked the darts from the guard’s necks and sneaked through the entrance, diving into a hidden alcove. After a preliminary scan, I moved further into the dungeon, searching the cells for the women.

The whole place smelled of urine and vomit. The scent clung to the inside of my nostrils, and I gagged, wrapping the scarf tight against my mouth and nose to block the stench. But the smell remained, no matter how tightly the fabric pressed to my nose. Sickly men occupied each cell, too fatigued to acknowledge the shadow sneaking past them, making it clear they’d given up on life long ago.

I searched and called for the women, hoping to find them, but they were nowhere in sight. Blowing out a frustrated breath, I slammed my hand against the stone wall, disturbing the dust that covered it. I coughed and sneezed from the invasion of billowing grime and backed up a step, nearly tripping as my foot sank into some dark pit, landing on cold metal.

I peered closer at my foot, noting it was a step below me, encased by steel and iron.

The dungeon held a hidden staircase that spiraled down into blackness. So naturally, I descended the stairwell, feeling the heavy, cold weight of iron pressing against my skin. My iron allergy wasn’t usually overwhelming, but this portion of the dungeon was so heavily congested with the material that even I could feel it.

I didn’t need a light to see where I was going. All I had to do was follow the air of torment and pain that wound deep into the prison. The walls grew thicker with ferrous material and the further I ventured, the more suffocating the air grew. Anti-magic runes decorated the tunnel at the end of the staircase, signifying what this place actually was: a dungeon for those with magic.

I walked on my tiptoes through the tunnel, feeling the runes as they pulled at my blood and drained my energy. The wrongness of this place crawled beneath my skin, and I wiggled my shoulders to free them of the slimy feeling.

There was no telling what atrocities had occurred here.

My attention snapped toward the sound of clanking chains and whispered giggles, and my brow furrowed as I followed the odd noise. The laughter grew louder and more raucous the closer I crept. It was an odd sound to hear in a place as dark as this. Whoever was down here sounded almost happy.

Coming to a stop at the end of the tunnel, I braced myself for what would come next. Someone was down here having the time of their life, which could only mean one thing: they were insane.

With a deep breath, I stepped out of the shadows and into what one could only describe as a torture chamber. The room was heavily lined with iron bars, and outside of those bars, chains, racks, and various instruments lined the walls.

I froze at the origin of the laughter that echoed through the hall.

The three women I'd been searching for were tethered to a center post in the middle of the room. They were chattering and giggling like it was teatime, chasing each other around the pole they were tied to as if this whole thing—their imprisonment and potential execution—were one big joke.

What the hell?

I cautiously approached the iron bars surrounding the cell and cleared my throat.

The women halted their movement and glared at me, their mouths stretched wide in horrific smiles that gave me the shivers.

Aife stalked toward the iron bars, the look in her eyes a hungry one. “And who might you be?”

I was speechless. These women were no longer the sweet little girls from my childhood. Something wicked lay like a shroud over their auras, poisoning their souls. They seemed…twisted.

I unwrapped the scarf from around my face to reveal my identity, my lips tilting down into a frown.

The women tittered excitedly.

Aisling—the eldest—stepped forward. “Oh, Duana, how lovely to see you! I see you decided to visit us on our final night.”

I was at a loss for words. They didn’t seem to care that they would be killed tomorrow. I’d come to rescue them, to talk to them and find out what had happened that night, but now…didn’t know what to say.

“I came to help.”

“Oh, how wonderful!” Aine—the middle child—lilted, smacking her hands together with excitement. “But we don’t need help. We’re right where we want to be.”

---