Page 32 of The Nettle and the Nightmare

“Where did this tunnel come from? And where does it go?” I asked for the tenth time, this time trying to pull down my sword from his back. He shook me off before looking down at me, finally coming out of whatever planning stupor he’d entered.

“We’ve dug a few tunnels over the decades to make travel easier. This one goes under the walls of Drago’s fortress.” He said.

“Are you going to tell me the plan now or am I meant to be cooked with potatoes as a sacrifice for Mara? Because while I respect that idea, I really have a hard time with surprises.”

“If you get captured, you don’t have Drago’s powers to help keep what I need to do secret. So, let’s just focus on getting into the fortress and go from there.” He said, stroking the bag of potatoes like they were actually jewels.

We walked in silence for hours before he pulled me down and demanded we sleep. Despite the hard ground my body shut down immediately. I awoke to something rough being shoved over my head. Panicking I ripped it off, confident this was a sign he was selling me out, only to see it was the old dress.

“Excuse me Captain Crazy but that’s not how you wake people up in enemy territory, I was about to kill you. Now why are you giving me your lucky dress?” I ask holding it up to see it was barely passable as my size.

He stared at me blankly, “How do you expect to blend in dressed like a warrior?”

“I didn’t know I was meant to be blending in. Remember?” I started untying the leathers. My body aching from the activity and hard floor. As I got mostly undressed a handful of dirt hit my chest.

“You look too clean too, rub that in. Everywhere.” He said, sitting down as if to watch a show. “Don’t forget behind the ears!”

“This is disgusting, and if there isn’t a purpose for it later, I will be killing you myself.” I mutter, rubbing the dirt into my skin and hair. Careful of the thorns there.

“Those are gonna have to come out.” He said looking closer at my braid. “What do you remember of the map we looked at?”

“Almost nothing,” I admit as I begin to unravel the braid I’d just been reunited with.

“Excellent. You’ll be entering from the Kitchens. With some food from the Root Cellar this tunnel ends at.” He said as he held out a sack for me to drop the silver into.

“And you’ll be… doing something else?” I say, looking at the odd assortment of vegetables, mending, and cooking accessories.

“Yes, definitely.”

“Okay, so how am I supposed to find you or Mara or get back out again?”

“I’ll be sending a signal. Just be ready to run when it happens. But first… do you mind if I have a drink? I’m terribly parched and your lack of vampire bites might give you away.”

“Yes, fine, but can you at least tell me where to run?” I ask again, annoyed by the rising libido that followed his bite. One that would be getting no satisfaction, despite having few layers to disguise my arousal.

“Follow your gut, you’ll see. Just don’t have too much fun.” He said, waggling his fingers at me after wiping the blood from his face.

“You’re impossible.”

“And that’s why this is going to work.” He said with a smile.

I was told to leave my pack and weapons with him, which I only agreed to after swiping a few things for my own plan. I trusted he wanted Mara free enough to go along with this chaos, but I wasn’t going to go into Drago’s fortress without some sort of backup. I swung the bag of potatoes onto my back and ascended the cellar steps, just another filthy blood slave, adopting the fate I’d expected from Mara in order to save her.

The crash of waves told me the ocean was close, though my eyes could barely make out the towering fortress ahead of me. We were in a walled courtyard that extended in a circle behind me only to disappear into darkness. The wall itself was massive and was interrupted by wide watchtowers. As impressive as the wall was, it paled to the height and width of the building in front of me. It looked to be made of tall towers stacked next to each other, the long flat walls bearing tattered banners stamped with a dragon, the colors long since bleached by the salty air. In a word this place was impenetrable.

I made the long walk to the castle, ignoring the sinking feeling that arose as the castle swallowed the sky. I guessed the nearest door would be the kitchens, and to my relief it was. The girl closest to the door took the potatoes from me with a glazed look before handing me a goblet which I pretended to sip. She then gave me a tray of the goblets before pushing me out of the kitchens and into a dimly lit and crowded hall. It smelled of old blood and spilled wine, and I tried not to think too long on why. I took a moment to rearrange my skirts and subtly rearrange the tray before I wandered the hall slowly. I swayed to match the gait of the drugged girls and vampires until all the Goblets were taken. At that point I began to wander away from the hall, unsure of what to do. Was I meant to follow my gut now as well or only later? Maybe I’d be drawn to my mate? It seemed like it might be worth a shot. I took the first stairwell on the left, wincing at the narrow space and went down. Maybe it would lead to a dungeon? Dead end. Maybe my instincts were still shit then.

I went back up and walked through the crowded hall, this time following where the other girls with trays went. We were in a hall that led up some wider flagstone steps made of stone. When we reached the next level we passed several large doors. All of which had empty goblets the others were fetching. I began to do the same, pausing outside of one that smelled strongly of Jasmine. I looked around to see if anyone was watching before checking the lock. There was none. I entered quickly to see an opulent room of red and gold, complete with Mara kneeling on the bed dressed in a gauzy, red dress that covered less than her lacy or shadow underthings ever did.

As soon as I entered the room her gaze narrowed in on me. Her eyes were glazed, but as she took in a deep breath, they turned red with hunger. She pounced, sinking her fangs into my neck while she held me against the door. If I closed my eyes I could almost pretend that neither of us were in danger of dying, that we were back at home, her venom inspiring all the things I wanted to do to her. All the things I was too afraid to try before. She hummed against my neck, her nose drawing a line up to the sensitive shell of my ear before she whispered, “Mine.”

I looked at her then and saw the Gold of her eyes once more, though they were still hazy. Her hands began to feel around the dress until she heard a crinkle in the seam. I looked down at her confused but she wasted no time ripping the seam open with her teeth. The dress now had a slit that came up to mid-thigh. She stroked the skin of my thigh before taking the hidden pouch of herbs and shoving them in her mouth. I’d never seen her eat or drink anything but blood but she continued chewing rapidly before swallowing with a gag. Her eyes stayed cloudy, but she grabbed me and threw me on the bed before I could ask what they were.

“I could kill you for putting yourself in danger like this Nettle.”

“I could say the same about you, Nightmare.” I breathe.

“Nightmare? The Captain said you had a gift for nicknames. What was his? He wouldn’t tell me.”

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