34. Keelan

Chapter thirty-four

Keelan

U sing the key I'd taken from the guard, I unlocked the door, and we crept inside.

The hallway we entered stood empty.

"Do you hear that?" Sil whispered.

"Drums?"

"I hear those, but do you hear singing, too? Or humming ? I can't tell. It sounds like a lot of people."

I hadn't noticed the humming but couldn't get it out of my head now that she'd pointed it out. I motioned for her to follow and edged down the hallway.

This was a terrible idea , I realized. We have no idea what we're walking into.

We passed a few doors before reaching a point where the hallway forked, the left side rising, while the right sloped downward.

I motioned to go up .

The humming grew from a discordant murmur into a wave of force I felt press against my skin. As we rounded a corner, I grabbed Sil and pulled her to the ground behind a half wall. Ghostly light flickered from somewhere below.

"We're on a balcony overlooking a large chamber. Stay low," I whispered.

I risked a glance over the railing, and my mind struggled to process the scene before me. Hundreds of figures lined either side of the massive chamber, more Children than I had been expecting to see, more than I knew existed. At the end closest to our hiding place rose a two-tiered dais. On the upper level of the stage stood the marble statue of a woman in flowing robes, her chin raised as if she sought the top of a faraway mountain. On her brow rested a glistening crown of gold. In one hand, she held a silver staff. Her other palm rose high above her head and cradled an orb that pulsed a deep, bloody crimson.

Below the statue, on the lower level of the dais, a gilded throne lorded over the throng.

A figure wearing robes the color of fresh blood rested a hand on the back of the throne. I squinted but couldn't make out the animal on their mask, but it looked blank, like skin stretched tight over their features.

Motion at the far end of the chamber caught my eye, and my heart lurched as Tiana emerged through the massive doors. I'd always thought she was beautiful, but in that golden gown, she stole my breath .

Sil nudged me, and I ducked back down.

"We're fifty feet up, and I don't think they can see us in the darkness up here. Sil, she's down there. Just walked in. Hundreds of robed men performing some kind of ceremony. I . . ."

Sil gripped my shoulder. "We can't help her if we get caught."

I nodded and drew a breath to gather myself, then peered over the railing to watch the spectacle unfold.