15. Tahlia

Chapter 15

Tahlia

T ahlia woke in what felt like the middle of the night, though it was impossible to tell in this windowless room. A nightmare about dark waves and claws had ripped apart the peace she'd felt when she'd fallen asleep in Marius's arms. Blowing out a shaking breath, she tried to calm her heart. Swallowing her fear, she lit the candle on the bedside table and took one of Fara's letters. Lying stomach down, Marius snored lightly beside her.

Dearest feral friend who refuses to have a normal job,

How are things going? I'll assume you still have both of your eyeballs since you are reading this. That's good. You must have avoided the human water. Is their wine any good? I doubt it.

Are they handsy when they drink? I feel like I've heard they are. If any of those arseheads say a single thing to you that you don't like, just keep a list and some descriptions. I'll visit and undo their good health with great pleasure.

I have a broken hand, by the way. I hid it from you when you were prepping to leave. I broke it on Anslem's face. He is a prickbrain. I do not regret it. I won't tell you what he said because it'll only get me riled up again, and I'm trying to study.

Yes, prickbrain is a word. You can look it up in the library when you get back.

Your friend,

Fara

Chuckling, Tahlia blew out the candle and settled back under the blanket with Marius. She curled her body around his, soaking in the heat and solidity of him. His scent filled the air and she fell asleep with the thought that someday soon she'd be surrounded by Fara and the other knights, that Lija would be healed, and all would be well.

Tahlia woke to Marius gently shaking her arm. He stood over her, dressed and ready.

"It's time," he whispered.

Behind him, the guard with the dark eyes stood waiting, lines forming between her eyebrows.

After a quick chug of watered wine and gobbling down another corncake, Tahlia followed Marius and the guard out of the room and into the corridor. The dawn's first gray light slid through archways in the passageway. The place was quiet as a tomb, but that was a good thing. It meant King Crazy was likely asleep and his cronies gone for the time being.

The guard stopped at the end of the third corridor they'd hurried down. This one bent sharply to the right. "Down there. Third door. You can't miss it."

"And our two are in place?" Marius glanced at Tahlia, then looked her up and down as if cataloging her breathing, stance, and general level of preparedness.

The guard breathed out, then pursed her lips. "As far as I know, one is on duty. Hopefully, both, but we couldn't ask because there wasn't any clear moment to do so without raising suspicion."

"Understood," Marius said.

"May the Old Ones bless you," the guard whispered quickly before heading off.

Keeping her steps as light as possible, Tahlia trailed Marius through the shadows that the fire from the wall sconces tried to shatter. Golden runes glimmered above one of the doorways. The entrance was housed in an alcove. This had to be the one. The guards were likely right on the other side of the heavy oak.

Marius turned the doorknob.

A guard with a beard rushed out, opening the door outward and slamming it against Marius.

"Filthy Fae spies," the man hissed as he lunged for Tahlia.

Marius was pinned to the alcove wall.

Tahlia bent to grab the dagger from her boot. Pulse flying as fast as Lija on a clear day, she shot upward, jamming the blade into the bearded guard's throat. Gurgling, he dropped, and Marius slid out from behind the door and began dragging him into the room they'd just opened. The other guard, the one presumably on their side, looked from Marius to Tahlia, then grabbed the dead guard's leg. He helped Marius hide the body behind a row of boxes.

The guard shoved his shoulder-length red hair out of his face, then tugged a linen cloth from his belt and started back toward the door.

"I'll get the blood cleaned up. That guy was such an arsehole. Glad to see the last of him. Durniad was his hero."

"How did he know about us?" Tahlia cleaned her knife on her trousers, then returned it to the sheath sewn into the inside of her boot.

"He was your man until last night."

"Oh?" Marius's face was flat, emotionless as he knocked on the green-painted flagstones that made a half circle at the next door—the entrance to the labyrinth. What was he thinking? Did he not trust this guard?

"Yes, he was down here late last night," the guard said, "and when I showed back up this morning, he said Durniad had changed his mind. That he had it all wrong and that I had better get back on the right side of things or he'd kill me too. Didn't manage that now, did you?" The guard snorted and laughed.

"Do you think Durniad used the crown on him?" Tahlia asked.

Marius found the right stone and pushed one side. The stone tilted, and Marius reached into the space below it.

The guard shrugged. "It's possible, I guess. But Durniad is a great public speaker. He can charm anyone—even those he is about to kill in cold blood."

"It's a wonder he thinks he needs the crown," Tahlia said.

Marius made a hmm sound as he pulled a sack from the hidden spot on the floor. Tahlia joined in and they found lock-picking tools, small squares of linen, a tiny crock of grease, and a palm-sized book. Tahlia took that one up and flipped through the old vellum pages.

"Unseelie runes?" What in the world were these doing here?

Marius cut his eyes to her, telling her to keep quiet. "We are good here. Will you watch from the outside and give us a shout if anyone is coming?"

"I'll do what I can. I hate Durniad. Good luck to you."

Marius tipped his head at the human male. They divvied out the items their contacts had provided, tucking them into the leather pouches at their belts, in boots, and wherever else things would fit well enough.

"I feel like a walking craftsman's market," Tahlia said.

The weight of the rune book and the little lock pick hammer were too much for the loose waistband of her trousers. She tightened her belt another notch to keep the lot of it from falling to her ankles.

She glared at Marius over her shoulder. "No chuckling. Small but fierce, remember?"

He used to chide her for even wanting to be a dragon rider because of her size. She'd proven to him that she was a fantastic flyer and fighter despite her petite build, but sometimes, he still smirked at her inability to reach the top shelf in their chambers at Dragon Tail.

"We have no time to lose," he said, pushing through the labyrinth's door. "Time to figure out these traps. Stay close. I don't want any more blood spilled if we can help it."

His voice sounded strained. She frowned as she followed him into complete darkness.

"Should I not have killed the bearded guard?" Her question bounced off the walls, walls that felt close.

"You did the right thing. He was going to snap your neck. There wasn't time for anything else. I've seen humans snap necks for lesser crimes than espionage and theft."

Torches set high into the walls around the room flickered to life, and Tahlia blinked against the sudden brightness. She took a breath, nodding to herself about what Marius had said. That was what she'd thought—that the killing was necessary. It wasn't her first time killing, but the act certainly wasn't the norm for her day. Thankfully, the experience with Ophelia and the monster Katk had warmed her up to violence.

The firelight showed a high stone ceiling above them and head-high walls at either side of them, close-set and quite obviously the labyrinth itself.

"We're already inside," she whispered, her stomach flipping with the knowledge that anything could come at them at any moment. She got out her knife again and savored the feel of Marius's powerful presence in front of her.

"Yes, and I assume we have stepped on a plate of sorts that triggered the lighting of the torches."

"How would that work?" Tahlia asked.

Marius made a grumbling noise. "Mechanisms that are worth a king's sum, I'm sure."

"Have you seen anything like this before?"

"No, but I've heard stories of the old kings and queens who ruled here," Marius said. "This wild setup isn't purely of Durniad's mind. This place was built ages ago. Before I was born. Durniad has simply fancied it up for us."

Fancied it up. Tahlia snickered. Marius was beginning to sound like her.

"How kind of him."

Marius harrumphed. "Indeed."

"So we have no idea what we're facing here, aside from the siren, right?" Tahlia's throat was dry as bone dust. She swallowed and fought a cough.

"We know there are traps. More than one. I would assume the siren wouldn't be the first."

Tahlia grinned wryly. "Ah, thinking like a madman, are you?"

Marius's left eyebrow flicked upwards. "One must see through the eyes of the enemy to know his next move."

"Perhaps the first two traps will be simple for us since we're Fae."

"Perhaps," Marius said. "Perhaps not. We don't know if the guard we took out talked to Durniad about our plan."

"I don't love how much we are clueless about in here."

Marius growled in the way that meant he agreed.

"Do you realize you have five different growls in your vocabulary?"

He made no response except to shake his head and exhale.

"One tells the recipient to back off. Immediately." Tahlia pressed a hand to her chest. "I love that one."

"You do?"

"It's delightfully scary."

"You are very strange, my gorgeous mate."

Tahlia couldn't fight a smile. "Another of your growls indicates frustration with the situation at hand. Most would curse and swear in place of that growl."

"How much longer is this incredibly informative lesson going to last? We need to focus, little salty."

"Growl number three is for me."

"Oh, yes? How so?"

She stepped closer and ran a hand up his thigh. He stopped, looked over his shoulder at her, and growled as the torchlight flickered in his eyes. Her body grew as hot as the flames lighting the labyrinth.

"Yes, that one."

He started walking again, shaking her off. "It's impressive that we can feel lusty at this dire moment."

"Well, you know what they say about newlyweds."

He frowned, eyeing her. "No, what do they say? Is this a human saying?"

"Oh, no, I don't think so," she said. "I don't remember where I heard it."

"Eh, why don't you walk beside me? I don't like you out of my sight like this."

"All right." She came up next to him and he lifted her hand. He sniffed her knuckles. "What is it? Oh, the blood. From the guard. I didn't get it all off."

His steps slowed, and he stared at her blood-stained hand, his gaze distant.

"Marius, what's wrong?"