Eighteen Kaden

“What’s down there?”

Nismera smiled, playing coy. “It’s where I keep my fates. Nothing exciting. Now, come on.”

I turned with her even if a part of me knew she was lying.

Guards shuffled past the war room as I sat listening to The Order ramble.

“. . . and if that’s true, only one stronghold can hold it. The shipment is on the way to it as we speak, my king.”

I sighed, the sound of my chair scraping across the stone, cutting off their words as I stood. Every eye turned to me as Nismera lifted her head.

“Are we boring you?”

“Slightly, but I have to piss. So I’ll be back.”

Isaiah cut his eyes to me as if he was about to stand. My brother could pick up on even the slightest lie that slipped past my lips.

“I’m fine. I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

He flipped me off but smiled before he sat back fully in his chair.

I left the war room, and the voices flooded the room once more, The Order telling her about another outpost that was hit. I walked past the guards she had standing watch at her door and went downstairs. Once I knew for certain no one was following me or watching, I opened my palm, and a swirling portal of black ringed by fire greeted me. I stepped through into the lower levels of the golden palace. The stone and darkened hall was such a harsh contrast to what she portrayed upstairs. I’d known Mera my whole life, and this place was the perfect representation of her. Her fake smile hid horrors and the darkness resting just under her skin.

Her war drapes hung on every mantel as I walked deeper inside. The hall opened into a massive foyer. A large, twisted stone sculpture took up the middle, the beast and man locked in battle, coiling around each other.

The sound of footsteps reached me, soon followed by voices. I backed up, slipping into the shadows as they passed, lost in conversation. They were headed toward the room I was interested in. I waited until they had disappeared before following. I knew where she kept her fates, and it damned well wasn’t in the room I saw her leaving the other day.

I passed by an archway to my left, striding through the one on my right and making my way down the stairs. My gut had never led me astray, and right now, it screamed about that godsdamned room. I stopped as soon as I reached the bottom. The twisted doors were locked, but the two men standing guard were what made me curse.

Guards that were not there yesterday.

“High Guard,” one said. “Can we be of service?”

Fuck. I could easily kill them both and find out what was in that room, but then she’d know. This was her testing my loyalty and trust. If two of her guards came up missing, she would be on high alert. Double fuck.

“I was . . .”

My words drifted off as their eyes rolled back and their bodies slumped forward in a heap. Green mist swirled around their heads.

I turned, realizing I wasn’t alone.

“Camilla?”

She lowered her hands, her emerald magic drawing back into her palms as she stalked forward. “What are you doing?”

“Me? What are you doing?” I hissed. “Those guards—”

“Are sleeping and when they wake up, they will think they slept on the job. They will never speak of it because if she finds out, she’ll rip their heads off.” Camilla shook her head at me before grabbing my wrist and attempting to make us leave. I didn’t move.

Camilla jerked before spinning. “We have to leave.”

I yanked my hand free. “We don’t have to do anything. I need to find out what’s behind those doors.”

“No, you don’t.” She sounded exasperated.

I took a step forward. “What do you know?”

We both stopped as footsteps sounded nearby. She curved her lips inward, clearly pissed, and turned from me. “Fine.”

She shoved the guards from in front of the door and reached for the handle. “Are you coming or not?”

I shrugged and followed her inside. Once the door clicked behind us, sparks of tiny light erupted from the ceiling, dancing around above, illuminating the place.

“You’re lucky they are in that meeting. Usually, this place is crowded too.”

I swallowed as I looked around the room. Metal tables took up each corner, machines and wires hanging above them. A hallway branched off and disappeared around a corner. Camilla walked around, looking at the shelves holding myriad jars and tubes. I strode over, glancing at the ones with different liquids, but the tables spread out in the neighboring room made me pause.

The stench of rotting flesh made me cover my nose. I had been on battlefields and seen the worst, but this . . . There were so damn many, and they had been here far longer than they should have. Stalking forward, I moved the tarp off of them. Parts of corpses were spread over the tables. Some still stared at the ceiling with dead, cloudy eyes, and some had no eyes at all. Others were in parts, cut into perfect squares as if the body was forced between some kind of net. Mutilated corpses of all kinds, including some of her generals.

“What is this?” I asked, looking at Camilla.

“I’ve heard the witches laughing and the guards talking. She has many titles. Nismera the Conqueror and Nismera the Bloody, but I hate Nismera the Mutilator the most.” Camilla set a bottle back on the shelf and walked closer. Her nose wrinkled in disgust, but she did not seem surprised. “In our realm, they called it science. Here it’s turtisuma. She’s been busy while you were gone, it seems.”

“She’s mutilating her guards?”

“The ones that fail her or the ones she is interested in, I suppose, but most of these look like regular beings. Maybe prisoners of some sort? Traitors.”

“Why?” I asked. “And more so, how do you know?”

She lifted a pendant between her breasts. “I have my ways. I’ve been sneaking around, usually at night when everyone is asleep, and I found this place. My magic was screaming every night she was in here. Whatever she is working on is making my skin crawl. I snuck in during one of her long war meetings the other day.”

I said nothing as I walked around the large lab. The remaining bodies were half-covered in thin sheets. It smelled of blood, piss, and darker things, as if most weren’t dead when she started whatever the hell it was she was doing down here. “I never knew Mera to be so . . . cruel.”

Camilla scoffed and shrugged. “Maybe you haven’t known her at all.”

I glared at her. “I know my sister.”

“You mean the same sister that locked you in her dungeons for a week after you returned?” Camilla said. “I heard how terrible they are. So far beneath the ground, even the light is afraid to reach it.”

The memory of them flared back. How I shivered in that corner cell, unable to tell if my eyes were even open with how pitch black it was. The only indication I was awake were the moans and screams. The inhabitants who had been there much longer than me cried and begged for an end, any end.

My eyes snapped to her, but I said nothing. Whatever she read in my gaze made her drop it and return to the jars lining the walls. “I may need some of these.” She glanced back at me. “Spells and all.”

“And what exactly are you plotting?” I tilted my head a fraction higher.

“Always have to have a backup plan.” She cut her eyes toward me, and I knew exactly what dark-haired beauty had taught her that. My heart skipped a beat even thinking of Dianna.

“What makes you think I won’t have you detained for this?”

A smile curved her full lips. “Because something tells me your dear sister didn’t want you to see this, either.”

Checkmate.

I shook my head and scratched my brow, my armored glove cool against my skin. “It makes no sense why she would be so desperate to mutilate so many. It’s as if she’s studying them. These bodies are fresh. Samkiel is dead. She is the most powerful being now. So why?”

Camilla quirked her upper lip. “From the way she is working and experimenting, something tells me that even with him gone, she isn’t the most powerful being in the world.”

Before I could respond, the door started to open. I threw my hand up, drowning the room in complete darkness before grabbing Camilla and pushing her between one of the racks. I pressed my body over hers, my hand covering her mouth, and a single finger raised to my lips to hush her.

“See, no one in here, you idiot. The lights would be on,” the guard from outside said. “You just fell asleep.”

“Me? You fell asleep too, you moron.” The rest of their words faded as they closed the doors.

I glanced down at Camilla to find her looking up at me. Her hands rested on the plated dragonbane armor covering my arms. Her throat bobbed, and a look passed between us. Memories were thick between us, but it was a history neither of us wanted to repeat.

“Can you make them sleep from here?” I asked, lowering my hand.

Her gaze darkened. “Of course.”

I was about to respond with a snide comment when the wall near her head hissed. We pulled away, and cold air hit us as the wall slid to the side, revealing a hidden room. My eyes adjusted to the pale blue light of the small chamber.

“What’s this?” Camilla asked, stepping away from me.

I didn’t answer as I entered, feeling her right behind me. In the center was a long, rectangular table, and atop it sat a device. Its insides were spinning wildly. I bent to look and stopped, my blood running cold.

“It’s a centrifuge.” Her voice was as cold as the room.

I stood up and turned toward her. “And the blood currently spinning inside is of my brothers.”

“What?”

“She has Isaiah’s and Samkiel’s. I can smell it.” I took a shuddering breath. “She must have collected Samkiel’s when she killed him, but Isaiah’s?”

“Kaden.”

“What?” I snapped, turning toward her.

She stood there with an empty vial in her hand. “I think all she’s missing is yours.”

A SLEEPING SPELL AND A SLIGHT JOG LATER, CAMILLA AND I ASCENDED the stairs. A few generals and guards passed us but said nothing. I hoped our plan worked. We had both been gone for more than a minute, and I knew Nismera would have noticed.

“No one can know,” I whispered into her ear as I held her upper arm.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll just put away the banner I was making where I tell everyone what we found.” She tried to pull away from me and failed.

My lip curled as I turned her to face me. “Camilla, I will—”

“I know, I know, threats, dismemberment. I’ve worked for you for eons, Kaden. But you need to watch after yourself. Nismera is doing something far more malicious than—”

Her words died as I slammed my lips over hers. Her body froze, and I felt magic swirl beneath her lips, ready to rip me to pieces.

“Well, I suppose it makes sense why you’d skip a meeting of importance,” Nismera purred behind us.

I pulled back and glared at Camilla, warning her to play along. Her lips thinned in displeasure, promising retribution before she faked innocence.

“Mera,” I said, turning to see her and her guards. Vincent was at her side, looking at Camilla with bewilderment, and Isaiah had a shit-eating grin on his face. “You talk too long. I was bored, so I found something far less boring. Besides, I assumed you’d still be blabbing. I was almost back.”

A cool smile formed on her lips as she clasped her hands over her sparkling, jagged dress. Her crown never even tilted. “Let’s not make this a habit, shall we? Maybe save your trysts for the evening, perhaps?”

“My apologies. Camilla is usually quicker than this.” I smiled, ignoring the sharp sting of magic that jabbed into my arm.

Nismera raised her hand. “Vincent, can you escort our lovely guest to her workroom, where she should stay with guards, yes?”

The last part made me wonder. Now that I thought about it, she never let Camilla go too far without Vincent or her guards. At first, I had assumed it was because she thought Camilla would flee, and Nismera needed her power to help the other witches fix Nismera’s medallion. But it had been so long now that Camilla wouldn’t run. She might snoop and be too damn nosy, but she wouldn’t run. What about Camilla had her so concerned?

Not glancing at me, Vincent stepped forward, completely focused on Camilla. They stared at each other as if it was I who had interrupted something. Neither of them said anything as they left.

Isaiah came to my side, shaking his head as Mera left with her guards. They turned the corner, heading back toward the west wing before Isaiah spoke. “Don’t shit where you eat?” He snorted, slapping a hand on my back. “Great advice.”

I turned to him with no comeback. I wanted to leave and process what I had seen, but worry for him stopped me. Why had Nismera taken his and Samkiel’s blood, and why did she want mine? What was she planning that she needed our blood?