32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

I thanked Renelle that neither Malik nor Selena had caught up with us. Yet .

A beautiful, deadly spiked bramble wall decorated with flowering vines stood before us, keeping us from entering. The name Thistlewall made more sense than ever before.

Short, presumably gnomish guards patrolled the wall, and night hid any obvious entrances or weak points. The only way in or out was through the front gate or climbing the wall. We circled the protected town from the trees to avoid being spotted.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" I asked.

"I hope I will when I find it," Kenzo said.

Stumbleduck rode beside us. I hoped he might have some idea about how to enter the gnomish town, but he offered no advice when I asked.

We stopped after Kenzo had made a semicircle around the wall, and he slid off the horse. I followed suit, nearly slipping in the mud, but Kenzo steadied me. I offered him a thankful smile, but he was watching the parapet. After a moment, he approached the brambles. I followed him, Stumbleduck remaining back atop his ram.

The tips of the spikes had been sharpened to a fine point—or maybe they grew that way, I couldn't be sure. Kenzo pressed a finger to a spike and jerked it back, a bead of blood pooling on his fingertip. "It's effective," he muttered.

I narrowed my eyes at him, taking his hand. "Did you think it wouldn't be?"

He watched the lightning cross from my fingers to his, the pinpoint wound vanishing in seconds. "You didn't have to do that."

I released his hand and gazed at the wall again. "I wanted to."

"We don't have many options. They won't let us in through the gate, I'd bet, and if they did, they'd likely throw us in a prison cell if they're following orders from someone other than Lord Whistlemane." He sighed. "I'd love to have Caelus's ability right about now."

I looked at the top of the wall and then back at the spikes. Their placement was near perfect for climbing. I could squeeze between them, maybe.

Kenzo's brows rose, his eyes glancing from the wall back to me. "Gods, no. We're not climbing that."

"Do you have any better ideas?"

Stumbleduck approached, no longer atop the ram. "Blow a hole through and be done with it!"

I considered the idea but shook my head. "Do you even have more explosives?"

Stumbleduck's eyes downturned. "Give me some time and I can whip together something with enough force to blow through it."

"Time we don't have," I said.

Kenzo placed a hand on his hip and shook his head.

"So climbing, it is," I said.

Kenzo groaned.

Stumbleduck looked between us and grumbled. "Don't be fools." He gestured toward the wall. "Thistlewall is gnomish. Gnomes aren't foolish enough to rely on a gate as their only way in and out, like you tall folk."

"You know another way?" I asked, hopeful.

He nodded. "Just have to find it."

Going off to find an underground entrance would take more time, but it would be safer. I looked at the spiked brambles again. The plan to climb them was less than wise, even if it was more of a direct route.

My eyes drifted to Kenzo. He was broad. Broader than Caelus. And while the spikes were spaced out enough that I could squeeze through and climb, there was no way he'd fit between them. And with the vines growing between them, there was a greater chance of getting tangled and tripping. A fall could be lethal.

I sighed. Time was running out before the Copper Jackals could catch up to us again, and thank Ahrea they hadn't so far. I only hoped no one was injured from that explosion. Malik hadn't been willing to risk lives for what he'd called a ludicrous rescue attempt. I didn't know what he'd do if I'd hurt any of them for this.

Kenzo and Stumbleduck seemed to be waiting for me to decide.

Luck may have gotten us here without Malik catching up, but I couldn't rely on it to ensure we'd survive the brambles. "Let's go," I said.

Kenzo's shoulders relaxed. "Thank the gods," he muttered, and we headed back into the dark forest where our mounts waited, the sweet floral scent of the wall fading with each step.

Stumbleduck led us through the trees and brush until the bramble wall was no longer visible behind us. We abandoned the beaten road and wandered through the dark forest for nearly an hour, and I wasn't certain Stumbleduck knew where to find this other entrance. At least Malik wouldn't be able to easily track us.

We approached two boulders overgrown with vines and bushes. Stumbleduck stopped and dismounted, pulling out a hunting dagger. He cut away some of the shrubbery, revealing a cave mouth hidden deep within, between a set of boulders.

Kenzo and I slid off the horse and followed him into the cave. Wet-earth scent filled the surrounding air, and darkness swept in around us. I took a deep breath and summoned an orb of lightning. Hues of blue-white shone against the makeshift stone steps that led down. Above us, the tunnel had been carved out of the earth itself. Support beams had been put in place every few feet.

"Is this an escape route?" I asked.

Kenzo shrugged and Stumbleduck didn't offer an answer.

A fork appeared in the path before us. One was too small for Kenzo and me. Stumbleduck turned left down the taller path, still barely tall enough for the two of us.

Gods, have I made a mistake?

We continued through the dank cave in silence. The only sounds were our breathing and our boots scraping against the earthen floor. I brushed my fingers along the low, smooth dirt ceiling. We passed more small tunnels—ones an average human or fey child could probably squeeze through. But Stumbleduck continued through the larger tunnels, ignoring them.

I wondered if Stumbleduck grew up in Thistlewall or one of the other gnomish burrows that Lord Whistlemane presided over. I hoped so, because I knew little of the gnomish cities, and that knowledge could prove vital. Gnomes were often secretive, though, preferring to keep to themselves, despite being ruled over by King Olbecht.

The tunnels transitioned from dirt to light limestone, and my palms grew sweaty with each step. Finding Teeg and Caelus was the priority, but could we do it? Stumbleduck had assisted us so far, and I was certain he'd at least help so long as we were looking for Teeg after his story in Tiruhm. Other than his penchant for explosions, I wasn't sure how much help he'd be beneath the surface. Kenzo, however, was at least a castle guard, if not also a crown's guard. Our sparring match proved he was skilled. But would the three of us be enough?

I shook my head.

We didn't have a choice. We had to find them. Even if it was only the three of us.

The smaller tunnels became more abundant the farther we went, and cracks had formed along the stone walls of the path we took. We passed an open dark-iron door that reminded me of Travok's castle. I peeked inside; the room had been reinforced with iron. Shackles hung on the far wall, and metal grates ran along the floor underneath them.

I wrapped a hand around my wrist, soothing a phantom coolness that ran up my arm.

Stumbleduck didn't stop, though, and we continued past.

Everflame lanterns became evenly spaced along the wall, lighting the way through the corridors, and I let my ball of light fizzle out. The tunnels were barren otherwise. No spark of life anywhere.

Stumbleduck stopped in front of a three-way junction in the path. Only two were tall enough for Kenzo and I. Down one of those two paths, iron bars lined the walls, appearing to be a makeshift prison or dungeon.

Voices drew my attention toward the other path. I didn't wait on Stumbleduck or Kenzo before bounding toward the sound, certain that I'd heard Caelus.

At the end of the tunnel, I rounded the corner.

A woman in clothes like Caelus's—dark leather fitted over a deep orange tunic trimmed in gold—wrapped her arms around his neck in the middle of a dining area. She pressed her chest to his, her midnight hair swaying. Seconds felt like minutes as she leaned forward, whispering into his ear. With a turn of her head, she pressed her lips to his.

My heart wrenched, and a sharp pain ran through my chest. All those shared moments together meant nothing. How could I think they had? Because I fell for his charm . But had the charm been a lie? We'd barely known each other. In truth, I barely knew him. Maybe this was the real Caelus—the one Esteban worried about.

My hands squeezed tight, and my nails dug into my palm to keep the teeming lightning at bay.

Caelus shoved her away and faced me. "Eira!"

I didn't want to look at him and instead focused on the petite woman who'd kissed him. She turned to face me, too, and took a step forward, a satisfied grin on her red lips.

Caelus stepped in front of her, approaching me with a pleading look in his eyes.

I stepped back.

Hurt flashed across his face. But I didn't care. That flash of emotion could have been practiced. Feigned. It wasn't real.

My stomach twisted, and my eyes stung.

None of it had been real.

"She's pretty. Too bad," the woman said. She darted forward, like a shadow coming at me.

I ran, but only made it a step before a hand grabbed my wrist. Cold metal clasped around it, and I whipped around. My body froze at the sight of the rune-lined cuff around my wrist. The same runes I'd grown too familiar with—the same ones that lined the shackles Klareth used.

Cool sweat beaded along my neck and forehead. My body hadn't forgotten the burning from the lightning attacking me.

I jerked away from her, breaking free from her grasp, and ran. But she was faster. She grabbed my other wrist before I'd made it a handful of steps. The woman forced me to face her, and the cold iron cuff wrapped around that wrist too. She tugged on a chain that was attached to the shackles around my wrists—a leash.

My eyes darted to where she stood, then to Caelus. "Was this why you were working with Marus? To learn which runes she used?"

He didn't say anything.

The chain tugged again, this time pulling me to follow, but I didn't budge, keeping my eyes on his emotionless face. She jerked on the chain, forcing me toward her, and I stopped fighting her.

The woman led me through the tunnel I'd come from. Caelus started after us, but a wall of hardened shadow blocked him off. He pounded against it, the sound reverberating through the tunnels. The earth started to rumble, and the stone walls shook.

"Curious," the woman said, but she didn't stop.

At the junction, Kenzo and Stumbleduck were nowhere to be seen. If they were smart, they would've found somewhere to hide. If they did, there was a chance to get out of here.

She led me down the hall I'd seen before and into a dungeon. She shoved me into a cell with iron bars, and I was left alone to wait for what pain may come from the runes lining the shackles.