Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

NYRA

The massive cave was illuminated by small lanterns of firelight, some strung up on rafters overhead and others seemingly suspended in midair. Wisps of gray smoke swirled around them as if conjured by some forgotten magic. The soft light cast a gentle glow over the walls, reflecting off the glistening stalactites that hung from the ceiling like icicles.

“Keep up.” Mal moved ahead of me, her figure illuminated by the soft glow of the firelight.

I trailed behind her onto a narrow wooden bridge, its weathered planks creaking under my feet. The bridge connected to a jagged rock that jutted out of the cave wall, and I looked down at the dark river snaking below. I tiptoed my way across, clutching the wooden railing as if it were my lifeline, and tried to ignore the icy chill that seemed to seep through the crevices in the wood.

I had no interest in getting back in that water.

We followed along a meandering path, the only source of light coming from the infrequent firelight that intermittently illuminated our way. The darkness followed us like smoke, and the sound of water trickling echoed off the moist walls as we descended farther into the depths.

“Where are we exactly?” I looked around me, but I had barely ever left the castle. Everything I knew about our kingdom, I knew from studying maps. And the hidden city definitely wasn’t on any map I had ever seen.

Mal turned her head slowly toward me, a smirk curling the corner of her lips. “That information is far too classified for a rat like you.”

I jolted backward as if she had slapped me. “So, I’m good enough to fight for you all but not good enough to know where we are?”

“You’re not good enough to fight for us either.” As she spoke, her lips twisted into a sneer, and she shot me a withering glance as if I was the most repulsive thing she had ever seen. “You will have to prove yourself and your loyalty before you’ll ever be given that honor.”

I scoffed, but she had already turned away and was making her way down the path. She ducked beneath a jutting rock that dipped lower than the rest. I followed suit, bending my frame to fit beneath the low ceiling before emerging on the other side, and blinked in surprise at what I saw.

Before us stood a massive stone building that was crumbling along the edges. Ivy grew up over the sides of the building, bounding it in a green net and covering its darker stones with brown leaves. We walked down steps into an arched tunnel that led to the side of the building, which looked to be carved right out of the cave wall.

The ivy curled around columns that were embedded in the rock itself.

The vastness of it all was overwhelming, and I couldn’t help but wonder what secrets were lurking within the hidden city’s walls.

As we approached, a group of men and women gathered outside the entrance, eyeing me warily. Mal walked past them with an air of confidence, and I followed after her quickly.

I knew that none of these people could possibly recognize me unless they had once worked in the castle, but I still kept my head low as fear crawled along my spine.

“You’re going to be on the second floor,” Mal said as we stepped through the massive doorway and into the building.

I followed her up the shaky steps of the winding staircase, my hands trembling on the cold, metal railing. She turned down a corridor blanketed in shadows before stopping at a door of chipped wood that seemed to blend with the faded stone walls.

“This is your room.” She turned the dull gold handle and pushed the door open.

The room was cramped, with two single beds leaning heavily against the walls and a small desk tucked between them. Above it hung a window through which nothing but faint firelight could penetrate, providing the only source of illumination in this otherwise dark space.

One of the beds was made neatly while the other was rumpled and housed two pairs of black boots beneath.

“Get some rest,” Mal said, turning to leave. “Tomorrow, you will begin your training.”

I wanted to open my mouth and ask her a million different questions, but there was no chance she’d be willing to give me any of the answers I demanded. So I simply nodded, watching as she closed the door behind her, and I sat down carefully on the edge of the bed, my mind racing.

My muscles screamed as I stretched out onto the mattress, and even though the bed was a nice change from the hard stone ground I had become accustomed to sleeping on lately, part of me missed the slums I had called home.

Because I missed Micah.

As I closed my eyes, I couldn’t help but think of him. We both knew the unspoken rule—if we didn’t return, it meant we were caught or dead.

And I prayed he thought it was the latter.

Because there was nothing he could do to save me.

I tried to shut out thoughts of him and listened to the sounds around me. The drips of water, the faint echoes of whispers and footsteps that filtered through the tiny cracks in the door.

I desperately wanted to lie down and sleep, but I didn’t trust these people.

Part of me hated them. Hated everything they had ever done, hated that my father had pushed my mother for another heir because he feared them taking his power from him.

He had always known the rebellion was coming for him and his crown, and he couldn’t protect it with an heir that he would never allow to take his throne.

And my mother couldn’t give him more. She had given her life trying.

She had given her life and the life of her child, my sibling, when she had tried to bear another heir after the healers had warned her against it.

Deep down, I knew it was wrong to hate them. After all, they had suffered far more at the hands of my father than I ever could. But the anger and resentment still burned inside me.

The rusty hinges of the door complained loudly as it swung open. Startled, I jumped up from the bed and felt my head spin as I grabbed on to the edge of the desk for support. My heart raced with fear as I braced myself.

Wren stood in the doorway, a towel still draped over her shoulders and damp hair forming a loose braid down her back. Her eyes appeared tired, and she cautiously entered the room, carefully surveying my presence before closing the door.

“I guess we get to share more than a cell.” She moved across the room before pulling a dagger from her boot.

I tensed, but she simply laid the dagger on the desk before dropping her towel over the back of the chair.

“I guess so,” I answered with an unenthusiastic shrug, my shoulders lifting slightly before I took a careful step back, creating the slightest of gaps between us. “Mal just told me this was my room and left me here.”

“Of course she did.” She crossed her arms before turning to me.

She stared at me for a long moment, and I opened my mouth to speak before snapping it closed again.

“Why did you run?”

Shit.I guess I did owe her an explanation. “Because I was scared.”

“Were you telling the truth about living in the palace?” She nodded out the window as if we could see it from where we were.

“I was.”

“Then why were you in that cell?” She narrowed her eyes slightly, but I could feel the intensity of her stare. She had refused to leave me behind in that cell, and I had let her down.

“I’ve been on the streets for almost a year. Since the raid.” I crossed my arms and looked away from her as I tried not to think about it. “I got caught stealing, and the King’s Guard doesn’t take kindly to thieves.”

“You were there?”

“Yes.” I nodded, my gaze fixed on the floor between us. “It’s almost impossible to escape the palace if they don’t want you to, and the raid created such chaos that no one noticed me when I ran.”

Her gaze darted around the room. When she finally spoke, her voice was strained and raspy, like it had been dragged through a graveyard filled with ghosts. “My mother died in that raid.”

I didn’t know what to say, but I knew the very same demons that haunted her were lying in wait for me as well. My mother was all I could seem to think about when I closed my eyes, when I couldn’t distract myself enough to try not to think of her. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.” She nodded as if she was trying to brush off the sudden emotion. “She knew the risks. She died fighting for something she believed in.”

I bit down on my lip because I didn’t know what to say to that. Her mother died raiding my home. She died fighting against my father and the power he held over this kingdom.

The silence lay thick between us like a heavy fog. My mind raced with guilt, even though I knew deep down it wasn’t my fault.

“I lost my mother a few years ago.” I swallowed and looked away from her. I never spoke about my mother. Ever. “Even if she knew the risks, that doesn’t make it easier.”

“No.” She shook her head as she stared down at the floor. “It doesn’t.”

My arms were limp as I cradled them against my chest, curling in on myself as if I were trying to hold something between them.

“We need to get you some clean clothes.” She pushed away from the desk before grabbing the dagger that lay there and tucking it back into her boot. “Come on. Mal should have her ass kicked for leaving you like this.”

A smile graced my lips for the first time since the guards caught me in the alley.

I followed her out the door and back down the spiral staircase to the main area, where a few people were still milling about. I couldn’t help but feel their eyes on me as we passed.

I wondered how many of them were like Wren, whose parent died fighting against mine.

“Is everyone here in the warrior unit?” I asked quietly, and Wren slowed her steps until I was right beside her.

“Shit. Mal really didn’t tell you anything, did she?”

“No.” I trembled a bit as I thought about her. “I think she might be even more of an asshole than Dacre.”

The chuckle that escaped Wren’s lips caught me off guard.

“You know he saved you from that cell, right?” The smile on her lips was soft.

“Of course I do, and I am grateful for that. But…”

“But?” She motioned her hand for me to continue.

“I can be grateful and still think he’s an unbearable asshole, right?”

“Oh. For sure.” She laughed again as she turned to face me, walking backward through the hall as if she had spent a lifetime here. “Trust me, I should know. I’ve only spent a lifetime with him.”

My smile dropped instantly as I stared at her. “He’s your brother?”

“The one and only.”

“I’m so sorry.”

She grinned so hard, matching dimples appeared on her cheeks. “For calling him an asshole?”

“No.” I shook my head. “He is an asshole, but I shouldn’t have said it to you.”

Wren burst out laughing and moved to my side before sliding her arm around mine. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Nyra. At least I’ll have someone on my side who doesn’t worship the ground Dacre walks on.”

“Trust me, that will never happen.”

She tightened her hold on me as she turned us down a long hallway. “I’ll hold you to that.”