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“No, it’s all right. I know you expended a lot of energy during the battle. You just rest.” My back was killing me, but what was more important was my mate being taken care of.
“I promise, I won’t overextend myself. Just let me take a peek.”
I knew she wasn’t going to let go unless I gave in, so I turned my back to her and tried to relax. It was hard to do, considering the little bit of adrenaline left being the only thing keeping me going, but if it would put her at ease, it was worth it.
As it were, Aodin came down the ladder before Ayla had much time at all, which was both a relief and disappointment. I’d been healed by my mate before, so I was quite familiar with the soothing shimmer of her magic, and I wouldn’t mind that comfort. But it was just as good that she was conserving her energy. If we ended up in another hairy situation, I wanted her to be able to fully defend herself.
“This way,” Aodin said, adjusting his fine robes as he reached the ground. I smiled at how he’d just let us into what was obviously an important, clandestine travel point for his people, and he seemed more concerned with looking presentable than anything else. Yet considering he was a diplomat, where appearance was everything, it was logical.
If it were another day or another situation, we’d have bantered about it. I could tell, however, that the fatigue and weight of everything that’d happened was setting in. We were all going to crash soon, provided we could get somewhere safe enough.
The travel through the tunnel was long, but much more uneventful than I’d expected. I figured the ground would open up or tentacles would erupt from the walls, but no, it was just a quiet but speedy walk down the impressive length.
There were a few turn-off points I noticed as we went along. Craning my neck, I looked in a couple and saw they were supply rooms, with a ladder in the center leading up to trap doors identical to the one we’d descended from.
Interesting. So, the fae had an entire network beneath the city and they somehow kept it locked away from shifter senses? It had to be enchanted out the wazoo. The spray bottle had helped cover our tracks, but I didn’t think there was a single concoction they could cook up that would negate shifter hearing.
Had we been underestimating the fae for decades? We really were lucky that the Isles hadn’t fallen to Vekas or decided to join them willingly. But at the same time, if I were ever to become king, would it be remotely feasible to let them keep access to the tunnels?
I should just worry about surviving and defeating my father before thinking about things like that. Where once I’d felt it was both my destiny and my duty to become the ruler of Camdaria, I was growing less and less interested in the position. My heart and my mind were in other places. Places that just so happened to be in the hands and presence of a certain beautiful, courageous healer who’d taken over my heart.
“Care to listen for me?” Aodin asked once we reached the end of the tunnel and walked into yet another supply room with yet another trap door. “Make sure the coast is clear? The tunnels are soundproof but not the entrances. It’s bad enough having to go up blind. We didn’t want to have to do it deaf, too.”
Ayla, Oren, and I all nodded in unison, which shouldn’t have been as funny to my exhausted mind as it was, and I closed my eyes to listen as thoroughly as I could. First, I scanned for voices, then footsteps, then heartbeats. As far as I could tell, the coast was clear, but I spread out my hearing a little farther, really wanting to be sure. I was in no shape for a sudden ambush, so it’d behoove me to make absolutely certain that wouldn’t happen.
“As far as I can tell, it’s safe,” I said after a long, long pause.
“Same here,” Ayla agreed, and I felt a trickle of relief through our bond.
“Thirded.” That was Oren. If three of us didn’t hear a peep, I was about as confident as one could be without precognition that it was safe above.
“All right, I’ll go up first. If you hear anything amiss, run back to the halfway point and turn into the left exit. It should dump you out near one of the open markets. There won’t be much of a crowd there considering the hour, but there still might be enough time for you to get away.”
Ayla reached out to place her hand on the diplomat’s shoulder. “We’re not going to leave you.”
“You’re now all fugitives that are likely going to be framed for staging a coup, and I’m just a cowardly envoy who fled the scene. It would be much better for me to be captured than you.”
Once again, he had a point. It turned out the flirtatious fae had a much stronger practical side than I’d ever given him credit for. That was on me, but if I did eventually become king, he’d be a great ally to have on my side.
“Right…” Ayla answered in a way that wasn’t convincing at all. But three of us shifters had given the “clear” signal, so it wasn’t likely anyone was lying in wait above.
Sure enough, about a minute after Aodin went up, his head poked down. “It’s safe. Come on up.”
We did so, and I was surprised when we emerged into what definitely looked like a barn. But if it was a place for livestock, why didn’t I smell anything? Taking a few cautious sniffs, I confirmed that no, there wasn’t a single animal scent or even any feed.
“This isn’t really a barn, is it?” I asked.
“Usually it is, but we had an issue with the agents here being harassed for being fae, so we called them back to the Isles and have been working on getting more rural friendly plants in their place.”
“Agents?” I felt like I was learning more things by the minute. “Just how infiltrated is the capital?”
The cryptid shrugged in response, but I could tell it was an obvious deflection. “The royal court and the king especially have been acting less and less in the interest of the people, so we prepared. Fae live even longer than shifters, so we thought it best to be…prudent.”
What did it say when our own allies feared for our capability to lead them into peace? There was a reason I wanted to depose my father, and it wasn’t because I was hungry for fame or the throne.
“But enough about that. We’re nearly at our safe house. But first, could I have your hand?” I gave the fae an odd look, not used to such a level of familiarity. Was he hitting on me the same way he did with Darla and Ayla? Although I was flattered, I wasn’t even remotely interested.
But something in my face must have been amusing, because Aodin chuckled. “Physical contact helps with glamour spells. I’m not all that proficient, so I figure I should use every advantage we have.”
