Stepping over the bodies, she sent a silent prayer for the man who hadfallen before she’d gotten there. She hoped he wasn’t in pain anymore, wherever he was. Soon enough, they’d all be free from the pain.
She would be free.
The halls grew narrower as she continued on and a charge floated through the air that told her a mage was near. A very powerful one.
Somewhere close or not, she couldn’t really tell in the tightness of the corridor. So she pressed on.
She walked until she was so deep into the tunnel system, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever find the end or a way out. Winding and turning as they carried her forward.
Maybe there was no way out.
No end.
Maybe it was all a cruel trick set up by Casimir to have them aimlessly wandering until they were killed or went completely insane in the process.
She only assumed the tunnels connected to the ones in the palace… But—what if she was wrong?
She just had to keep going regardless.
Walking for what felt like hours, she had no way of knowing as her feet carried her forward. Where in the gods’ names was she?
Finally, she came to what she thought was just another dead end, but when she looked close enough, the wall shimmered and warped as though made of mist.
Illusion Magick.
Maybe it was a hidden exit?
It was the first false wall she’d come across and there had to be a reason for it.
Was it a way out?
Had she finally gone deep enough to find it?
Could she trust it?
Taking a deep breath, she gathered herself, and walked through the wall.
She had no way of knowing the awful scene that was waiting for her on the other side. She could’ve guessed for a hundred lifetimes and it never would’vebeen—this.
As she stepped through the archway, the opening closed behind it, sealing her inside. She stood inside another chamber but this one had ceilings that rose three stories into the air—impossible if they were still underground. The palace should be right on top of her. Shouldn’t it?
How far did she go?
There were no other tunnels lining the walls or any way out. Instead, along the wall were dozens of torture devices, some even still decorated with the blood of the last being they were used on. She stood, hand over her mouth as her eyes fell over the room and settled on what was in the center of it.
Slumped over in a chair, bleeding from too many places to count… was Akadian.
“No,” she gasped as she dropped her sword and ran to his side. She lifted his chin and his eyelids fluttered.Thank the gods.“Akadian,” she pleaded, tears choking at the back of her throat. “Akadian, wake up. It’s me.”
His face scrunched at the sound of her voice as though it caused him physical pain to hear it. She undid the ice shackles that bound his hands—so terrified—she failed to notice they were already unlocked as she let the blood-coated ice shatter to the ground.
Her hands and eyes roamed his body, desperate to see if any of the wounds looked life-threatening.Gods,there was so much blood.
She searched for anything along the walls that could possibly help him but only found murderous devices that would only cause more pain and damage.
“Akadian,” she huffed as she pulled his arm over her head and tried to lift him from the chair. She barely managed to lift him a few inches before his body slammed back into the chair. “Please,wake up.”
His head rolled to the side and he looked up at her with uncertainty.
