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“You have my most humble apologies, Mistress Sonja. ”
Oh God. My legs wobbled. I leaned against the tunnel wall for support. Sonja?
“Why did you deliver the girl you did?” she demanded. Was this actually the Sonja speaking? Could that even be possible? Sonja, ruler of vampires. Had that meant Sonja herself had been Vampire? Did Sonja rule the vampires still?
Alcántara cleared his throat. He was nervous. I tuned in closely, replaying in my head what I’d already heard. He’d delivered a girl…. She hadn’t been the right one. I shuddered, considering just how many girls were at his disposal. How many had he “delivered” in his lifetime, and to what ends? “The girl’s friend was as dangerous to—”
“Spare me your excuses,” she snapped. “I told you I need the golden one. How is it possible you lost control of such a simple scenario? Two girls enter, you said. Only one will leave. ”
A bitter chill shot through my veins, settling like ice in the pit of my stomach. Two girls enter; only one will leave. …That could refer to none other than my fight with Emma. I had blond hair—was I the golden one?
“I believed the other girl would suffice,” he said in a disturbingly meek tone. Had he been trying to help me? And what did that do to my plan? My goal hadn’t just been revenge—it’d been to discover the truth. Would I kill Alcántara with so many questions left unansw
ered? I lowered my stake arm, knowing I wouldn’t.
“That mealy farm child?” Farm child—she had to mean Emma. By bringing Emma to the castle instead of me, had Alcántara actually been protecting me? I remembered his creepy, cold kiss. Was his intent to keep me from harm or merely keep me for himself? “Tell me what I need with such a creature. ”
So what happened to my friend? What happened to girls they didn’t need?
“You have my humblest apologies, mistress, if I have inconvenienced you with my most foolish error. ” Alcántara’s deference frightened me. Because if he was protecting me from her, it didn’t bode well for my situation.
“As well you have inconvenienced me, Hugo. Such a vulgar child she is. I cannot use her. ”
I clapped a hand to my mouth to stop my gasp. Cannot use her. Not couldn’t use her. Present tense.
Could Emma be alive? Still alive, here in the castle?
I didn’t have time to contemplate. Noises echoed down the tunnel toward me. A group of people were headed my way. Quickly, I pulled the hood of my robe low over my face. The fabric scratched at me and tickled my nose. I held my breath.
More sounds, closer now. Voices, young ones. Trainees. I concentrated, but the acoustics were just too warped, bouncing through such a vast warren of tunnels, that I couldn’t make sense of how many were coming or from where.
I curved my shoulders, hoping my height would seem merely like bad posture. I clung to the shadows, making like I was busy attending something in my hands. Maybe they’d look right past me.
I needn’t have worried so much. When they did pass, it wasn’t in my tunnel from behind, but rather they crossed in front of me, moving down an intersecting passage ahead. They didn’t see me in the shadows. In fact, they were weaving as though drunk.
The boy in the lead carried a torch, illuminating the procession enough for me to make out details. They all wore the same brown cloak I did—thank you, washerwoman, for the tip—but in addition, each wore an elaborate mask. There was one with tiger stripes. One was so pale, it almost glowed, bearing a long, beaklike nose. Another was plumed with fluffy, emerald-green feathers. One that sparkled with gems and plump, rosy cheeks. Each was different and no less gaudy than the last.
A few of the boys carried censers hanging from chains. The bronze globes swayed with each step, sending smoke wafting. A wall of incense hit me, and my reaction was instant—it was a sudden rush in my brain, a loopy, muzzy sensation that passed as the boys did.
What the hell was in that smoke?
I hunched a little more and, covering my nose with my hood, I followed. A boy at the end was straggling. He paused, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, but his friends didn’t notice. When the tunnel rounded out of sight, I came up behind him. Struck him hard on the temple with the butt of my stake. He dropped.
I pulled him to the edge of the tunnel and leaned him against the wall, drawing his hood low over his face. He’d look like he’d simply passed out. I slid off his mask, relieved when I didn’t recognize him. Somehow, pretending to be a stranger felt like less of a risk. Silly, I knew, but I couldn’t in a million years put on Rob’s mask and pretend to be him; nor did I want my stolen mask to put me anywhere near his circle of friends.
I didn’t recognize the guy, but who would I recognize? Was Yasuo here? All the vampires? Where was Carden on this night? It was a traditional celebration, after all.
There was no time for thoughts like that, and so I donned the mask and pressed on. I was now a gray mourning dove, with high cheekbones and tiny pinprick holes for eyes. A dove in mourning—it was a fitting theme and fueled my courage as I followed the echoes of the procession ahead of me.
The tunnel grew lighter. I was getting close to the castle now.
When I passed a cluster of boys sprawled on the ground, leaning against the wall of the tunnel, looking completely blotto, it hit home how the original owner of my mask wouldn’t be missed. Nor did I think anyone would recognize his mask on me. I doubted anyone was thinking or seeing clearly with all this smoke.
I slowed my steps as I caught up to the Trainees. I wasn’t afraid now. My presence didn’t seem to matter—they were reeling, drunk or high or whatever it was that smoke was doing to them.
And what was that smoke doing to me? I breathed as shallowly as I could, but still I sensed the havoc it was wreaking on my senses. How it was making me brave. I tried to keep my wits about me, reminding myself this was bravado, not true bravery.
I could’ve argued with myself all I wanted, but still, the smoke was doing its work. It deposited me into a dream where I watched myself moving through the scene around me as though through a kaleidoscope. Sensations assaulted me. Flickering lights, smells, and sounds, getting louder now. Shouting, drumming. I walked toward it.
