We’d done something the ghouls and every other invader of Tempest had failed to do… we’d destroyed the aristocrats.
Ianto came to stand beside me while the celebration continued. It couldn’t go on too much longer, as we had to put the rest of our plan in motion. Time was wasting, but I didn’t have the heart to intervene yet.
“How are you holding up?” Ianto asked.
“I’m fine. How are you?”
“A little stunned that we actually pulled it off without losing anyone.”
“We did, but the worst is yet to come.”
He rested a massive hand on my shoulder. “We’ll succeed in that too.”
When I looked up at him, whatever he saw on my face caused sadness to fill his eyes as he squeezed my shoulder.
“Are you ready for this next step?” I asked.
“I won’t lie—flying with those gargoyles isn’t my idea of a good time, but I’m ready to end this.”
“Do you think it will ever end?”
His hand tightened on my shoulder. “I do. One way or another, it will come to an end.”
But who will come out the winner? And how many will we lose in the process?
I couldn’t think of that. Everyone moving onto this next step had agreed to do so.
They all knew the consequences, and no one was forcing them into it. Still, if I managed to survive this, I’d bear the weight of their losses for the rest of my life.
“We should go,” I whispered.
“We should,” he agreed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ryker
We slipped into a servants’ tunnel that was discreetly tucked behind a portrait in a private solar on the first floor. I’d been in the room before and never knew the tunnel existed, but Samael didn’t hesitate to cross the room and pull the picture aside.
He must have spent a lot of lonely hours exploring this palace as a child; he might know it better than the servants. He certainly knew it better than the duke.
Once in the passage, we wound our way between the thick, stone walls. The light from my fingertips illuminated the way, but I kept it dim.
The passages twisted and turned, but unlike other servants’ tunnels, this one didn’t have doors branching off to other rooms. It was too narrow for anyone to move through while encumbered with food or cleaning supplies.
“What is this?” I asked.
“A hidden tunnel,” Samael replied. “An escape route if necessary.”
“How many of these exist?”
“I have no idea, but I know of ten.”
“It must have taken a while to find them all.”
“I grew up in this palace. I watched a lot of stuff from the shadows without anyone knowing I was there. I also spent a lot of time exploring these halls and rooms. No one paid attention to me; they were all too busy serving Leo and Ivan.”
The tunnel ended in a wall. My teeth ground together, and my hackles rose as I glowered at Samael’s back. Had he led us to this dead end to trap us here?
