“That’s a decision I’m probably going to regret.”
“Open the door, Samael,” I told him.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Ryker
With a sigh, Samael rested his hand against a stone and pushed. When the door creaked open a few inches, the clatter of pots and pans filled the small tunnel, along with the aroma of baking bread.
The servants were already hard at work. When a loud bang sounded, I frowned as someone squeaked and a pot hit the ground with an echoing clatter.
What the fuck was that?
I nudged Samael out of the way as lightning swirled around my wrists. Behind me, the others shifted, and I glanced back to discover Ellery on my heels, her eyes narrowed in challenge as they met mine.
Lightning enveloped her wrists as she jerked her chin toward the door. Someone in the kitchen had probably seen the door open and was waiting for guards to emerge. If we stood here much longer, they’d get suspicious.
Resting my hand on the door, I pushed it the rest of the way open to reveal at least a dozen servants hustling around the kitchen, carrying cauldrons of water, cooking utensils, and food. The fires blazed again, and the room was far warmer than when we were last here.
The servants all scurried about, but their gazes kept shifting warily back to the wall of windows. More than a few times, someone would stop and stare at the windows like a monster was about to break through and tear them apart.
A woman stood at a counter, whisking something in a copper bowl while she stared at the glass. Apprehension pinched her face and compressed her lips.
The thick, silvery fog pressed against the windows. Tendrils caressed the glass’s smooth surface like a lover’s fingertips stroking a hip while the wind created coalescing swirls in the mist.
Despite the bustle in the kitchen, the world beyond remained eerily hushed until a piercing scream echoed from outside. The servants all froze and turned to the windows, but there was nothing to see until something bounced off the glass with a loud thud.
Resting her hand on my arm, Ellery rose onto her toes, and I bent my ear to her lips. “The gargoyles are throwing soldiers off the roof,” she whispered.
So that was the source of the strange noises and why the servants were fixated on the windows. While I’d believed they must have noticed the door opening, they either hadn’t seen it or had already forgotten about it as another loud thump rebounded off the glass.
It happened so fast, I only glimpsed the feet of a soldier before the fog swallowed them. Their scream faded away.
“What is that?” a woman whispered. “What’s going on out there?”
“Keep working, Sally,” the woman with the copper bowl commanded. “It’s not our concern. The duke has commanded breakfast for his troops; if we don’t have it ready soon, he’ll punish us.”
As she said this, the double doors across the way swung open and more servants rushed into the kitchen. Some of them were still fixing their hair or buttoning their pants. Two had their shoes in hand.
The duke must have commanded more servants to report here to help the kitchen staff. He wanted his troops well fed for battle, but more than that, he intended for everything to appear like he didn’t have a care in the world.
When another body bounced off the window, the glass rattled. This time, I glimpsed the woman’s face as her eyes bulged and her scream echoed off the glass.
One of the new arrivals froze in the middle of putting on their shoe. Their mouth dropped, and their foot hung in the air. When they lost their balance and were about to fall on their face, they finally put their foot down to keep themselves from toppling over.
Another body thudded off the glass, and the whole pane shuddered. Because of the falling soldiers, the kitchen staff remained unaware of us as they continued their work while staring out the windows.
Shouts rebounded off the stones in the hallway outside the double doors. Pushing the door further open, I emerged from the tunnel, but no one paid attention to me.
It wasn’t until another pan clattered to the ground and a few heads turned toward the sound that some servants finally registered our presence. They gasped as they staggered away from us.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Ryker
When one turned to run, my words stopped him. “We’re not here to hurt you, but if you try to leave this room, I will kill you.”
The man’s hand was stretching for the handle when it froze. He stood, uncertain about what to do as more shouts echoed from beyond the doors and footsteps thudded down the hall.
