Teeth gritted, I lift a leg—
The boat wobbles uncontrollably.
“Shit!” I squeak as it tips past the point of no return, dunking me into the salty depths, my hair a heavy swirl around my flailing form. Remembering the sharks that chased our dinghy when we disembarked the ship, I shove off the rocks and clamber to my feet, finding myself in waist deep water.
The vessel self-corrects, like it’s mocking me.
Keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding water, I toss the oars in the hull, grope around me until my fingers tangle with my cloak, then scoop it up and slop it onto the floorboards. I wrap the rope around my hand and pull the boat to shore where I nudge it between two rocks, then loop a tether around the tallest one.
Fingers crossed it holds.
I twist my hair into a dripping knot and secure it above my nape, scoping the steep shoreline, seeking the simplest path onto the grassy mound. Gripping hold of rocks to steady myself, I scale the ridge, out of breath by the time my feet disappear amongst thick, fluffy grass.
Moonlight paints my upturned face as I dig my toes into the soil, inhaling air sweetened by the musk of wildflowers that brush against my calves, painting them in whispers …
An ache flares within my chest.
I’ve spent so many years wondering about that tapestry in Castle Noir. Now that I’m here—standing within the woven depths beneath a litter of peeping stars—I feel as though I’m bobbing atop an ocean far different from the one I just traversed.
An ocean ofsecrets.
Hearing the desperate echo of Hattie’s rusty voice, I shove forward, paving a path across the mound, scouring the land. Searching for … something.
Anything.
My feet sink into a patch of freshly tilled soil, and I frown, crouching to sift some through my fingers. “Odd,” I mutter, and continue on, stubbing my toe against something hard nestled amid the grass.
Biting down on a squawk, I drop to my knees, brushing aside tufts of grass and lofty flower fronds, revealing a man-made chute capped with a metal grate.
My stomach drops.
I whip my head around, scanning the moonlit vista. The dark, distant smudge of the palace.
It can’t be …
Tingling with nervous tension, I scramble back to the island’s craggy shore and clamber down. I scout the circumference, hunting between glistening rocks, breath catching when I discover a shadowed tunnel like the one Cainon led me down when he took me to the burrow.
TheUnseelieburrow.
My heart thumps like a wild animal jailed beneath my ribs, and I stumble sideways, gripping hold of a rocky outcrop to steady myself. Feeling the hairs on my arms lift, I glance over my shoulder and look upon the palace. Back down the dusky tunnel.
My instincts fist my spine, attempting to drag me across the bay.Screamingat me to clamber into that boat and row for my fucking life.
But my curiosity has her nose in the air, urging me forward so she can scamper into that shadowy hole and uncover its secrets.
Well, I’ve come this far …
Dragging my hand along the lumpy wall, I follow the staircase down into the darkness, the air thickening with each uncertain step. Ripening with an all too familiar, potent scent.
Blood.
But it’s muddied by other musks that make me want to breathe through my sodden shirt; sour, rotten smells that remind me of the shantytown beyond the wall. Makes the voice in the back of my mind scream louder.
Louder.
Run!
Skin pebbling, I spill into a curved hallway lit by flaming torches, and my heart sinks at the sight of cells lining both walls.
