Except for her stomach and right forearm, it was flush to her skin, almost translucent compared to the thick, jagged lines that marred Kole and Arcane. The more transduction to Rainer’s power, the more watered down it became. Not that it mattered. She was still hurt, still covered in them. I felt her pain the moment Rainer hit Kole with it.
I hurt her.
She’d been through so much already, too much for one person. A living kind of inferno took over my rage once I saw the full extent of what happened to her. I wanted to murder the King after he dragged her down to the lower levels of the dungeons. The fact that it even existed without any of us knowing was beyond me. I knew powerful people in Lux were disappearing, I just hadn’t realized to what point until I saw her memories.
I couldn’t stop wondering if my mom knew about it. Her blood magic was used to barricade the door. I knew it was hers immediately. It had her powers written all over it. The only other way to keep people out was to create protective shields, and I knew he wouldn’t. Anything that involved him sacrificing a piece of his magic was out of the question. But my mother’s abilities could be manipulated to keep anyone out who didn’t have the right blood she infused into it. It was why no one knewabout it until now. How he was able to keep something like this hidden for so long.
I shook my head, trying to push my white hair out of my eyes so I could see better. I hadn’t had the time to cut it in Brighta and the top was getting too long to be functional. I ran my fingers through the longer pieces, slicking it back with sweat to keep it out of my face. I had to get Rumor out of my mind while I was in Lux. I had to focus or this wouldn’t work. I made a lot of promises I intended to keep and something of my own I needed to do.
Kallon’s portal transported the four of us to the outskirts of the castle. Dovelyn already had her invisibility over us by the time we landed. Our biggest concern would be if Athler approached us, because even with our concealment, he’d be able to detect our pheromones. Dovelyn couldn’t maintain a shield and keep us invisible at the same time. It would use too much of her reserves.
“We need to make sure we all stay within Dovelyn’s radius,” I said. “But in order to do everything we need to do, we need to act fast and split up.”
“And what iseverythingyou plan on doing?” Dovelyn whispered-yelled.
“Peter, you’re going to rescue Vallie and Sie’s family.Dove will go with you since she’ll need to add them all under her invisibility. You’ll use the hidden entrance to get in. Dovelyn knows the way, but be quick. Kallon and I are going to the lab and then the dungeons. Meet us there after you get everyone. We’re going to portal out at the furthest point down.”
“Be careful, Tezya, even though Arcane’s not here, the King still has access to his serums,” Dovelyn said. I could tell she wanted to question me, but we didn’t have time. She knew me too well, knew that when I had my mind set to something I wasn’t going to stop until it was done.
“We will,” I said. “If Sie’s family isn’t in the room withVallie, check the dungeons on your way down. We’re not leaving until we haveallof them. We’re bringing everyone back with us.”
I assumed Dovelyn nodded and left because she didn’t respond. I knew she’d be able to keep Kallon and me invisible as we made our way down the dungeons, but there was going to be a time when her powers stopped. I just prayed we were far enough along for this plan to work by the time that happened.
“What are you planning,Tez? If Peter and Dovelyn are getting Vallie and Sie’s family, what arewedoing?” Kallon asked me.
I couldn’t see her, but we were holding hands so we wouldn’t get separated as we snuck our way toward my brother’s lab. To our luck, it was located next to the dungeons since his father often had him work on the prisoners there and didn’t want them escorted through the halls of the castle. “Why are we risking going into the lab and then the dungeons?”
“We’re going to recruit a lot more Advenians to our side.”
“With criminals?”
I could tell Kal was arching a thin brow under her bangs without actually seeing her.
“Just trust me, and be quiet. Someone is coming.”
We didn’t talk after that. It took us a while to make our way to Arcane’s lab and even longer to find what I needed once we got there. I finally pocketed the vial of blood I came for and was about to leave and head to the dungeons when I saw vials on vials all labeledVapor Alluse.
I felt Kallon come up next to me, knowing exactly why I hesitated, she whispered, “If you do this, Tezya, the King will be notified. We will have seconds to leave Lux.”
Anger rose in me. It felt wrong letting this go and notdestroying the vapor with my flames. I wanted to blow it up and completely destroy Ar’s lab. I knew anything I left intact would be used against us, but Kallon was right.
If I wanted to free the Advenians locked below, I’d need more time. They were suffering and probably had been for centuries. I owed them this.
We also needed time in case I had to find Sie’s family. I promised him I’d get them. I sent a prayer to Pylemo that they were with Vallie and Dove and Peter already had them. But if they weren’t, I’d need to search the dungeons, maybe even the entire castle until I found them. I swallowed hard, trying not to think about how Greyland was also my brother.
If we succeeded, the King wouldn’t be able to make any more Alluse. He’d only have what was in this lab and eventually it’d run out. But looking at all the vials, it could last a long fucking time. So many Advenians from our camp could die.
I grunted in frustration, making up my mind. I had to leave it. I had to make sure I had time to pull off what I wanted. If I could do that, I’d be saving thousands of lives, while also dwindling the King’s powers. He’d have to scramble to find more Advenians’ blood to consume. And I knew the ones locked below were some of the strongest of our kind. They deserved to live. They deserved freedom.
I patted the vial in my pocket and prayed I was making the right choice. Kallon grabbed my hand again as we silently made our way through the dungeons. We walked further and further down, careful to avoid any of the puddles scattered along the path. As soon as we couldn’t go any further and reached the dead end, I turned to Kallon.
“Make a portal here.”
She released my hand and immediately got to work. This would drain all of her reserves, and I didn’t know if she’d be able to manage it.
I took one deep breath, knowing that once I crossed thispoint, Dove’s invisibility would vanish. She wasn’t aware of this part of the castle, so she wouldn’t be able to cast it over me once I went in. I pulled out the vial from my pocket and added a drop of the blood labeled King Arcane Xandrin the Seventh onto the wall. I didn’t wait for it to fully open before I made my way down the pristine alabaster steps.
“Prince Tezya,” a healer stammered, alarm crossing his face. I knew I couldn’t compel them, there was no way the King didn’t feed them Alluse, and it wasn’t worth the risk of them telling him I had compulsion, so I tried another tactic.
