“Look, I can open the rift myself. I just need to know the right runes.”
“All right,” she says. “But when they open the lake up again, I better get the first place in line.”
The castle is always quiet, but now it’s unnervingly so. The snare managed to open a rift onto the bottom of the trail leading up to the castle, but that’s as close as she could get. It’s not like they hand out the runes that lead directly into the Lord of Malice’s home to just anyone.
By the time I’ve climbed the trail and knocked on the front doors, I figure I should’ve seensomeone,but I’ve not spotted so much as a guard.
I have to shout and bang on the doors for a good few minutes before I finally get an answer.
“Leah?” Aster’s voice is muffled by the thick wood, but I sigh in relief as I hear various bolts being pulled back and locks turning.
“Yes, it’s me,” I say, pushing my way into the castle as she eases open the door. “What’s going on? Where is everyone? Is Syrus?—”
“He’s fine, darling,” Aster says, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Ajax’s runes pulled Syrus’s consciousness from Strata. It’s part of all that ‘demon lord’ magic the bastard cast on him,” she says, her voice heavy with disapproval. “It binds Syrus to the wards, compelling him to the spot whenever Malice’s borders face a major threat.”
“What threat?” I ask, alarmed.
“There’s been an attack on Malice’s southern border.” She grimaces. “It seems Lord Kaliban has grown tired of Syrus’s refusal to let the snares do their work and is making moves to invade Malice to force his hand.”
At least that explains why he won’t answer me when I call him—I’m not sure whether Ajax’s spell is keeping him from hearing my calls as long as Syrus is compelled to defend the border or if he’s too deep into a battle to safely respond to me, but either way, it could be worse.
“But Syrus is all right?” I ask. “Is that where Quill and the guards are?”
“Yes. Malice’s militia isn’t as big as Rancor’s, so they needed all the fighters they could get. Viz went too. But my dear, Syrus knows war. He’s done this plenty of times before, and it’s what Ajax designed him for, so please don’t fret.”
I sigh and pull her into a hug. “Thank you. I was losing my mind for a moment there.”
“Obviously,” she says, patting me on the back. “Syrus assumed you’d be safer in Strata until this all blew over, but I’m glad you’re here. Holing up behind castle walls isn’t as fun without company. Why don’t we have a drink to tide us over?”
For once, I agree with her suggestion, and I follow her through the corridors as she chatters away.
“I must confess, while I’d hoped you’d been getting fond of us here in Infernum, I didn’t expect you to be quite so worried about us…or one of us, in particular?” She throws a sly look over her shoulder as heat climbs to my cheeks.
“Syrus and I…” I try to think of the words to describe what’s between us. Not just a binding spell. Not just lust. Not just him seeing me more clearly than anyone ever has and still holding me to account, pushing me to stand up for myself and take what I want.
It’s all those things and more, and I didn’t realize how desperately I wanted to hold onto all of it—all of him—until he was pulled so unceremoniously from my mind.
“I guess you could say things have progressed between us,” I say.
She claps her hands together. “Excellent. Viz owes me ten gold pieces.”
“What? Why?” I ask suspiciously. “What did you bet on?”
“Well, obviously when you two would stop dancing around each other and finally fu?—”
A boom echoes through the castle, making us both freeze.
“What in darkness’s name was that?” Aster gasps.
“Sounded like it came from the main entrance,” I say, drawing my knife. I beckon to Aster, and we creep back along the corridor. I’m not against us getting the heck out of here, but it would probably be helpful if we found out first exactly who’s here and how many of them there are.
“They really didn’t leaveanyguards on the castle?” I murmur to her as I check around the first corner we reach.
Aster’s eyes are wide. “They sent every one of them down to the lake,” she whispers. “Quill said if there was trouble, it would be there.”
I peer around the second corner to see one of the front doors hanging off its hinges like it’s been struck with a battering ram. There’s a haze of dark mist in the air, suggesting that someone with powerful shadow magic just let themselves into the castle.
“Think carefully,” I whisper. “Is there anything of value in the building? Anything someone would take advantage of this opening to snatch?”
