Page 65 of Hellbound

The wind whipped around them, tossing Ksenia’s hair back and forth. She secured it into a bun at the nape of her neck.

“Are we in position?”

Pavel patted his pocket while Vuk secured a length of the rope around his sturdy midsection and threaded the rest through his gloved hands.

The sphere had to be cleaned nightly, and there was little time to waste; if the jewel went missing too early, the conservatory staff would notify the Envorsen, alerting the other competitors that something was amiss.

Ksenia’s eyes sharpened from her perch on the outer stone wall by the rose window, trained on a man at the side of the room who was controlling a hoist, lowering the sphere from the ceiling. Suspended on a gilded chain, it slowly found its way back to the ground from hundreds of feet up, stopping in front of a group of conservators, dusters and polishing cloths ready in hand. Each jeweled point was cleared of dust, the sphere’s mechanical functions examined and oiled, and finally, a finishing cloth glossed over Ravenka’s crystal orb.

The cleaning was complete before long, and Ravenka’s reliquary was hoisted back to its original position, before the rose window. The man responsible for the hoist promptly locked the mechanism in place and closed the metal housing around it with a key.

“Tell me again why we couldn’t just lower the reliquary ourselves and do it as they did?” Vuk grumbled.

Ksenia swatted his shoulder, gesturing for him to look from her vantage point.

Beneath them, Envorsen were changing shifts on the outer walls of Hearth, as well as some stalking the inner chambers around the conservatory team.

“This is the only unprotected location. They thought of around and beneath, and they believe the conservatory team is the only one who can access the reliquary when it’s down on the floor.”

Ksenia hoisted her makeshift metal pulley system, which latched over the skylight’s window edge, and tugged at it. It held without a creak.

“Which is why we’re going in from the top, and Pavel is running the distraction scheme near the vault.”

Vuk’s mouth quirked briefly before he nodded in agreement. She did a final check of the buckles before carefully climbing over the edge.

Her knuckles turned white around the metal windowsill, a cold sweat breaking out over her forehead with the knowledge of what she was about to do.

Vuk’s eyes found hers. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing. I will not let you fall.” His hand crossed over his heart, and for a moment, they were compatriots instead of competitors.

Ksenia squeezed her eyes shut, sweat dripping into them as she released her death grip on the windowsill to swing on the rope. Her only tether to safety was Vuk, who had coiled the rope through his hands, around his body, and once more around a gargoyle on the balcony.

When she hadn’t plummeted to her death, Ksenia cracked one eye open and smiled at Vuk.

She was still a dozen or so feet above the reliquary. Its concentric circles were still, but in the way. Ksenia had to maneuver each one into an upright, perpendicular position so she could access the prize.

Vuk carefully lowered her body, foot by foot, until she reached the outer rings.

Beneath her, the Envorsen were chatting amongst themselves during the guard change. Their voices echoed, bouncing off the marble walls and stained glass. Ksenia prayed that her pulse wasn’t responding in kind.

The freshly oiled mechanisms of the outer ring turned easily as Ksenia nudged it upright. She took care to prevent her clothing from snagging in the emerald spike-encrusted ring.

She stretched her hand as far as she could toward the second ring, but it was still too far. She signaled to Vuk, who dropped her slightly lower until her hand made contact. She eased it into place, and all that was left was the amethyst ring.

Down below, a languid and confident click of boots made all the Envorsen snap to attention. Ksenia froze.

An unmistakable head of sable hair came into view, a dot beneath her, but his presence was as threatening as when his blade had swung down upon her in the statuary.

Suspended on the rope, Ksenia could feel herself slowly turning, and her eyes darted to Vuk, pleading with him to be still.

His eyes, ringed with white, met hers, his hands still as stone but unable to stop her from rotating.

Ksenia prayed that Bohdan’s sharp eyes wouldn’t meet hers.

A couple of minutes that felt like hours passed before Bohdan strode out of the hall. Everyone released a collective sigh of relief, including Ksenia, who all but clapped a hand over her mouth to refrain from making further noise.

She waited until the guard relaxed enough to resume chatting.

Her heart beat in her ears, sweat soaking the lining of her leather glove as she shakily reached for the amethyst ring. When it was in place, Ksenia reached for the gold-beveled frame that housed the crystalline orb.