Page 42 of Keldori By Daybreak

Green fire in stone lanterns flickered, and as we passed through their halos of eerie light at the base of each staircase, I felt like we were sinking deeper into a lake.

“This way,” Orla hissed at us before whisking Tiernan around a corner.

A grand archway towered overhead, welcoming us into a vaulted foyer. The echoing of our footsteps across the polished black floor set my nerves on edge. Everything seemed louder in here, from our harried pace to the hum of Ciarán’s thoughts threatening to burst into my skull from his end of our connection.

The foyer branched out into a semi-circle of adjoining corridors, but Orla led us down one without hesitation. Wherever we were going, she was very familiar with the path to get there.

The corridor ceiling felt cramped after being in the airy foyer, and Orla held a tiny purple flame aloft to scan the doors that lined the walls as we passed through.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“The Scholars’ Quarters.” Orla squinted at a door but carried forward again.

“You think Iseult might be here?”

It wasn’t a bad guess. Iseult had carried a knowledgeable air in the short time I’d known her, and we were only here for her because she supposedly contained some secret Lyrian information that would help us get to Keldori. She’d probably feel right at home among the Second Sentinel’s scholars.

“No, but there’s someone here who might know where she is.” Orla turned a corner, still scanning every door.

The deeper into the mountain we wandered, the more apprehensive I became. The doors were all dark, so it was safe to assume their occupants were all asleep. However, if any one of the scholars living here decided to get up and take a walk, we’d be found.

“Here!” Orla stopped in front of a door that looked like all the others, but a hazy green light spilled out from beneath it. “Oh, good. He must be awake.”

She looked up and down the hall, locked eyes with me, grimaced, and knocked.

A moment’s silence filled the corridor, and Ciarán tensed next to me, but then the wooden door creaked inwards to reveal a disheveled young man.

He could’ve been Orla’s twin. Their eyes were the same green, and they were even the same height. His chin, however, was a bit broader and his hair, longer than Orla’s pixie cut, swooped upwards like Ferrin’s. While I’d only ever seen Orla in clothes fit for travel and the occasional scuffle, this man donned a floor length robe of emerald and black.

“Orla?” His eyes grew wide.

Orla fell into him. “Cade.”

Cade’s disbelieving arms wrapped around his sister, but he stared at Ciarán, Tiernan, and me over her shoulder as they embraced.

“What’s—why are you here?” He pried her off him and glanced down the corridor. “Come on. Inside. Before someone sees you.”

Cade’s living quarters reminded me of a college dorm, if college dorms were carved out of rock. The late hour made the absence of windows less noticeable, and a green flame flickered inside an obsidian bowl on a wooden desk, doing its best to throw light into the corners of the small space.

The door clicked shut behind us, and a burst of fresh Skal-light threw the room into sharp relief. Ciarán pushed me out of the way, putting himself between Cade and me, but Cade’s hands were full.

He held Tiernan against his chest with a dagger of green Skal sizzling in his hand and pointed at Tiernan’s throat.

“Cade—” Orla started towards her brother, but stopped when Cade brought the Skal-weapon closer to a feebly struggling Tiernan.

“You better talk, and you better talk fast,” Cade demanded in a hiss.

“He’s with Ferrin,” Ciarán growled. “This was a mistake.”

“I’m with no one, but my uncle told me Orla deserted her duty and joined the Frozen God. Now she’s in my quarters with a Grimguard.”

“Ferrin tried to kill me!” Orla insisted. “Please, let Tiernan go—”

“Grimguards killed our mother!” Cade’s voice raised, and orange light danced against emerald as Ciarán summoned a flickering blade. Cade pressed his own weapon closer to Tiernan’s neck in response, and Orla tugged at Ciarán’s arm, trying to diffuse the stand off.

“Ferrin killed our mother!” she explained. “He’s a liar, Cade!”

“Why would Ferrin kill his own—”