Page 123 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“Those creatures are merely trying to scare her,” Kieran countered. “You know what the Elders said. They exist to stop anyone who tries to enter or escape. We’re all living proof of that.”

Tessa tipped her wine glass toward Kieran. “That’s a good point.”

“That’s what the Elders said.” Everett’s hand curled around the edge of the chest. “They could be feeding us more lies.”

“Also a good point,” Tessa interjected.

“Very helpful, Tessa,” I said with a smirk.

She reached for the small table next to her and plucked a grape off a fruit plate. “It’s what I’m best at.”

“The Elders are not the ones who infected Odessa, or who tried to put spears through our chests, or who tried to drown us,” Kieran argued. “I’m not saying we have to be friends with them. I’m saying they’re our best way out of here. You do still want to get out of here, yes?”

Everett gave him a bland look, then motioned to Starke with a scowl. “You’ve been awfully quiet. I thought you might be on my side in this.”

Starke looked over at me, then quickly averted his gaze. “I want what’s best for Vera. I always have. But maybe the others are right, too. We don’t know for sure the Elders are untrustworthy.”

Everett’s jaw ticked. He stood and started pacing across the floor. “I just think there’s something we’re missing.”

A knock came at my door, and we all tensed. I hadn’t heard anyone approach. I cleared my throat and called, “Who is it?”

“Sloane, my lady. I have new linens and towels for you.”

My shoulders loosened. “Come in.” The maid entered, quirking an eyebrow at the sight of all of us, then smoothed her features and scurried around the room, depositing new towels and changing the sheets on my bed.

Waiting until she slipped into the bathing chambers, Everett lowered his voice and continued. “Vera and I snuck into this back room of the archives hall, one that’s only meant for the High Elders, and I saw these drawings inside a book.” He shook his head, his brow pinching. “They looked like experiments. On humans.”

Kieran crossed his arms. “What do you mean?”

“There were images of humans distorted in pain, with burn marks all over them.”

Kieran frowned. “How old were they? Did they look recent?”

“Well, no,” Everett said reluctantly, features hardening in frustration. “They looked several hundred years old. Why does that matter?”

“Because, Everett, there’s more cause for concern if they were recent findings. That could mean whatever you saw is ongoing. But if they’re ancient records, it could simply be part of Pyraeth’s history. Did you see anything specifically linking Arcadia, Maeve, and Julius to it?”

Irritation flared in Everett’s eyes. “It was their private room, Kieran.”

“I understand, but it’s an archive hall. Those could have been there for centuries, left by an older generation of High Elders. None of this sounds like proof of anything.” Everett opened his mouth to argue, and Kieran surged ahead. “Disconcerting, yes. Such a dark history is a terrible thing to find. But it’s not enough to warrant us going rogue and making enemies with the only people who can get us out of here.”

Everett took a deep breath, his eyes finding mine as if searching for an answer. I kept my face impassive. The truth was, I saw both of their sides. I felt the weight of every decision straining my shoulders.

Everett scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t like this.”

“You say that every time,” Tessa said, flicking a grape at him. It bounced off the scowl on his forehead and rolled to the ground.

“The fact of the matter is that we don’t have a choice,” I said simply. “I have to think of Odessa. I have to think of all of you, who are trapped here because of me. And I have to think of these people who just want their freedom.” I shook my head. “What am I supposed to do besides keep going? We’re stuck here either way.”

There was a pause as the others looked down at the floor or into the fire, each of us releasing a breath. Tessa tossed another grape into the flames. “Well, that’s bleak enough for one night,” she said.

The door to my bathing chambers creaked open, and we all shifted when Sloane entered the room again. “Is there anything I can get you?” she asked me.

I shook my head. “No, thank you. Everyone was just leaving.”

She curtsied as the others stood and murmured their goodnights. Tessa caught the maid’s attention on the way out. “Actually, I was wondering if you could sneak some more of that wine into my room. You know, the good stuff.”

Their voices faded down the hall. I closed the door and put my head to the wood, then turned to find Everett still standing at the foot of my bed.