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Ugh. I better remember not to drink any Kool-Aid here.
The mages continued talking, but their voices grew too soft for me to hear as we made our way through the city and toward the back, where the enormous palace structure stood. That one building alone took up probably a quarter of the city.
Without warning, as we entered the grounds of the palace, the mages began to break off in different directions. They moved as if they had done this a hundred times. The four of us kept moving, not wanting to look awkward and weird or draw attention. We walked quickly through the crowds toward a large door where we could see many of the mages entering and exiting the palace.
“That must be the service door,” Merrick whispered.
We kept our pace, moving in unison straight for the service area. But as we approached, a guard stepped in front of us and put out his hand. “Symbols.”
I froze. What?
Keeping my head down, I glanced from side to side, wracking my brain for anything about symbols that I might’ve read in the books in that hidden room in the library.
Nothing.
“Show me your symbols,” the guard repeated, his becoming harder and more demanding.
Ah, fuck.
Chapter Nineteen
Panic rose up in my chest, my hands unconsciously curling into fists as I prepared to fight—my bodies instinctual reaction to danger.
“Well?” the guard demanded.
I peeked at him through my eyelashes, careful not to reveal much of my face. He looked annoyed and bored, but not suspicious. Maybe not having these “symbols,” whatever they were, hadn’t automatically labeled us as outsiders. Intruders.
Shoving down my nerves, I turned toward Trace, injecting the same annoyance I’d heard from the guard into my tone.
“Yes. Where are they?”
Trace jerked slightly, obviously surprised by my reaction.
Please, trust me, Trace. Just trust me.
I caught a flash of his bright blue eyes beneath his hood, and I saw the moment that understanding sparked.
“Oh, I, uh…” He spread his arms slightly, giving a helpless little shrug. Even his voice had shifted, becoming a nervous stammer that was so different from his usual smooth tone. “I forgot them.”
“You forgot,” I drawled. Then I heaved a sigh. “Of course you forgot. I should’ve known better than to ask you to remember anything, much less something like that.”
The guard huffed a breath that was almost a laugh, obviously somewhat entertained by watching someone he considered an underling being berated for an oversight.
Grabbing Trace’s arm, I pulled him aside, away from the service door and the guard that blocked it, still chastising him under my breath. The other two men followed close behind us, their postures tense beneath their robes.
The guard didn’t stop us or call us back, and the knots in my stomach slowly began to unwind as we moved away from him.
“Fucking hell, Snow.” I could hear the awe and gratitude in Trace’s voice. “That was some damn quick thinking.”
“You too,” I murmured, glancing up at him. “Thanks for playing along.”
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“That was smart, Ari. You probably saved our lives,” Merrick added. Lachlan grunted his agreement.
We stood in a sheltered little alcove for a few moments, glancing surreptitiously around to get our bearings, trying to figure out what to do next.
Merrick cocked his head slightly, staring up at the palace from beneath his hood. “We still need to get in there somehow. But that guard is probably going to be on duty until the end of the day, so we can’t go back to the service entrance. He might’ve even alerted the other guards to keep an eye out for us. It’s good that we got away when we did. But that doesn’t solve our problem.”
