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Shit. That didn’t free him from suspicion, then. I was hoping I could discover something that proved his innocence. I didn’t want the king to be evil.
“I have another question,” I went on, my mind spinning in an entirely new direction. “You supported his decision to align High Cliff with Donnelly, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Well, if your nanny warded the borders for protection, and the only thing High Cliff can really offer Donnelly is protection, why did you want us here?”
A mischievous grin lit her lips. “Are you thinking I somehow sensed it would bring you to me?”
I shrugged, hoping for that very thing.
She sighed. “Sorry to disappoint you, Prince, but no. I had no idea it would bring you here. For me, it was only about protection. A magical ward can keep out other magic, but it doesn’t affect mortal men who might want to breech our borders and invade.”
“Ahh,” I murmured, nodding my acceptance. “So I really am only useful for my fighting abilities.”
With a light chuckle, she bumped her shoulder purposefully into mine. “Among other things.” I was about to ask which other things when she added, “Here we are.”
When I glanced up, we’d reached the base of a stone stairwell I hadn’t even noticed coming into view.
“I’m going to douse the torch now,” Vienne told me.
“Okay.” A moment later, the tunnel was plunged into darkness. And a second after that, her fingers tightened on my hand before she led me up the steps.
“If there’s another heavy door to push aside at the top of these steps, you’ll at least let me open it this time, right?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said before I heard her grunt, and light flooded into the stairwell as she heaved with all her might to open another weighty portal.
I shook my head and sighed. “I figured.”
She grinned at me and led me from the ground, where we exited into the middle of the forest at the side of a tree, exactly where I’d lost her earlier.
“Incredible,” I murmured, glancing around.
Vienne chuckled and shook her head. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
From there, we walked and walked. I thought she was going to lead me into Mandalay, but she veered off the path and headed straight for one of the sand mountains that concealed the village.
Pausing at the foot of the larger mountain, she glanced at me nervously.
“What?” I asked, glancing around and looking for whatever it was she seemed worried about. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she murmured before drawing in a deep breath. “It’s just… I’ve never brought anyone here before. No one from the castle knows about it. Not the king, any of his siblings, his cousin, not even my sister.”
I nodded, realizing she was about to share something momentous with me. “I understand,” I murmured. “I won’t tell anyone.”
With a nod, she began kicking around the sand until she uncovered a rope. Leaning down, she grabbed and tugged. But whatever was attached to the other end seemed heavy.
“Here. Let me.”
“No, I…” She gritted her teeth and heaved. “I got it.”
“Seriously, Vienne, could you at least let me do something?”
“Not…necessary,” she strained out before slinging the rope over her shoulder and turning to put her back to it as to provide better leverage when she started trudging away, drawing the sand away from it until a crevice appeared in the desert floor, yawning open wider with each labored step she took.
“Holy shit,” I murmured, backing away to gape as the hole grew large enough to reveal a rectangular entrance with a set of footsteps inside, going down.
“Oh dear,” Vienne said after she dropped the rope. “If the mere entrance has you in this much of a thrall, the inside may actually shock you to death.”
