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You are strong. You are strong, I silently chanted to myself as I followed them, trying to control the wild pounding of my heart.
The mine was quiet enough to hear water dripping down the black limestone walls. With the minemaster gone for the night, a group of guards were huddled in a circle nearby. The intermittent laughs and jeers that rattled the stillness told me they were occupying themselves with a game of rune dice, like most nights. When Meat dragged Hen past them, several of them hollered after him, like this was all part of some game. I clenched my jaw, anger surging through me.
Careful not to let my thin shoes crunch the loose gravel, I ducked into the shadows and trailed Meat deeper into the mine.I’m coming, Hen, I mouthed, gripping the nail like it had the power to undo this injustice. But I knew it was a useless weapon. If the guards didn’t lock up the pickaxes and shovels at night, I’d have found a real weapon that would cause damage, despite the consequences.
In the distance, I saw Meat pull Hen behind a rock face into a long passageway that I knew was back there. I started to follow, but the movement of the two patrolling guards nearby cast dark shadows that moved like black ghosts along the wall. There was no way to get to the passageway without them seeing me.
I glanced around frantically. How was I going to get to Hen?
As if answering my question, a thunderous roar shook the still air and echoed wildly off the craggy cavern walls.The Kovak bear.Shouts rang out from nearby in the mine, and the two guards blocking me ran toward the commotion, whips ready.
I bolted toward the passageway, picking up speed when I turned the corner and saw Meat grabbing at Hen’s tunic. Neither of them noticed me until I’d slammed my shoulder into Meat with such force that we both toppled to the hard ground. The nail in my hand went flying.
“Run!” I shouted to Hen, rolling away from Meat. His forehead was smeared with blood, and he looked momentarily stunned, but I doubted it would take him long to recover.
“Not without you!” she cried, racing over to pull me to my feet.
“We have to get to the alcove,” I whispered, breathing hard. It was too dangerous to go back to the sleeping area. Skies, it was too dangerous to goanywherenow.
Hen nodded, though her eyes were wide with panic. I knew what she was thinking:But then what?
“Go,” I said, pushing her out of the passageway.
She turned to run. I started to follow, but then my eyes landed on the nail I’d dropped.Leave it, Raven, I told myself. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t much of a weapon. It had always been more of a lifeline, offering me a tiny sliver of strength when I had none left. And it was the only thing I owned that the Rathalans hadn’t taken away.
I scrambled over to grab it.
A second later, a hand tightened around my ankle and jerked forward. I gasped, falling flat on my back.
Meat dragged me back to my feet and shoved me against the wall, hard. His foul breath was hot in my face.
“Get off of me!” I cried, writhing against the force of him. He pinned my chest with his arm, but I still had the nail in my hand. I jabbed it toward his eye, but he turned his head and the nail scratched down the side of his face instead. He grabbed my wrist and repeatedly slammed my hand against the wall until I dropped the makeshift weapon. Then he pressed his knife to my throat.
A feral grin overtook his face when he tasted the blood trickling down onto his lips. “You’ll pay for that.”
4
Jeddak
The heavy door creaked open, and torchlight flooded the pitch-black archives. Along the curved interior walls were rows of shelves. In the middle of the room was a large wooden table dotted with old candlesticks coated in bumpy wax and spiderwebs. The air was thick with the smell of musty parchment paper, as if the written word had rapidly been decaying ever since the Rathalans moved in.
Seeing so many books made me think of Lila. Late one night in Askeland, she and I had drunk just enough spiced mead at the tavern to soften the edges of our decorum. When I confessed to her about my dislike of poetry, she declared,That must change, this instant.Trying to stifle our fits of laughter, we’d sneaked into the library where we’d first met, using one of my throwing knives to pick the lock. She piled up a waist-high stack of poetry books, and we’d read them to each other until the candles burned to nubs and dawn broke through the thick leaded windows. I hadn’t learned to love poetry that night, but that was when I first knew I loved her.
Skies, I missed her.
The torch flame swayed when I shut the door behind me. The place appeared to be abandoned and forgotten like Ithought it would be. Several scrolls had been left unrolled on the table, others discarded on the floor. Books were sticking out haphazardly on the shelves. I wondered if anyone had stepped foot in here since the former city was razed. At the same time, I had no way of knowing if or when the towerguards came down here to check on the locked door. I didn’t plan to linger here long enough to find out.
“We have to hurry,” I said, stepping forward to start our search.
“Wait,” Kah said, sniffing the air. Thankfully, the spell hadn’t taken away any of his senses, so he could still smell, see, and hear everything.
“What is it?”
“Someone’s been down here,” he whispered. “Recently.”
“How recently?” I asked, scanning the room cautiously. Nothing stirred except dust particles floating in the air. Then I caught signs of small disturbances. Broken cobwebs. Footprints in the thin layer of dirt on the floor. The faint smell of candle wax.
“I can’t tell,” Kah said.
