Quill of Thieves

Chapter 32

Though Astrid had trained with the Iced Guards since her eighth birthday when her mother had turned her tutelage over to General Lyons once the unruly, meant-to-be-secret princess had proven herself far too rambunctious for the propriety of a royal court, she had never been in actual battle.

Sure, Astrid had trained for it. Had executed countless training exercises and hypothetical missions against her own comrades, but against an actual enemy? An enemy who would celebrate her mortal wounds and death instead of her Icicles who would only ridicule her for days with crude songs if they had ever bested her? She wasn't sure how to think of it.

With the Elven Elder, Astrid hadn't had much time to think. Her training had done its job; her instincts having taken over as she had slain the woman without much thought. Now, heading closer towards the relentless pounding of the drums, there was plenty of time to think about what she may find on the other side of those gates. The potential blood. The bodies. Destruction.

For the first time, Astrid wondered if Rainier's decades of security and relative peace would actually be the kingdom's downfall.

Astrid forced the fear back, ripping off her gloves to extend her bare fingers.

Her arms shook as she called on Earth to move. The seamless stone wall before her shifted sideways to reveal a jagged hole large enough for her and her motley companions to pass through. She scowled as her cuff rebelled against the usage of the elements, but she shoved Sebastian inside the hidden tunnel regardless.

"Blasted stalactites," he muttered, his head thumping against a particularly low-hanging salt deposit.

A nervous laugh choked Astrid's next breath, but she was already reaching for the unlit torch she stashed in each of these tunnels. Ignoring the screeching in her head, she thrust her hand outside once more, reaching for the threads of Fire emanating from the single lantern hanging outside the nearest cottage. Hot elemental threads roared to her, a bit too exuberantly under the influence of her building anxiety, and the torch burst into flames.

"Watch it!" Abel hissed, brushing smoldering embers from her cloak.

Astrid's cuff tightened above her elbow when she pulled the stone shut behind them. A bout of dizziness rushed to her brain. But Matthias was suddenly there, placing a steady palm on her lower back under the guise of reaching around her towards the flickering torch in her opposite hand. He took the bright torch from her trembling grasp.

"Breathe," he demanded into the space between them. "It does not control you."

She nodded in turn, taking a step away. His hand returned his side, but only for a moment. Not missing a beat, Matthias produced another torch from the stash on the ground, lit it with the one already alight, and tossed it to Melvin.

"Where are we?" Abel asked.

Their shadows danced grotesquely against the dripping, stone walls. Astrid shook her arms out and pressed onwards, her boots clicking against the uneven ground. The noise of their hurried steps took the place of the now muffled drumbeats.

"These tunnels run underneath the fortress," she explained. "I'm actually surprised the whole mountain hasn't collapsed into them by now."

"Worm's tunnel?" Abel recalled.

"A legend," Melvin said from the rear. "The tunnels of Halorium are like a maze; there have been many accounts of intruders dying down here, unable to find their way back out again."

"And the worm?"

"It eats the bodies," Astrid said.

She couldn't help but smirk to herself when Abel released a frightened gasp. "And how far are these weapons?"