Quill of Thieves

Chapter 33

For the second time that night, Sebastian hit the ground at neck-breaking speed. In fact, he was sure something cracked in his chest upon his unceremonious drop through the tunnel. His tenuous connection to the elements fled him in his terror, so his body struck harder this time around. To make matters worse, Astrid wasn't even there under him to break his fall. Instead, he felt her crumple across his legs, crushing his knees and shins into the rocky floor.

His breaths wheezed, his head spinning, but he twisted towards her frantically. "Do you still have that knife?"

She groaned, shoving him away from her. "Ever so chivalrous. I am perfectly fine, by the way, thank you for asking."

Sebastian stood, his battered joints creaking ominously. He stared up at what remained of the ceiling, a gaping, jagged hole that still dropped pieces of mud and stone atop them. "What do you think—humph!"

Astrid clamped a dirty hand over his mouth, effectively cutting off the rest of his question. "Do you want the entire realm of Belsynen to hear us?" Her accusation whispered harshly against his ear. "For once in your life, quit talking!"

His words died in his throat, her fingers over his mouth suffocating them. Right. There were scary creatures out there hell-bent on murdering them. Or capturing him. Neither one of which he was eager to see to fruition. He nodded his head, and she released him, silently pressing something cool and sharp into his palm. Its edge cut into his thumb. She must have snagged another blade at some point. He could scarcely imagine when she had found the time.

There was no sign of light from above. Not even the merest blip. Which could only be a positive thing. Perhaps the floor had also swallowed those intimidating warriors. They had looked much heavier than both him and Astrid combined; the fracturing ground couldn't have supported them all. Those fae creatures had been tall enough to make Captain Matthias look like a mere shrimp caught by the most inept fisherman of Eilibir.

He flipped the blade around in his grasp, nearly slicing a wound across his wrist, and then turned back to where he thought Astrid would be.

He didn't say anything, though. He didn't really have to. Not when he caught sight of Astrid and her tilted, stupefied expression. It flickered uncertainly across her face under the soft glow illuminating from the tunnel opposite them.

"Walls shouldn't glow," he murmured, now staring at it as well.

It wasn't the entire wall, to be fair; only a slim part of it shimmered, a quiet glow in the shape of a curved arch that reached about three meters tall. It wavered, the stone beyond it nearly translucent, a glimmering mirror that reflected nothing but that ethereal shine.

Behind him, Astrid hesitated as the glowing archway expanded, pulsed, exhaling as if on a human breath.

"Curse the Skies."

It pushed outwards, wavering like a reflection in mottled glass. Splashes of color sparked against the shadowed tunnel walls. The earth beneath their feet groaned. Astrid made a soft sound that sounded halfway between a gasp and one of Abel's choice swear words. Sebastian met her gaze, and though her cheeks had paled, she patted the noisy ground with her boot in the same manner a mother would pat a crying newborn. Sebastian wasn't sure that was going to soothe it.

Still, it somehow called to him.

Come. Find me.

It sounded like the bodiless voice of Queen Davina's Monverta.

Sebastian stepped closer, the beauty of the dancing archway calling him nearer. Not a mirror, he realized now, but a passageway. A door, perhaps. It sang to him, a tune that reminded him of Astrid and the time she had hummed in his room.