An Empire of Stones

  “Ah!” he choked. “That.”

  I smiled. How was Tejus being so good-humored with all this? He was taciturn and grumpy normally. Did extreme pain cheer him up or something? Weirdo.

  Now that his wounds were disinfected I could start removing the rest of the blood. I set about cleaning him up, making sure my touches were as light as possible. Soon the liquid in the bowl was bright red, but his chest already looked better, the blue tinge of the skin returning to Tejus’s normal hue.

  You can stop now, I thought.

  I really didn’t want to. Unrestricted access to Tejus was rare. I was having trouble containing my imagination as I wiped the towels over his six-pack and biceps. His entire body looked like it had been carved out of marble—it was hard and unyielding…but I could all too easily recall how soft and tender his touch could be.

  Get a grip.

  I looked away guiltily.

  His eyes were closed, and his face now relaxed in sleep. I hoped that meant some of the pain had eased, but I didn’t want to wake him to ask. I discarded the towel, pleased to note that the wound was no longer seeping blood. His healing powers were impressive—that type of cut should have bled for hours.

  Leaning forward on my knees, I brushed a few stray strands of hair away from his forehead. Unable to help myself, I gently placed my lips over his. The kiss lasted for less than a moment, but the after-effects lingered long after that—a warm glow suffusing my body.

  “Do you always kiss your patients?” His mocking voice broke the silence of the room.

  I glared at Tejus, a hot flush rising in my cheeks from being caught red-handed.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” I muttered.

  “You didn’t. I wasn’t asleep.”

  He smirked at me, knowingly.

  “Whatever,” I huffed. “You should probably syphon off me now anyway.”

  The smile didn’t leave his face, but he closed his eyes again. A moment later I could feel the pleasant tingling sensation of our mind-meld beginning. I leaned against the sofa, my body relaxing as I let Tejus take what he needed from me. We didn’t share images or memories this time, just focused on the energy that was passing from my mind to his. It felt hazy and comforting, like I was drifting down a river or something, lost to the world.

  Eventually the connection started to fade. I thought something was wrong, but when I looked up at Tejus, I realized he was truly asleep this time—his chest rising and falling with deep breaths.

  I watched over him for a while, a tight, knotted sensation building in my chest. I cared for Tejus too much. Without me realizing it, he had slowly become just as important to me as my brother and Ruby and Julian. I worried about him, worried that I asked too much of him—it wasn’t right that he was having to continually hunt down my friends, to be preoccupied with my safety while he was trying to compete in the trials. In the past I had felt that it was a fair deal—he and his brothers had brought us here, they should do everything in their power to keep us safe. As Tejus was the only one capable of doing that, the task was left to him alone. But that feeling was gone. He had more than repaid the debt.

  And I loved him.

  I knew he felt the same way. I knew Tejus well enough now to know that the way he treated me was completely different from how he treated all others, that he wanted me as much as I wanted him. We had a connection beyond mind-melds and the fact that we had been flung together by chance.

  I just needed to persuade him to get over whatever was holding him back from allowing him to let go, to admit that we would be good for one another—that this could be so much more.

  Ash

  I had been an idiot.

  Why hadn’t I listened to Ruby when she’d told me how dangerous Queen Trina was? I wanted to think that it was because I’d been determined to make a difference in Nevertide, to help people like me who never got a fair chance. The truth was, it was probably a lot more to do with my pride and arrogance—wanting to rise up against the Hellswans and prove that I was more than just a kitchen boy. The honestas hallucinations had been right—I would stop at nothing, not even bothering to listen to the girl I was in love with when she told me I was making a mistake.

  So I had put her in harm’s way—and she was paying for my mistake.

  Ruby had shown me a dungeon, a dark and damp place, which I could only assume was beneath the palace somewhere. The problem was, this place was like a labyrinth: I was constantly getting lost, even though I mostly stuck to the same area of the palace—back and forth to my room, the council chamber and Queen Trina’s private office.

  The queen was still weak from the syphoning and the subsequent battle. She had been injured badly, and as soon as we had returned to the palace, she had locked herself in her room with two other ministers to revive her energy. I had never seen anything like last night’s trial. The ministers had gone too far this time. Surely someone would tell them to stop—that the contest was becoming too dangerous. Something had gone wrong. The Impartial Ministers hadn’t been prepared, just like at the disk trial. Something else had been controlling the show…I just didn’t know what.

  Right now though, trying to understand what the hell was going on in Nevertide wasn’t my priority—Ruby was.

  I started walking in the opposite direction from Queen Trina’s chambers. I didn’t know where I was heading, but I wanted to get as far into the depths of the castle as I could, as quickly as I could. The moment that Queen Trina regained her full strength, the barriers around Ruby’s cell would return. There had to be a trap door or entrance somewhere to the dungeons—and I would most likely find it near storerooms or servant areas.

  The palace, as usual, was deserted.

  I didn’t know if it was a hindrance or a help—on the one hand it meant I could explore undetected, but it also meant that I couldn’t ask anyone directions to the lower levels of the building, even under the guise of an urgent request from the queen.

  Passing empty, lavish courtyards and long, polished tile corridors, I started to feel more and more lost. I quickened my pace, and started using True Sight to look in all the rooms that led off from the main hallway. They were all empty save for opulent furniture, and occasionally brightly colored birds held in cages who all called out as soon as I saw them, sensing something was there.

  Eventually, the opulence and polish started to fade. The grand hallway shrank, and then broke off to smaller passageways—all white-washed stone, but without any decoration. There were three to choose from, and I chose the middle tunnel, figuring that it was more likely to head downwards, rather than circle around the castle.

  I followed it, relieved when it started to descend in a steep trajectory. It was dimly lit, but there was more than enough light for me to find my way. Before long, I came to a door, its frame sunk back into the stone wall.

  Expecting the door to be locked, I was surprised when it creaked open, cobwebs dropping from the ceiling as it did so. Clearly this door hadn’t been opened in a while…It wouldn’t be what I was looking for. Still, I decided to explore the room anyway and see if it led elsewhere.

  It was mostly empty, apart from a few overturned barrels that someone had used as tables, old candles glued to their surfaces with overflowing wax. As I walked further in, my eyes were drawn to the floor. Marked on the stone surface was a huge rune—the exact same one Ruby and I had seen in the village. Thankfully, this version wasn’t created in blood, but a black charcoal or paint.

  I don’t understand.

  Why was the same rune here? I’d originally thought that it had something to do with an uprising against the Hellswans, but now I wasn’t so sure. If Queen Trina’s palace was the hotbed for an anti-Tejus revolution, I thought I would have noticed…or been invited along.

  I looked around, trying to see if there were any further clues as to the meaning of the rune. At the far end of the room, behind the door, was a small iron square about two foot in length and height, with an iron ring at its center. Out
of curiosity more than anything else, I pulled at it—and the iron square came away from the wall. It was unexpectedly heavy, and I dropped it, causing a clatter that reverberated around the room.

  Crap.

  A hole had been revealed in the wall, looking out onto pitch black.

  “Hello!” A voice came from within…a female voice.

  “Ruby?”

  “Ash!” she cried back. I leaned against the wall for a second, the energy knocked out of me as relief seeped into my bones.

  “Ash?” she called again. “Is that you?”

  “It’s me—I’m coming,” I replied hastily.

  This obviously wasn’t the main entrance, but it was better than nothing. I could just about squeeze through the hole—the only problem was not knowing if there was going to be a fifty-foot drop beneath me or just solid ground, and it was too dark at the point of this entrance to use True Sight. I shuffled forward on my stomach, feeling my way with my hands. Once my torso was fully through the hole, I grappled mid-air, trying to feel for a landing.

  My hands touched cold stone, and I pulled my body forward.

  “I’m in,” I called to Ruby.

  As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could just make out a narrow path in front of me, and the outline of doors on the left-hand side—all chained shut.

  “I’m so glad you’re here!” she whispered. I could sense the same relief in her that I’d experienced a few moments ago. It wouldn’t be long now.

  “I don’t think I’m alone though…when I was shouting for you I think I heard another voice…” Ruby trailed off. I listened, alert and tense – hoping that it wasn’t one of Queen Trina’s guards.

  “Help…please.” I jumped as the voice called softly out of the darkness, coming from the cell closest to me.

  “Ruby…Ash…please, I’m here,” it continued, the voice so frail I could only just hear it.

  “Julian!” Ruby responded. “Julian—is that you?”

  “It’s me.”

  I looked into the nearest cell. This one was different from the others—there were no bars on the door, just a thick black block with a small hole in it. I looked through, but could only see a hump of shadow in the far corner.

  “Julian?” I spoke though the hole. “Are you all right?”

  The hump moved, and shakily dragged itself to its feet. Painfully slowly, the shape moved toward the door. Now I could get a better look at his face, and what I saw chilled me to the bone. He was gaunt to the point of emaciation, and his eyes bulged with untold horrors.

  “Hi, Ash,” he whispered. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too.” I gulped. Here just in time—it didn’t look like Julian would have been able to hold on for much longer. I felt sick. Sick at what Queen Trina had been doing to him while the entire time I’d been above, eating like a king and living in the lap of luxury.

  “Can you get me out?” he asked quietly, and I didn’t hear a shred of hope in his voice.

  “I will,” I replied. “I need to check on Ruby, and then I’ll be right back, okay?”

  “Okay,” he agreed.

  I turned away from him, hating myself for feeling relieved that I could do so—the despair and dejection in his eyes was tough to take. I wondered if Julian would ever make a full recovery from this.

  I walked down to the rest of the cells, checking each one to see if Ruby was inside. I found her at the far end, near a door that looked like it was the main entrance to the dungeon.

  “Hey,” I exhaled on seeing her. Her hands were wrapped around the bars, and I closed mine over them, noticing how cold they were.

  “Thanks for showing up.” She smiled up at me.

  “You trying to make a habit of getting locked up, shortie?” I asked, trying to pretend that I was fine—that I didn’t utterly despise myself for letting this happen.

  She smiled bleakly, then replied in a quiet voice, “Is Julian okay? He didn’t sound so good.”

  “He’ll be fine when he gets out of here,” I lied.

  She nodded, her eyes downcast.

  “He would have been down here for so long.”

  I didn’t want her to dwell on it, so I smiled reassuringly and stood back from the door.

  “I need to find something to get you out of here.” I eyed the narrow passage, hoping I would find something suitably sharp to cut through the chains. Using True Sight, I looked in the direction of Julian’s cell. Behind the furthest wall there was an old armory—full to the brim with axes and swords that didn’t look like they’d been used in the last hundred years.

  “I’ll be back,” I promised her.

  “Hurry,” she whispered. “I’m worried Queen Trina’s going to recover.”

  I hastened back toward Julian’s cell, hoping I could find a door that would lead through to the armory. There was nothing but solid stone wall. I kicked it in frustration, sending dust and debris clattering down from the ceiling. Realizing that the wall was about as old as the equipment in the armory, I started to kick the different stones in the wall. If just one would give, then I could reach through and remove a weapon.

  I tried a few, but they wouldn’t budge, but then with the fifth kick, one of the larger stones moved. I pushed it with my hands, gently easing it out of the crumbling cement. Finally, it gave way and, with a satisfying thump, landed backward in the armory. I heard the clatter of swords and other weapons that had been lined up against the wall—and hoped that we were far enough away from anyone for it not to have been heard.

  “Ash, are you okay?” Ruby hissed.

  “I’m fine,” I replied, then fell silent, waiting to hear if anyone was heading our way. When nothing happened I reached in and felt around with my hand until it lighted on a particularly fierce-looking axe.

  Perfect.

  I withdrew it from the armory.

  It was dull and old, but it was still sharp.

  “I’m going to try Julian first,” I called to Ruby.

  “Okay!”

  I peered through the hole in Julian’s cell door.

  “Stand back, Julian,” I instructed him, and he shuffled back toward the end of the cell. Putting all my strength behind it, I slammed the axe down on the lock. The impact shook the handle of the axe, and my arms trembled along with it. The lock clattered loudly, and part of it dropped to the floor. The door swung open.

  I opened it, waiting for Julian to come out. He glanced between the open door and me, his eyes wary and watchful. I stood back, trying to give him some space—maybe he just needed to do it in his own time.

  “I’m going to get Ruby out,” I told him, walking away from the cell door.

  I repeated the action at Ruby’s cell door, but as soon as it swung open, she shot out, throwing herself into my arms.

  I closed my eyes, inhaling the smell of her hair. I felt like I’d almost lost her—the night of the trial, when Tejus had told me that Ruby had been with Commander Varga, I’d thought the worst.

  “You scared me,” I murmured into her hair.

  “You should have listened to me,” she gently reprimanded me.

  “I know, I know—and believe me, there’s nothing I’ve ever regretted more. I’m so sorry, Ruby. Forgive me? I was arrogant and stupid.”

  She punched me. “Yeah, you were… But you saved my ass again, so you’re forgiven.”

  I held her tightly for a few moments, and then she untangled herself.

  “I need to see Julian.” She looked past my arm to where he stood—silently, at the opposite end of the dungeon. She approached him slowly, as if he was a wild animal. By the look of him, the assumption wasn’t that far off.

  “Julian?” she asked softly.

  “Ruby,” he replied. “I didn’t think you would ever find me.”

  “It’s okay now, we’re here—we’re going to get back home. It’s going to be okay.” She spoke to him in a soothing, soft voice and I could see his body starting to tremble. I couldn’t imagine what the poor boy had b
een through—thinking he was all alone here, probably imagining that his friends had already gone home…and left him? I didn’t know so much about their relationships with one another, but they had always struck me as a tight-knit group—though all alone in a dark, dank cellar, I could imagine that it wouldn’t take long for people to doubt that they were ever going to be rescued.

  “We need to get out of here,” I announced, starting to worry that I’d been gone too long already. If Queen Trina found me missing when she recovered, she would know something was up. I could only hope that her wounds were severe enough to keep her down for a while.

  I looked around with True Sight, working out the best way to get out. I decided on the main entrance that I hadn’t used yet. It appeared to lead out onto another long hallway, and then gardens beyond that.

  “This way,” I commanded, leading them toward the door.

  “I don’t think Julian can go very fast,” Ruby warned.

  “I’m fine,” he argued. “Let’s just get out of here. Please.”

  I opened the door and we walked swiftly along the hallway. Julian was lagging, but Ruby helped him along while I kept my eyes and ears out for ministers or guards coming this way. I prayed that the usually deserted palace would stay that way.

  Once we were in the gardens, I looked around for the stables. We were at the opposite end of the palace to where I’d been staying, and so to get to the road out of the kingdom would take longer here. On foot we also had a larger chance of being stopped and questioned by guards. If we didn’t have bull-horses, we wouldn’t make it out in time.

  Looking around once more, I finally found them.

  “We need to get to the stables.” I motioned in the direction we should head. “Stick to the trees and walls—try to avoid walking out in plain sight, okay?”

  Ruby and Julian nodded.

  As swiftly as we could, we navigated the small path that led away from the palace. Thankfully it was surrounded by yellow-fruit trees, and their leaves provided us some camouflage. I didn’t even know for certain that anyone was watching, but I knew better than to leave it to chance. I had a suspicion that nothing went unnoticed by Queen Trina in her kingdom.