Page 67 of The Bones of the Cursed

The one in front of me nods, but I hear a whispered curse at my back.

Since the locks are iron, any magic I have won’t work. The locks are shallower than the door, though. I race back into the hallway and grab the canine tooth, then manage to free the two soldiers.

“How the hell do we get out of here?” one of them asks.

“I’m not exactly sure,” I say as I lead them back to the antechamber I originally found myself in and explain how a portal dropped me here. “The door to the back probably leads to the sewers, so you could find an escape route that way. Do any of you know where we actually are?”

They both shake their head. “No, we were knocked out for most of the journey. Pretty sure they brought us through a portal, too.”

“I’m not sure where anything leads, but the sewer would be the best bet.”

The men turn towards the door and I turn toward the middle passage.

A hand stops me. “Where are you going? We have to get out of here.”

I look at the man, smiling, before sliding from his grip. “I’m not leaving without my brother. Do me a favor?”

“Anything,” he breathes.

“Find Malakai Blackburn.”

His eyes widen. “The crown prince?”

“Yes, find him or Kailu. They can help.”

“Why would the crown prince and the highest-ranking general help us?”

I balk at his words. “Did you say Kailu is the highest-ranking general?”

“Uh, yeah. His friend Siveral is next in line.”

Stupid Fae bastards leaving important information out left and right.

I shake off my annoyance, since it really isn’t that important. “Malakai, Siveral, and Kailu are all at the palace with others who are helping locate all the missing people. Find Malakai and let him know you saw me. That I’m all right. Tell him the portal is in the Vale inside the wishing well.”

He tilts his head, looking at me with a funny expression. “I don’t think the crown prince will come here to rescue you. No offense, I’m sure he is occupied with other things…”

I grab his shoulders and stare at him right in the eyes. “He will come for me. Just give him my message.”

“You can’t expect—”

I cut him off with a growl. “He is my mate. He will come for me. I don’t need a male to save me, I just need him to know that I am alive.”

The soldier’s eyes are so wide, I fear they may pop out of his head. “Your mate,” he whispers. I’m sure no one was expecting the rebel prince to end up with a mate.

“I will pass on your message,” he says at last. “Please be careful. He may just kill me himself for coming back without you.”

I quietly walk down the dark hallway, my fingers grazing the damp stones as I navigate through the blackness. I follow the curve of the wall and come to a stop at the cool air blowing through the tunnel. I feel around the damp stone wall and can just make out the metal banister of the stairs leading downward. I take the steps slowly, doing my best not to trip and plunge to my death.

I arrive in another hall, this one dimly lit by a single lantern, but there are still no signs of life—just another set of stairs. I hurry down those steps and find myself in another antechamber. This one is also decorated with multiple bones and two iron doors on the far right wall.

I hurry to the first door and kneel before it to repeat the process I used on the lock upstairs. It clicks open and I cautiously step inside. The sight before me turns my stomach and I slam my hands over my mouth to hold back a scream.

The man in the lone chair is completely drained of blood, his body pale. His blood pools on the floor, and his lifeless gray eyes have gone cloudy with death. His fingers have been completely severed and lay strewn on the floor around his feet. Knives stick out of his thighs and burn marks cross his bare chest. Vomit burns the back of my throat. As I fight to swallow it down, the man’s left leg catches my attention.

The leg is broken at the kneecap, sitting at a funny angle.

Matix.

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