Page 114 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

By the time the guards were dead, the others had returned. “We got them all,” Nyrik said. “We’ve got three hours to get in, find the amulet, and get out. By then, it’s likely whoever these guards report to will begin getting suspicious when they don’t hear anything.”

Demos glanced at a burly hybrid named Yan. “You need to conserve your power for after. Stay on watch, and don’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”

“Understood.”

Yan and Demos each took a trowth stone, so we’d be able to communicate.

And then it was time.

No part of me wanted to go into the mine. I wasn’t claustrophobic like Pris. But my body remembered what had happened the last time we were below the earth. Thol had died in front of me. Cavis took Prisca, and that was the last time we saw him alive. Lorian, Demos, and I had fought our way out of those caves, only for me to be hit in the head by one of Regner’s monsters,, the bleeding almost killing me before they got me to a healer.

“Sin.”

Demos was waiting. The others had already begun walking into the entrance. He held out his hand.

I took it. The feel of his warm hand engulfing mine seemed to anchor me, and I could focus once more.

The others had waited inside for us, and I pulled my knife with my free hand. My crossbow would be useless in such a confined space.

Demos waited until we were all close enough that he only needed to whisper. “According to Kaliera’s spy friend Pelysian—who I still struggle to believe is Daharak’s brother, by the way—we need to walk one hundred footspans. Once we get near the monsters, there will be a false wall hiding another tunnel. From there, we move down.”

We all nodded, and then we were moving as one.

It smelled like death. The fae creatures could likely scent us, because their furious screams echoed through the mine toward us, making me fight the urge to cringe. It was even colder than I’d expected, the chill leaching the energy from my muscles.

My eyes struggled to adjust to the sparse, flickering light from the orbs hanging sporadically along the walls. With the others in front of me and Demos by my side, I could at least focus on the uneven ground beneath my feet as we inched forward.

One of the hybrids knocked into the skeletal remains of a scaffold, cursed, and continued walking. The foul odor intensified, clinging to the back of my throat. Everyone seemed suddenly on edge as the light began to change, taking on a sinister, greenish hue.

The monsters were snarling—deep, vicious sounds that made my heart slam against my rib cage. The closer we got, the louder they became, until they were suddenlyhowling, as if they might rip themselves free from whatever kept them trapped. When we were in the right place, Demos gestured to the walls, and all of us began desperately searching for the entrance. I ran my hands along the rough surface, looking for anything that didn’t feel like it should be there.

Unsurprisingly, it was Demos who found it. Regner had used a natural fissure in the rock—widening it just enough that it was possible to traverse the narrow path.

The ground sloped down, gradually becoming steeper until I had to dig in with my toes, my thighs burning. No one spoke, and the fire in Gwynara’s hand was our only light. The air grew even cooler and damper as we descended, the echo of dripping water now louder than the snarls above us. Every step was a battle against the slippery terrain, and I fought to keep my balance, my fingers continually scraping against the cold, wet stone.

Our footsteps began to echo. We’d entered some kind of cavern.

With so many people walking ahead of me, it wasn’t until they shifted aside that I saw it. A vast, underground lake lay before us, its surface perfectly, eerily still. Stalactites hung from the ceiling like jagged knives, some of them so low they nearly reached the water’s surface.

The presence of so much water made sense, given how close we were to the Dytur River. Likely, water had infiltrated the mine tunnels at some point, forming the lake we stared at now.

Still, it was yet another complication. Yet another problem to solve before we could find the amulet and leave this place. Along with Gwynara’s fire, there was asingle light orb high above our heads, casting just enough light to get a glimpse of its width.

Seemingly impassable, the edges faded into the darkness. There was no way to tell how deep it was—or where it ended.

“The bitch tricked us,” Horrison muttered.

Someone else cursed. I was pushed a step as someone jostled the person in front of them. Demos let out a rough, impatient sound, and everyone went silent.

I barely noticed. I was too busy watching the subtle ripple on the surface—in one particular spot. It was barely a hint of movement in the depths of the water. And it was only every so often. I counted to ninety before the next ripple. If the rest of the lake hadn’t been so still and I weren’t paying excruciatingly close attention, I would’ve missed it.

“Look,” I said, pointing.

Nothing happened.

I glanced at Demos. “I promise I saw something. Just watch.”

His gaze locked on the area I was pointing to. And his expression turned calculating.

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