Page 107 of The Oracle of Dusk

“Thank you for finding me,” she whispered.

“I only wish I’d found you sooner,” he replied.

“It has been…difficult.”

Hyllus chuckled.

“And why do I suspect that to be a monumental understatement?”

Aurora choked out a bitter laugh. He had the right of it. Pain and fear had been her constant companions since she’d learned of her fate.

“Do you know what this place is called?” she asked.

“The guest palace?”

“The vivarium. A display case for the queen’s living trophies. A place where you either steal your daily necessities or bargain sexual favours for them. You see how I’m dressed, how Theron is dressed. The queen is cruel, Hyllus. She delights in using humiliation to break people. If you mean to free us from this place, you must be very careful.”

“I am well acquainted with Flora’s…personality. I’ll let the other paladins of Justice here know what’s been going on. They’ve been intent on entering the palace since the royal guards attacked someone in the temple plaza. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“They attacked me. I…I defended myself, and then they dragged us back to the palace. The guard who stripped and chained me, he…Theron killed him.”

His hold on her tightened. Hyllus held his tongue, but when he loosened his arms, she could see the rage swimming in his eyes.

“That won’t happen again. Never again,” he swore. “I’ll see if you can be made a guest of Justice’s temple instead.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Any honourable person would do the same.”

“I’m still grateful,” she sighed. Her head felt light and her body heavy.

“Rest. I’ll take care of everything else.”

He tucked her in as her lids began to feel heavy. But there was something else he needed to know, some other advantage she could give them in the fight to come. She gasped.

The artefacts.

She strained her hearing, but outside the door, people were in pain, paladins called back and forth and healers had just arrived. She hoped no one would hear what she needed to say.

“Hyllus, wait! One more thing.”

“What is it?”

She crooked her finger for him to come closer.

“There’s a hoard of ancient artefacts hidden in the basement of the temple of Knowledge that might be able to help us,” she whispered. “Press on the brick on the third row up from the ground, exactly halfway across the length of the back wall of the temple. Then speak the words, ‘Lead me to the fathomless depths of Knowledge.’ It’s dark inside, too dark for your eyes to see, but at the end of the hall is the door to the vault.”

His eyes widened. Hyllus smiled then, an impish glint in his eye.

“You’re unexpectedly full of mischief, my lady.”

Aurora laughed.

“And don’t you forget it.” She winked, returning his smile.

Hyllus laughed.

“I won’t, I promise.”

---