Page 99 of Hidden Kingdoms

“Is he royalty then, like Kaius and Bastian?”

“He’d wipe the floor with those shitheads if they stood against him.” Her mouth twitched with a smile as she walked, seemingly lost in a memory. “He’s also really fucking grumpymost of the time and could kill me with his little finger, so don’t tell him I’ve been gossiping.”

I nodded and we continued in silence, our footsteps echoing as the golden patterns twisted over walls that had changed gradually to a dark grey.

“Now, you answermyquestion.” Alouette’s voice broke the quiet.

“Ok,” I agreed, unsure what she could possibly want to know from me.

“When you’re in there,looking at books. What is it you’re really looking for?”

I swallowed past the lump her words had lodged in my throat. Could I tell her?

The way she was looking at me now—as if she already knew my plans—was unsettling, but honestly, anyone who was being held against their will would be trying to find a way home, wouldn’t they? And that is what I was trying to do, wasn’t I?

Seconds passed between us. “A way home.”

“Are you sure about that?” Her pale eyes bore into mine as if with a mere look she could burrow into my brain.

We came to a stop as a black wooden door loomed ahead of us, golden studs pressed into it in an intricate pattern which all the gold from the walls seemed to flow into. I opened my mouth to attempt an answer, when she put a finger to her lips and pushed it open. A thick silence crept into the hall, almost clinging to my body as the distinct smell of books found me, and without a second thought, I stepped through.

38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

KAIUS

Blair unfurled from the shadows like the little demon child she was, falling into step with me without missing a beat, as I walked through the grimy streets of Sehksveit. It wasn’t the seediest place in the city, but it wasn’t one of the nicest, either. The tang of sulphur hung in the air mixed with the rotting rubbish and only the goddess knew what.

It was the maze of alleyways that caused the most issues, those in-between spaces that were a favourite of the less savoury characters that roamed the area. The ones who had crawled from whatever cesspit they had originally called home to come here. Lurking, ready and waiting for the next unfortunate to cross their path.

Easy pickings in a place like this.

The invisible stains of past crimes splattered across the bricks had the dark that lay within me writhing as I passed through. More than once, I heard the scuffle of feet exiting an alley before I turned down it, my magik pulsing in quiet warning.

Even without the silver daggers hitched to my sides, I could more than take on whatever I encountered on the streets—not that anyone would try. Blair, too, despite her outward appearance, but it wasn’t always the case for those who had tolive and work here. It wouldn’t be until you crossed into Tresveit that those alleys would, for the most part, be safe to walk down.

Further out, in Tuisveit—the closest to Firenze’s boundary—I’d found even the littlest of Fae carrying pocketknives. A wise choice even if the reasons behind it left a nasty taste in my mouth.

I’d timed this visit to miss the rush of people who filled the streets on their way to work in the city central. Only passing the occasional latecomer or someone who hadn’t even made it home yet.

Braziers burned at most intersections, a few figures huddled around them, the lowest around here not even holding enough fire in their veins to keep themselves warm. Their flames did little to chase off the chill air that bit sharply at what little of my skin was exposed to the elements, but I wasn’t from this icy hell.

It was light enough now that the night dwellers had skittered back to their dark holes for the day, though the atruska rats that accompanied them were still out. Their disgusting little bodies were covered in patches of grey fur, with four, long, spindly legs that somehow held them up and ended in claw-tipped toes that pattered on the stone. A couple turned to hiss our way as we disturbed whatever the fuck it was they were up to. I repressed a shudder as a fleshy, whip-like, pink tail disappeared into a hole in the bricks.

It was using those same piss-soaked alleys I bypassed most of the busier areas, keeping my dark hood up and steering away from the cafes and shops that were opening up for the day along the main street. The pubs not yet open for patrons, though windows were thrown wide to air out whatever debauchery had gone down the night before.

Especially if more Faery Wine had been smuggled in from the north. It wasn’t even wine, nor was it made by Faeries, but the vials of liquid that turned to vapour once you cracked themwere a rich, deep red. The same colour the whites of your eyes turn when you’ve taken too much of the drug.

I’d had too many of the denizens of this place in the dungeons to want to step foot there unless Ireallyhad to.

Being in the dungeons yesterday, breaking open that piece of shit trafficker, had been a nice distraction for a while but it wasn’t enough. Neither was the information he’d blubbered once I’d removed each finger down the knuckle. It was a start, but it wasn’t enough to be of any use. Or to keep the picture of Elodie’s face when she realised I’d failed to protect her from my mind.

It cut me deep, somewhere that hadn’t been touched in a long time, and my fingers were twitching for another round, but that would have to wait. I made do with running my fingers over the sharp edges of my blades, the promise of piercing my skin if I made so much as one wrong move enough to keep me focused.

To remember I wasn’t stalking through this place for the fun of it.

I’d read the files as they hit my inbox, flagged as something my unit needed to look into. I’d done my research; I knew the answers to the question already, but I still needed to come. To see if there was anything they were saying when they weren’t saying anything at all.

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