Page 80 of Sharpen Your Claws

Evera snagged Nicholas’ arm in a fierce grip. “This is it. My mother is up to no good, and she is weakened. All of Bloodbane is. We solve this for her in exchange for ending our deal, then the two are taken care of.”

“Alvina is obsessed with shades. She’ll say no,” he countered.

“Not if Bloodbane is at stake. Look at this place.” She nodded toward the withered wall. “You know as well as I that any lord can be abandoned by their land if they do not protect it. Clearly, my mother isn’t, and if she loses her lordship, she will weaken. She doesn’t want that.”

They had got out of Laurent’s deal. It wasn’t utterly hopeless to imagine escaping Alvina’s clutches.

“Alright. Let’s see her.” He gestured for Evera to lead the way.

“The mortals should remain here,” Evera said. “We don’t want my mother to sense we’re desperate or play tricks on them.”

“She must already know they’re here,” he argued.

“Not if she’s weakened.”

“I am not comfortable leaving them alone.”

“Amos and Arden will be with them.” Evera didn’t sound very convince nor did he feel convinced.

“That’s worse.”

Evera huffed. “They can handle themselves, can’t you?”

Henry took to pursuing the library, uncaring of the plans. Charmaine sat at the table, her hands clasped in her lap. William leaned beside her, his expression grim, but he nodded. “Evera’s right. We’ll wait here.”

Nicholas frowned. “If anything happens—”

“I’ll call out.” William waved his hand. “Go on.”

Evera took Nicholas to a lower level, through weaving hallways reeking of damp soil and old moss. The halls became tight, claustrophobic. Being underground hadn’t bothered him until now, when he felt the walls brushing against his arms. His breathing became unsteady, panicked, and he stopped. Evera continued on, practically crawling now to get through, grumbling angrily under her breath about Alvina. Nicholas couldn’t follow. It was too confined, too much, too dark, reminding him of capture.

“What are you doing?” Evera barked. “We’re almost there, and this is a good sign.”

He didn’t reply. His vision blurred, and he scuttled backward, wanting to run into William’s arms.

“Bloodbane is angry to bury her this deep, leaving her halls a mess.” Evera ripped a vine out of the way, resulting in dirt falling into her face. She spat it out, then spun, realizing he was not behind her. “Come on.”

“You… should go on your own,” he said. “I will wait here.”

“We need to go together. She will feel cornered.”

He already felt cornered, suffocated, trapped. He couldn’t breathe. Sweat pooled on the back of his neck. He tasted fear on his lips, blood in his mouth. He sucked on his teeth and pressed his palms to the soil, as if to push it aside.

“Nicholas.” Evera caught his wrist, felt the rapid pulse beneath. “You’re frightened.”

He didn’t answer.

“Of seeing her?” Evera pursed her lips, then shook her head. “No, of this.” She peered about the hall, how enclosed it was, how the lights dwindled as if Sorrow Well wanted to bury Alvina alive. Or all of them.

“Fear is foolish,” he said with clenched teeth, but no more. He couldn’t think, so he retreated, trying to rip himself from Evera’s grasp.

“Fear is necessary,” Evera corrected sternly, sounding more like her mother, which would be unsettling if she didn’t add, “Fear prevents fools from acting upon foolish ideas. We’d all die young if we didn’t fear.”

“Some fear is unnecessary.”

“But understandable.” Her palm settled on the ceiling. She breathed deep, and the earth rumbled.

Hill Castle had a mind of its own, although it seemed to attune itself to the Darkmoon family. Most of them, while not lords of the land, could convince Hill Castle to play nice, to do what they wanted. None of them could command it though, just as Evera couldn’t command Sorrow Well, but she tried. Her expression strained, eyes shut in concentration, then she huffed and became red in the face. The hall expanded, breathing in new life and light, warping around them to form a hall three times the size. He took a breath, his skin clammy from sweat.

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