Page 88 of When Storms Ruin

The walls were cinder block, and at the bottom of the stairs was a wooden door identical to the one at the front of the house. My heart stopped in my chest as I watched it swing open beneath Zion’s touch, leading to a long, dark, corridor.

Thiswas the door I had dreamed of.

I knew where the staircase at the end of the hallway would lead, down, down, down to a laboratory.My mother’s laboratory. Where she left the grimoire for me to find. A hot tear streaked across my cheek, and I hastily brushed it away with the back of my hand.

We followed Zion down into the darkness, down the spiral staircase. As I had dreamed, the laboratory door was built seamlessly into the masonry. What Ihadn’tdreamed was that there was more than one door here. There was a window at the top of the corridor that let light spill down, illuminating the space in the afternoon sunlight. Torches against the wall flickered to life as Zion walked onward down the corridor.

We passed a library which had my heart pounding rapidly in my chest. Was this the library that Liss had been talking about? The one that would have all the answers I was searching for?

We turned a corner and several bedrooms branched off from this corridor. They had thick red curtains pulled back to allow the sun to stream in. The beds were canopies, draped in rich fabric and accented with delicate woodwork that wove together as if they were serpents. It reminded me of the staff Donika had carried the last time I saw her.

“Was this always here?” I asked as we continued onward.

This hidden section of the cottage felt entirely different, and much more gothic.

Zion shook his head, but didn’t glance back. “Most of it was, but we added to it after the war, as a haven for Shades remaining in Istmere. Came in handy when we started the resistance.”

I was happy to hear Donika had never stayed here, never walkedthesehalls.

Never slept in these beds.

“You can choose any room you’d like,” Zion called over his shoulder.

We reached the end of the hallway and Zion held his hand to the stone. Without whispering a spell, the stone opened beneath his touch, revealing a circular opening that led to a narrow, dark tunnel.

“If there are any problems, you’ll escape through this tunnel, do you understand?” His eyes were trained on me as he held his hand to the stone.

I nodded in response. I didn’t relish the idea of running, but we would have small numbers here in Siraleth. It was smart to have a hidden escape route.

“Where does it lead?” Saanvi asked from behind me.

“Out,” was all Zion replied as he removed his hand from the stone.

The rock moved back into place, and it was invisible once more.

Tess and I decided to let Zion take the bedroom in the upstairs cottage, not wanting to stay anywhere shadowed by the memory of Donika. We chose rooms next to each other in the downstairs wing.

The bedrooms were nicer than anything I had ever experienced before, similar to an expensive gothic hotel. Each room had a window that overlooked the backyard, which must have been a spell since we were certainly underground at this point. The canopied beds were accompanied with matching wooden dressers, night chests, and each room had its own washroom.

The claw-foot tub was black as well, with the curling feet of a creature I couldn’t quite identify. There were ample towels and toiletries available, and plain tunics and riding pants in each dresser. I used my magic to light a fire in the grate, thankful for the warm sensation that coursed through me again.

It had taken so long for my magic to come back, I was scared for a moment that it wasn’t going to come back at all. I had spentdaysin the infirmary without any magic.

I took a long soak in the claw-foot tub, wrapping myself in one of the luxurious robes hanging on the back of the door. I hadn’t wanted to spend the night alone, so I had convinced Tess to spend the night with me in my chosen room.

She crawled into the bed beside me, her hair still wet from her bath and leaving streaks of water across the silk pillowcase.

“I finally have a room all to myself and you make me share…again,” she laughed, turning the lamp off on the night chest.

“It’s only for tonight,” I promised her.

The room was thrust into darkness and I closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me. I tossed and turned for hours, unable to find the rest I so desperately sought.

My only thoughts were for Nik, and when he would wake up.

Ifhe would wake up.

The two weeks after leaving Prins had beenagonywaiting for an update from Liss and Isaac. I hadn’t waited for Liss to tear apart the library in the cottage underground, pulling out any tome from the stacks that I thought might help me with deciphering the key spell or learning more about dream walking.

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