Page 86 of Tell No Tales
"No." Yvette grinned. "These are for the rich fuckers who could afford them. Royalty. Dignitaries. Merchant's children, like me. Courtiers."
"Vadim …"
"Came from Aquarion. He was an outsider, a nobody. He wasn't supposed to be here, but killing the prince's guard gave him a reputation."
"He really does cause trouble everywhere he goes." Klaus's chest expanded with pride just thinking about Vadim wooing the prince without even trying, all by being himself.
"He can't help it," Yvette agreed. "Nola and I will take this room."
She led him back into the hallway and pointed to the room at the end of the hall. "That was Vadim's, with Hesse. Hesse paid for Vadim to stay until he graduated. He hated every minute of it, but I swear he stayed out of spite."
Klaus understood the feeling. One of his benefactors had paid for his room and board for a month, and he'd irritated the house caretaker to no end by refusing to work that month. He couldn't resist a tiny smirk. They were two of a kind, though Klaus hadn't gotten into nearly as much trouble.
He unlocked the last door in the hall. This room was just as bare as the other, but the length of two of the other rooms combined. It also had strange earth weaves inside the walls. The brick building was formed by weavers, but these were concentrated on one corner. The window wells were deeper, too, with enough space for someone to sit with their legs up and read. Klaus imagined Vadim there, book in hand with a breeze blowing his hair through the open window.
Klaus walked to the strange markings in the corner and traced one with a finger. He jumped back from a deep scraping rumble at his feet.
Yvette startled him again when she stuck her head around the open door. "What was that?"
There was now a gaping hole in the wall along the corner seam. Klaus motioned for Yvette to bring the candle, and she illuminated the dark space, showing a narrow stairwell descending to a landing just below the window, and then twisting off into more darkness.
"I fucking knew it," Yvette said. "Hesse's bed sat against this wall," she motioned behind her, running perpendicular to the wall with the window. "There was just enough space for him to walk between the bed and the wall."
"How did Vadim miss this?" Klaus asked.
She frowned. "There was a screen at the foot of Hesse's bed. Vadim's bed was against the opposite wall. My guess is, Hesse only used this passage when Vadim was asleep or elsewhere."
"How far does it go?" Klaus asked.
"Let's follow it and see." Yvette handed the candle to Klaus. She'd found a holder for it somewhere, for which he was grateful, so he didn't burn his fingers. He was also glad he was with a pirate. She pulled a dagger from her boot sheath and led the way down the steep and narrow stairs.
They switched back several times as they descended, to the point Klaus was certain they were below ground. Then, they started moving along a narrow stone corridor. Klaus once again felt like someone was watching him, but then the tunnel switched from stone to packed earth, and that feeling of unease sluffed off him like a discarded blanket.
"We're no longer on campus," Yvette said. "I think it's safe to say this tunnel goes to the palace, but we should be at the dorm when Nola and Vadim return."
Yvette took his free hand and tugged him back toward the strange spell that made his skin crawl. The spell's effects gradually faded until they were at the foot of the stairs again and Klaus no longer sensed it. They returned to the room to Nola's shout echoing off the walls.
"Yvette!"
"Here, Captain."
"Fuck's sake! Where is here?"
"I told you Klaus was nearby," Vadim said.
"Shut it, you smug bastard. You couldn't find him. Where are you, now?"
Klaus lifted the candle over his head, and Vadim gasped. "What the fuck is that?"
"I told you he had a passage between the academy and the palace," Yvette said. She led the way back upstairs, and Nola crashed into her, nearly setting her braid on fire.
"It's unguarded, too," Yvette said when she could breathe again. "At least, on this end."
"What are we waiting for?" Nola asked. "Let's go!"
"Tomorrow," Vadim said as Klaus followed Yvette into the room. "It's almost time for the palace's staff to begin their day. Depending on where this tunnel takes us, I want as few mundane servants around as possible."
"You'd wait until tomorrow night?" Nola asked. She looked a little worse for wear, with half of her hair escaped from her braid.
