Page 149 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
Rona smiles and hurries away. Once she is gone, Penelope turns to me. “Shay,” she says. “You have proven yourself to be loyal to me. So, how about you have lunch with me, and then we’ll wait for Rona.”
I tilt my head in her direction. “It’s an honor to have lunch with you, Madame.”
“Always so formal,” she smirks. “But, I like this about you. One day you must tell me how you lost your eye and arm.”
“I like to fight for what I deem worth a fight,” I say shortly.
Something in her eyes glints. “That’s good to know. I hope I’m worth your fighting spirit, too.”
“You should know the answer by now, Madame,” I say.
“Good.” She gestures at me to follow her. “After lunch, I will show you around.”
“I assume you won’t just show me the building again?” I ask.
She smirks. “You assumed correctly. I will show you… more than before.”
Her words leave me curious, and for the first time since we were stranded here, I’m hoping that our stay here will lead us somewhere. Royan’s life is at risk, and I don’t know how much longer we can stay here. I’m trying to find a way to get us out of here, but it’s getting harder every day.
I follow Penelope to her private chambers to have lunch with her, but it takes all my willpower to focus on our talk. Fortunately, Rona returns sooner than later, and while I don’t want to see her treacherous face, I’m glad she provides some distraction.
“It’s time,” Penelope stands up abruptly after we’ve had coffee.
Finally! I stand up as well, wordlessly following her.
Meanwhile, Rona tries to chat with me. “You do not talk much, do you?”
“Clearly, he does not,” Penelope mutters.
“But, you are talking with Penelope,” Rona pushes. “All the time.”
I decide this is the perfect time to further push my agenda, and kiss up to the dark witch. “That’s clearly something else,” I say shortly.
Penelope turns her head and shoots me a gaze, then nods her approval.
This time it’s really difficult to stay in my role though and not ask too many questions, because Penelope leads me down to the cellar–not where the dungeons are located, but the other side of the building–stopping in front of a huge wall of stone. She chants something, opening a secret door for us.
Both Rona and Penelope grab a torch. “Allow me,” I offer Penelope my help.
She nods and hands me the torch before leading us through a huge tunnel, deeper and deeper into the ground. The blood in my veins seems to both boil and freeze at the same time. This is it. This is where they do… whatever they do…
Before we can enter another door, Penelope stops. “Are you ready to become one of us?”
“A member of the cult?” I ask.
She nods. “The eye is our symbol.”
“Because it sees everything,” I say. “Like you do.”
“You are smart,” she cackles. “That’s why I was testing you before I let you in.”
I don’t know what it was that led to Royan keeping my identity a secret. I assume it was his instincts kicking in, but I’m eternally thankful for that fact now. Finally, we are getting somewhere. “What do I need to do?”
“Serve me,” Penelope says. “Like all my children do.”
“There is no spell involved,” Rona says. “Penelope believes in the power of our community.”
No, she doesn’t. But she knows that a spell would just scare people away. It’s not real loyalty. She rather promises her people power and wealth. Her methods are as old as time, and they have always worked, unfortunately.
