Page 66 of Of Kings and Thieves

My grip tightened on my torch, its familiar weight grounding me amidst the growing unease. I knew how Silvius felt. As we continued our descent, I could feel the pressure building, threatening to burst forth in a torrent of fear and desperation. It was a sensation that seemed to echo through the group, even though none of us dared to voice it.

A growl rumbled in Melion’s throat as we rounded a corner, and I braced myself for another confrontation. But instead, his gaze locked onto something in the darkness ahead, and he raised a hand to signal for silence.

“Something’s not right,” he whispered, his eyes narrowing.

Scarlet frowned, her fingers tightening around the dagger at her hip. “What is it?”

“Can’t you feel it?” he asked, glancing at each of us in turn. “The air... it’s different.”

“Melion’s right,” Kolvar agreed, his voice barely audible. “There’s a subtle shift in the atmosphere.”

My heart hammered against my ribs as we crept forward, every part of me on high alert. The tunnel seemed to close in around us, its oppressive darkness threatening to swallow us whole. Even the torches seemed to be dimmer than they had been, casting eerie shadows that danced and swayed with our every movement. I couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if we were walking straight into the jaws of some monstrous beast.

“Anyone else feel like we’re being watched?” Scarlet muttered under her breath, her eyes darting to every shadow.

“Probably because we are,” Silvius replied, his gaze never leaving the tunnel ahead. “By rats, spiders, and maybe a few other nasty critters.”

“Charming,” I said.

“Quiet,” Melion hissed, stopping short as he held up a hand. “Do you hear that?”

We all strained our ears, listening for any sign of danger. At first, there was nothing but the sound of our own ragged breathing, but then I heard it: a faint, whispering echo that seemed to come from deep within the tunnel.

“Voices,” I breathed, my hand going to my sword. “But where are they coming from?”

“Sounds like they’re coming from... everywhere,” Kolvar said.

“It could be the voices of those dead souls by the entrance,” Silvius murmured. I shuddered.

“Fucking great,” Scarlet grumbled. “A haunted tunnel.”

As we continued forward, the whispers grew louder, until they were an incessant, ghostly chorus that filled the air around us. The tunnel walls seemed almost alive, their voices warning us of the dangers that lay ahead.

“Whatever these whispering spirits want,” Kolvar said, “we can’t let them distract us. They’re probably here because we are on the correct path.”

The tunnel abruptly widened, revealing a large cavern where our torchlight was quickly lost. The floor ended in a sharp drop. Below, at the very edges of our light, were the beginnings of three separate twisting passages, each marked by a stone archway. The whispers seemed to intensify, their voices urging caution and restraint, as if to remind us that one wrong turn could lead to our doom.

“A labyrinth,” Kolvar said, stretching his arm out over the abyss to get a look. “This wasn’t here before, not according to Col.”

“Did we take a wrong turn?” I asked, peering down into the inky depths.

Kolvar shook his head. “Not likely. This must have been added later, as a way to further waylay invaders.”

“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a proper maze,” Melion said grimly. “The Harrow’s doing?”

“Or his pet’s, Moredanea.”

I shuddered, wishing we could go anywhere but into that maze if The Harrow had devised it.

“Can’t be too hard to navigate,” Scarlet said with forced bravado, her voice higher pitched than usual. “We just need to keep our wits about us.”

“We’ve come this far,” I whispered. “What choice do we have?”

“None, if we want to get into the castle,” Kolvar said grimly. “Let’s move forward. And be careful. We don’t know what else might be lurking in these shadows.”

To the left was a steep stair leading down, cut directly into the stone. Forced into single file again, we descended quickly. Kolvar went first, followed by Melion, then me, then Scarlet and Silvius. I put a hand on the stone to my left and tried not to look down.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

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