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But before I make my way down it, I need to ensure that the guards are not going to find me missing from my cell or figure out that I am aware of this secret tunnel.
I glance around, trying to figure out how to reseal it first. I start pressing random bricks across the back wall before moving to another until eventually something clicks and a brick in the corner moves. The soft rumbling starts again, and the passageway quickly closes up.
Slipping out of the cell room and up into the palace, I spot a mirror and freeze, shocked to find the person staring back at me. I have fully healed, but my pallor and blood-streaked face make me look like I have been to battle and back.
I need to clean off this blood, but I can’t afford the luxury of a bath now or the time it would take to have one.
Heading toward Visha’s quarters, hoping to ask for some wet cloths and a jug of water, I run into the girl who braided my hair. She stops in her tracks, her mouth dropping open when she spots me.
“Oh my,” she whispers as she makes her way over to me before walking around me.
“Are you badly injured? Should I call a healer?” she asks with alarm in her voice.
“No. No, I’m fine. I have been healed already; this is just…” I glance down at myself, frowning when I do not know what else to say to her that would not reveal the situation I’m in without wasting more time. “If you have a change of clothes I could borrow, I would very much appreciate it.”
With a sad look in her eyes, she nods and takes my hand, pulling me into a room down at the end of the hall. There is a small bed to the side, a chest of drawers, and a long mirror, but nothing else inside.
“Let me run you a bath,” she pleads.
“I’m afraid I don’t have the time for one,” I tell her and hope she understands with the look I give her.
She nods at me before turning and leaving. A couple of minutes pass, and I decide that it is better to have the time I do than worry about how I look. I still need to check on the guards.
I head for the door when she rushes in with a steaming hot basin of water in her hands, small white cloths draped across her arms, and dark clothing thrown over her shoulder.
“Here. Wash and change out of those. Whatever it is you must do, I can see it is important. I will make sure your clothes are cleaned for you.”
Emotion clogs my throat, burning my eyes at her kindness. “How can I—I have no way to pay you. But if there is something I can do to thank you?—”
She shakes her head, stopping me, and places the basin and cloths on the chest of drawers before coming over to me. She starts sizing the dark clothing up against me, nodding when it looks like they will fit.
“No payment is necessary. I know the guards do not treat you well because of what you are. I want you to know that not all of us are like that. My name is Isolde. Come to me whenever you need anything, me or Visha, and do not be a stranger.”
Warmth expands in my chest. “Thank you, Isolde.”
She gives me a soft smile before leaving me to it. Stripping out of my clothes, I place the stone beside me as I quickly scrub my body of all the blood and use the floral-smelling soap she left for me, smiling at her thoughtfulness. I change into the new clothes, slipping the healing stone into my pocket, noting how they fit my body like they were made for me, before placing the dirty pile on the chest of drawers.
Slipping out of the room, I head to the guards’ normal spots but eventually find them passed out in Haddon’s quarters once more, the entire room stinking of ale.
Haddon still made it to the top three, with Oryn coming out the winner and me second. Even though it wasn’t a fair fight, I managed to stay in the top three, hopefully ensuring my place in the next trial.
I grab a discarded cloak on the back of one of the chairs and make my way back to my cell, hoping that the guards think I am too injured to move and that a visit is the last thing on theirminds, especially in their drunken state. I should be able to leave for a few hours before anyone notices my missing presence.
Using the dark cloak as my decoy, I stuff it with dirt and place it at the back of my cell, hoping anyone sent to check on me would not bother to get too close to see what it is.
Locking my cell behind me, I head for the secret tunnel. Pushing the bricks reveals the passageway, and I quickly enter it, following it down to the tunnel, which opens up into a cavern entranceway, the ceiling a deathtrap of large spiked structures ready to fall on any unsuspecting visitors.
My steps are soft and mindful as I move through it to another smaller opening that leads into a wide oval chamber, the ceiling high enough to fit a dozen giants.
A glint of gold hits my eye, and I move toward it, finding a line of it carved into the wall. I follow the line with my fingers and around a large rock, coming to a stop at the sight before me.
Nine large crumbling statues stand in large hollow spaces in the walls of a huge chamber. Each one looks as if it is carved from the wall itself.
I don’t know many stories of the old gods, but if I were to take a guess, I would say I am in the presence of them now. Or at least their statues.
At the center of the statues, raised higher than the rest, is a female goddess. She holds a basin in her hands, filled with water. It overflows out to the gods and goddesses around her before falling into a hole in the center of them all.
To her left is another goddess, her beauty something that radiates out around her. To her right, a god that looks more like a warrior ready for battle but with kind eyes.
