Page 149 of By the Flames of Her Fury

She closed her eyes. “The people in this base are all that’s left of Pyraeth, Everett.”

It was as if the air had been sucked from my lungs. “What?”

“The Elders murdered almost every single person in the kingdom,” she said, so quiet I could hardly hear. “Those left are the ones who got away.”

Blood rushed in my ears. “That’s not possible. We saw villages full of people, and the palace was packed.”

“I said the same thing. But the people we saw weren’t real.” When my lips parted in confusion, Vera nodded grimly. “I know, it was hard for me to believe, too. But the rebels made me see the truth. Think about it—every time we saw people in the streets, every time servants walked around us in the palace, we were always with the Elders. It was all their illusion. An incredibly powerful one they used to trick us. There’s hardly anyone actually living in the kingdom anymore.”

I blinked several times, dumbfounded. Now that I thought about it, I remembered how eerie it felt yesterday in the library, how empty the palace seemed. But this elaborate ruse…it was almost too much to believe. That these people had tricked us into believing we were seeing entire crowds of people? That we could even interact with them? The idea of someone having that kind of power was overwhelming.

Vera stepped closer to me, and her fingers closed around my clenched fist. “I know it’s a lot to take in,” she said. “You should rest. You’ve been through so much. We’ll have time to talk more later. Right now⁠—”

She was cut off by a middle-aged man with rumpled brown hair running through the cavern. “Sloane?” he called. “Sloane? Is she back yet?”

Vera’s breath caught. Grief swarmed her eyes. I uncurled my fingers and grasped her hand, squeezing tight. The man scanned the room, and when his eyes landed on Vera, she slowly shook her head. The man sank to the ground, head held in his hands.

“I’m so sorry, Dom,” Vera said, releasing my hand and rushing to him. She lowered herself to the ground before him. People around us paused to watch, their faces morphing from confusion to heartache as they caught on. “She didn’t make it.”

The man, Dom, removed his glasses and wiped his face, where silent tears streaked down his cheeks.

“I—I only knew her for a short time, but she was incredible,” Vera continued. “She was so brave. I could see how much she cared about everyone here. I promise you, I will get justice for her. For all of them.”

Dom didn’t respond. He merely put a hand on her shoulder, and they both bowed their heads. The entire cavern came to a halt. A moment later, the other rebels all bent a knee and lowered themselves to the floor, bowing their heads as Dom had. I followed suit. We stayed like that for a minute, in melancholy silence, doing what we could to honor Sloane.

Finally, Dom cleared his throat and rose to his feet. Vera looked up at him. “Your friend,” he asked. “Did you find him?”

Vera nodded and beckoned me closer. “Dom, this is Everett. Everett, Dom is one of the ones who helped us find you.”

I shook his hand. “Thank you, sir. I can’t begin to apologize for your loss, but I’m forever indebted to your people.”

“Just help us end this,” he said, arm trembling. “That’s all she ever wanted.”

72

Everett

Acouple of the rebels showed Vera, Tessa, and me to another section of the tunnels to give us time to rest. This area had smaller rooms separated by curtains nailed into the stone. One of the rebels pulled aside the dingy green curtain, exposing a room with two sets of bunk beds against the wall. Thin mattresses, a worn, brown blanket, and a change of clothes rested on the beds for each of us.

“The hot springs are just down this hall and to the right,” one of them said, gesturing outside the room. “We have extra towels and bars of soap if you need to bathe. It’s almost evening, so most people will be at dinner and won’t be using it yet.”

Evening. I’d been gone for most of the day, and now we only had one day left to find Starke, raise the kingdom, and rescue Odessa from the infection. I scrubbed a hand down my face. Everything I’d learned today felt like too much to bear.

While the rebels gathered intel about the catacombs from Vera and Tessa, I took the gray cotton pants and shirt from one of the bunks and slipped down the hall. The air warmed, and the walls grew slick with moisture as I neared the hot springs. The narrow rock tunnel opened into a domed cavern, with a slippery stone path leading to bubbling water. Blue lights twinkled around the walls and high ceiling, and when I got closer, they looked like little glowing bugs. The light made the golden water sparkle an iridescent turquoise. Against the very back wall was a small waterfall cascading from the ceiling, rushing into the water with a rhythmic, hypnotizing sound.

I took a deep breath as steam washed over me. I left my pants on but pulled my shirt over my head, wincing at a twinge in my shoulder, and tossed it to the side. A groan left my lips when I waded into the water. Heat lapped at my ankles, my calves, my waist, pulling the tension from my muscles in slow waves.

I ducked my head under, drowning out everything except the pulse in my ears and the distorted bubbling coming from beneath. I had always had an affinity for water. Sitting on the shore or the bank of a river, dangling off the side of a fishing boat, plunging into the depths after a catch. Even as a young boy, it allowed me to focus, if only for a moment, on something besides the worries pressing in. The way the water felt like silk at my fingertips, how it slowed everything down, and how when you broke the surface once more, the pressure lifted.

When I lost count of how long I’d been under, I raised my head and shook the water from my skin, watching it spray back into the bubbles.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to come up,” a voice said ahead of me.

I looked up, water sluicing down my bare chest. Vera stared at me through a cloud of mist, those golden eyes heating me more than any hot spring could.

“Just needed a moment to breathe,” I replied.

The edge of her lip quirked up. “Underwater?”