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Not surprising, especially given my knowledge of their past. They were cruel leaders, only interested in keeping themselves propped at the head of their realms. One down, one to go.

“But more than that, we received word that he intends to send a scout team to take you before marching on the keep.”

“He’s coming for me.” The chill in my bones doused the fire that had burned inside me for the better part of the night. I sat up.

“My emissary was unable to give me any more information except for this: he said that Menelaus kept a secret, one that he would use to get you and keep you.”

“A secret?” I had no idea what that could mean.

“That’s all his missive revealed. In any case, the scouts have already been sent out to claim you. We don’t know when they’ll strike. I can only hope they aren’t already here. Our army is new, and though the keep is fortified and protected, Desmerada’s relationship with Menelaus is troublesome. No doubt he knows a few more ins and outs of the keep than we would like. I came to tell the king that I think it would be best if you stayed in the Darkwood with Arachne, or perhaps even farther away. It’s not safe here for you.”

Menelaus’s plot was already moving, the pieces hemming me in and forcing my hand. The Bloodkeep was just now coming back to life. Its fledgling army could not defeat Menelaus’s hundreds of thousands of trained demon warriors. They would overrun the entire vampire civilization in hours and take it apart brick by brick. The Darkwood would burn, and all would perish. I had watched as they razed Troy and would not allow history to repeat itself here, among the vampires who had taken me in and treated me as one of their own. I would save Paris this time, succeed where I had failed and keep him safe from Menelaus’s blade.

I dashed to the closet and dressed quickly. “I’m not running, Shildreth.”

Shildreth sighed. “I thought you would say that. But we will need to let the king decide.”

“No.” I already knew what his decision would be. To send me far away from any hint of danger. And that was a result I could not allow.

Shildreth watched, crestfallen, as I drew on a pair of boots and tucked silver blades into each. “What do you intend to do?”

“I think I’ll take a turn about the keep. See what there is to see. Get a good feel for all its nooks and crannies.” I threw on a black leather jacket. If the scouts were already inside the Bloodkeep’s walls, it wouldn’t take me long to run into them.

Shildreth’s eyes darkened. “Please don’t do this.” Her voice was quiet, barely breaking the surface of sound.

I embraced her. “I will see you again. I swear it. Tell Paris…” I wasn’t sure what I wanted Shildreth to tell him. That I had decided to let myself be taken so I could destroy Menelaus once and for all? Paris would come for me as soon as he learned what happened. I only hoped I would have enough time to end the war before it began. But if Desmerada had lied and my magics were still bound, they would all be swept up into the same bloody tide that drowned Troy.

“Tell him this is the only way to checkmate.” I gave Shildreth what I hoped was a reassuring look and strode from the room.

She would no doubt hurry off to find Paris and Faren. Workers still labored in the bright halls, removing every hint of Desmerada and letting Paris’s emblem shine through. They bowed low as I passed. I answered with curt nods and smiles.

I found the nearest stair and continued down, the air chilling the lower I went. The workers’ voices soon faded, and only the hushed sound of my boots on the steps remained. I beat a steady rhythm until I came to an empty and cobwebbed corridor. This was as good a place as any.

Stepping from the curving stair, I lazily made my way past the empty rooms full of dusty furniture. The windows were boarded, causing the chill, and only slivers of light made their way in. These rooms must have been for the older children of the keep long, long ago. There were knickknacks scattered around, and more than a few beds still had crumbling books opened on them. A thick layer of dust covered everything, quieting my steps. They must have been attacked by Desmerada’s forces at night, taken from their beds, and led to a grisly end. No more children ever lived in the keep, which perhaps was a good thing.

Spider silks hung in the undisturbed air, pulling at my hair like skeletal fingers. I shivered and continued, the gloom growing the farther I strayed from the stair.