Page 9

Chapter 9

Karus

Sipping my lemon ginger soup, I quietly regarded Lia . She reminded me of a honeybee flitting from task to task, hardly a pause in her flutter around the kitchens.

We hadn’t given her much time to prepare food for eleven of us to travel across the isle, and when I’d mentioned that we’d be able to pick up more supplies in Lythglyn , Radyx , and the Spire , she’d mumbled something about the actual quality of supplies we’d find there.

I blew on another spoonful of soup and smiled at her as she glanced my way, probably to check that I was actually eating, well aware I had little appetite.

Servants came in and out of the kitchens, some of them occasionally snagging some fruit or bacon off the communal tray as they carried on with keeping the Fortress running like her little worker bees.

Lia addressed her primary cook. “ Jesslyn , I’ll have you feed the chickens, please. I’ve not had the time, and they’re likely in a ruckus fit about it.”

Jesslyn nodded and replaced her apron with a different one before heading out the door that led to the forest.

I admired Lia even more now that I knew she was the Blightress’s sister, just as old, living her endless years here in the Fortress instead of out there as the lapis conduit she once had been. She had arrived back in her birthplace of Felgren around the time Heimlen had been chosen as the next Baron . I wondered if he’d ever questioned how the cook of the Fortress never seemed to age and had lived just as long as the hundred years he had.

“ Whatever reason you’re watching me, love, it’ll have to wait until I can get this dough in the oven. Eight loaves extra I have to bake, and I haven’t even begun to gather the cheese from the cellar.”

Realizing Lia was speaking to me, I cleared my throat and answered, “ I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare, but I do need to speak with you.”

She continued kneading the sticky white dough and nodded. “ I have the feeling I know who it’s about.” Sprinkling flour over the surface, she tucked the ends of the dough underneath, shaping it into a round pillowy bundle before placing it on a tray and covering it with a cloth. She then pulled more stretchy dough from a large bowl and began to repeat the process. “ I’ve made a list of the cheeses I need to pack over there.” She nodded to a piece of paper by the stove. “ If you’d like to help, you can collect them, and I’ll be able to speak with you sooner.”

I forced down one more sip of soup and brought my bowl to one of the kitchen maids who took it from me to wash.

I picked up the list of cheeses on my way out of the kitchens. The cellar doors were nestled into the ground at a slant as two worn wood slats with iron hinges. I’d seen them plenty of times, but never had a reason to enter the cold storage under the Fortress . Bending down to pull the handles, they creaked loudly and fell back with a resounding thud.

I skimmed the list again and murmured, “ Illuminare ” bringing my ball of green light to hover over my hand and glow in a steady pulse that matched the beat of my heart.

I began my descent into the cold cellar, shoving aside memories of the last time I stepped underground. The black stone steps were worn in the middle, representing the hundreds of years of footfall from hundreds of years of the Fortress’s servants.

Each step echoed into an open space below—so dark, even the soft glow of green couldn’t penetrate my path downward. I stopped for a moment, laughing to myself. It was just a cellar. No danger, no looming monsters or deathly plants to ensnare me. No ancient woman claiming me as hers and forcing me into abyssal black for two weeks to wander.

I rolled my shoulders and tightly gripped my list with its neatly sprawled letters. In a deep breath, I whispered to myself, “ I’m just here for cheese.”

The bottom of the space loomed ahead in a long, narrow walkway with wooden shelves housing a countless array of jars, bins, and bottles. As I found the last step, I held my light up high to see that the cellar ended in a stack of oak barrels.

As I had suspected, Lia kept a well organized pantry. The long wooden shelves were labeled, making it easy enough for anyone to find what they needed in this space under the Fortress .

I walked along the shelves, growing used to the damp, musky smell. I held my light up to each one, reading the labels in perfect swooping letters. Lia’s cellar hosted various herbs and spices, along with jars of lard and honey, and bowls of stones in many colors. I was curious what uses she found for all of them, knowing she used her lapis magic in her cooking. I wandered all the way down the cramped aisle, ending at the enormous stacked barrels. The cheeses, eggs, and milk were kept at this end, and I shivered in the cold, understanding why.

I unhooked a linen sack from its peg along the shelves and began to fulfill the list. By the looks of it, Lia planned for twenty people instead of eleven to be traveling for two weeks across the isle. I carefully laid the last block of my favorite white, crumbly cheese on top of the others. My task completed, I pulled the strings of the sack and hauled it over my back. The weight surprised me, and it swung lopsidedly, banging into one of the stacked barrels.

I sucked in a breath as the barrel teetered, then toppled to the stone floor, spilling a mound of flour across the aisle.

Cursing in disbelief at my clumsiness and the fact that Lia was going to scold me endlessly, I righted the barrel and looked around for a broom. Instead , my gaze caught the iron hinges of a door where the barrel had been neatly stacked against the wall.

I should ask Lia what this is, I thought, reaching out to touch the old wood.

I should call to Revich , I mused, as I used my trailing power to lift the few barrels still stacked, leaving the door just sitting there, waiting to be opened.

I leaned on its heavy surface, listening for any sounds and using my iumenta magic to feel for any sign of life on the other side, finding nothing.

I sighed, knowing I couldn’t do this. At least not alone, and at least not without asking Lia first. I’d made enough choices in my life without thinking them through, and as I pressed my hand to my belly, I knew I couldn’t afford another one.

I turned around instead, trying to decide how best to tell Lia about the spilled flour. I jumped in a gasp, grabbing at my chest to see her there, standing in front of me, her orb of dull gray light pulsing above her palm.

“ Lia ! I’m sorry about all of this. I’ll get it cleaned up and get your pantry back to what it was.”

My cheeks reddened, and I stepped to move around her when she asked in a low murmur, “ Would you like to see, Baron Karus ?”

I glanced at the hidden door behind me. “ See what exactly?”

“ A story of the past long forgotten.”

“ Lia …” I started. “ What have you hidden down here?”

She shrugged. “ It was not mine to hide. I only blocked the door to avoid questions from the kitchen maids. But you are Baron of this Fortress , and you will understand the meaning of what I can show you.”

She maneuvered around the barrels, stopping at the door. Pulling at the ring of keys at her skirts, she found the one she needed and turned it into lock. The door swung inward, opening into another long corridor.

I swallowed my nerves, stepping in behind Lia , following her steps with my light down the hall. We entered a small, circular room, bereft of any warmth at all. My breath flowed from my mouth in puffs of what looked like green billows against the orb I held. A singular desk and chair looked about to crumble to dust against the curved wall, but it was the stone pillar in the center which held the secret of the space. The white sandstone I’d seen once before, rose from the floor in a solid block, meeting the height of my chest.

As I reached out to touch the dusty surface, Lia finally spoke. “ It held her heart.”

I frowned in a silent chill.

She continued, “ Visalia’s heart was brought here centuries ago by Baron Adaynth . He suspended it here, above this pillar.” She paused and I swept my hand over the gritty white surface. “ That is until she took it back.”

“ Tell me what happened.” I glanced around the cramped space, guessing we were somewhere underneath the foyer of the Fortress . “ Tell me the story of your sister.”