Page 118 of Boundless

I could have sworn he was laughing just a second ago, and the guards had joined in, too. Yet when I looked ahead, Hil turned and drove his elbow into the nearest guard’s jaw in one smooth motion.

It happened so fast I was tempted not to believe in my own eyes. The man crumpled to the floor instantly, and the secondbarely had time to draw out his sword before Hil caught him by the throat and slammed him into the wall, the dull thud echoing through the stable.

The horses reared, snorting. Maera growled once, deep and low, and then her fur began to shed right there on the hay covered floor. She was shifting while Hil beat the shit out of the guards, even when they were on the floor and trying to get up, until they stopped moving completely. There was no magic—he just used his fists and his feet.

I was still having trouble blinking normally when he turned around to face us—and Maera was already beside me, a woman now, naked and unbothered.

“That’s one way to say hello,” she muttered, brushing the lighter strands of her hair away from her face.

“I officially welcome you to the Fire Palace, lad—whoa, whoa,by Reme,FUCK!”

This from Hil when he actually took in Maera’s naked body, his hands burning orange and raised like he suddenly lost control and wasn’t sure whether to keep looking or cover his face or something.

He chose the first option with his jaw nearly touching the ground, his wide eyes never blinking as he took her in, in detail.

I turned my head to the side and took off the cloak Rune had given me so Maera could put it over her shoulders.

“There’s flies here. Might wanna close your mouth,” she told Hil—again, completely unbothered as she walked ahead toward the other side of the stables. “Follow me.”

Hil couldn’t move as he watched her, followed her every little movement as she went right by him, his mouth still open, his eyes unblinking.

I had my lips inside my mouth still, and tried to focus on the guards on the ground. They were breathing, definitely unconscious. Definitely not dead.

And just before I went past him, Hil breathed, “I think I’m in love.”

His hand was to his heart, his eyes ahead but he didn’t really see anything, and he looked positively shocked.

With my tongue between my teeth, I followed Maera, knowing he wouldn’t be far behind.

thirty-six

Gettinginside the Fire Palace was easy. Maera led the way, barefoot but her entire body was covered by the black cloak on her shoulders, and the only thing we knew was to not go to the westof the palace because that’s where the fake king and queen had created their new throne room, one that wasn’t connected to the palace.

Hil knew this because he’d planned that heist for months. He’d worked with a former guard, he said, and he knew the layout of the west because that was where he’d stolen the gold from, so it was only natural to assume that the original throne room would be somewhere in the east. Hil wasn’t worried, though. He said the security detail everywhere else in the palace other than where the king and queen hung out was a joke.

At first I didn’t believe him. But we left the stables and walked all the way to their other side to find a door inside the palace, and there was nobody to stop us there. The fae who worked outside in the back of the stables watched us, but they didn’t stop us. Didn’t say anything at all, just continued to go about their business. There were no guards near the three doors on the palace’s wall, even though they were all unlocked.

Maera chose the one in the middle that took us to a stairway leading up, and so we were inside just like that. Like we belonged there.

The inside of the Fire Palace looked more broken than alive. The banners that hung on the walls were torn. There were no paintings here, but the outline of the ones that had been hung possibly a long time ago remained on the bare walls. The high ceiling felt empty, dust falling from the beams, cobwebs hanging where lights should have burned, and they used fire on torches and lanterns here, not fae lights.

Our steps rang out across cracked tiles, the sound too loud in the heavy silence—and it was unusually silent, at least in the hallway those stairs led us to. The air smelled like dust, but I wasn’t complaining. It was much better than the scent out there.

Then there weremoreanimal statues made of what couldn’t possibly be marble—it looked almost like my fingers would sink into them if I pressed too hard. So many of them in the corners, near the ceiling, placed over the outline of the paintings that were long gone, and they were the same animals as outside. The farther we went down the corridor, and toward another stairway at the end, the more we saw. Iron sconces shaped like antlers lined the walls here instead of torches. While we walked up the stairs slowly, I could faintly see bits of drawings on the tiles—of animals: foxes, ravens, and stags—though most were faded, or broken and dull.

The palace watched.

I knew it in the same way I knew the Ice Palace watched me, too. In the same way I’d felt the Queen’s Palace in the Seelie Court watching, even if I hadn’t known it. The same way I’d felt the Midnight Palace breathing down my neck—this place wasalive.

But there was a little bit more to it here because this palace was also dying. And I had the feeling it had been dying for a verylong time now. A silly thought considering this was a fucking building, but I’d been held hostage by a building once, and I’d had doors open for me and food pop up in front of my door. This was Verenthia.

The help here wore brown and most of the fae that passed us by had their hair covered with brown cloths as well. They moved like they were both tired and in a rush, and though they watched us, they did so in silence.

The hallways were built the same way on the second floor, too, and the rooms off the halls were all empty, most with furniture covered with pieces of cloth. Again—no paintings on the walls. They’d all been removed, every last one of them, but when we finally made our way up the stairs to the third floor, we finally heard something other than footsteps. Voices.

“Ladies.” Hil put his arm in front of my chest before I took the second stair, but he didn’t dare touch Maera. “Allow me the honor of making sure it’s safe for you up there first.”

That grin. The way his eyes sparkled, I was tempted to smile.