Page 51 of Duskbound (Esprithean Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER FIFTY

A block from the Compound, we pressed against the cold stone of an alley wall. The fortress-like building stretched countless stories into the sky, its black stone walls reflecting the moonlight. Guard towers punctuated each corner, though only the front entrance was lit by iron lanterns that cast pools of yellow light across the cobblestones.

"I'm following your lead," Aether said, his voice low beside me, "but we're sticking to the plan. We destroy the blood oaths, then we leave. Nothing more."

I nodded, watching the main gates where two guards in crisp white shirts lounged against their posts. Their silver badges gleamed as they chatted, clearly relaxed in the quieter evening hours. Before, the entrance would have been flooded with personnel, but with everyone stationed out West, it looked like a ghost of its former self.

"This way." I pulled us toward the Eastern wall where the healers' wing jutted out from the main building. Our forms dissolved into shadow as we approached. A simple metal door broke up the otherwise smooth surface .

I reached out with my focus, tracking the minds within. One silver orb of consciousness passed by on the other side, growing fainter as footsteps echoed away.

"Now," I whispered, and we slipped through like smoke.

Inside, rows of storage rooms lined a narrow hallway, their oak doors marked with brass plaques. The air smelled of herbs and antiseptic—so different from the metallic tang of the training gyms. No minds glowed behind these doors, thankfully. I led us right, our shadows hugging the walls until the corridor opened into a wider space. There, several minds were clustered in a room with light spilling out from under the door.

The infirmary. We were close.

"It's there." My pulse quickened as I spotted the heavy iron door at the end of the hall—the blood oath chamber.

Multiple locks lined the door's edge, but they meant nothing to us now. We shifted through like mist, materializing in a chamber that remained unchanged from the last time I'd broken in. Hundreds of glass vials lined the walls from floor to ceiling, each one containing tiny papers dotted with crimson. Black vines writhed between them, weeping a sticky sap that dripped onto the floor. The whole room felt wrong—like walking into something alive and hungry.

In stone planters along the walls, shards of arcanite glowed with that familiar violet-blue light. The same ones I'd seen months ago, when I'd come here to collect my own vial.

Aether paused beside me, tension radiating from his frame. "Bloodweep," he said, his voice tight. "We used it in Umbrathia too, before the Queen banned it. She called it barbaric."

"Well, she wasn't wrong." I remembered how the sap had coated my arm that first time, how it had seemed to reach for me with a mind of its own.

"The vials mean nothing without the plant." Aether moved closer to one of the planters, studying the twisted vines. "Kill it, and the oaths dry up. They might not notice for weeks, maybe even longer."

"Better than smashing everything." I glanced at the thousands of vials. "So how do we kill this thing?"

"Like any other plant." He stepped up to the first planter, holding his hand over the dark soil. "We destroy it from the inside out."

I watched, transfixed, as the vines began to tremble. Beneath the surface, something cracked—the sound of roots snapping echoing through the chamber. Aether moved methodically from planter to planter, that deadly grace in every movement as the bloodied leaves shook beneath his touch.

"Impressive," I whispered as he finished the last one.

"I can be gentle when the need arises." That dimple appeared as he smirked.

Heat rushed to my face at his insinuation.

“Not every use of my ability has to be a massacre,” he added, cocking his head. I bit back a smile as I knelt down, examining one of the vials at eye level. The bright crimson that had stained the paper inside was already dulling, turning an ugly brown.

"It's working," I breathed, adrenaline flooding me.

Without thinking, I was moving—reaching for him. His arms surrounded me as I pulled his face down, our lips meeting with an urgency that surprised us both. The kiss tasted like victory, though we still had a long road ahead.

"We need to go," he nearly groaned against my mouth, but his hands tightened at my waist.

We made it to the door before I stopped suddenly, causing Aether to collide with my back. His arm slid around me, pulling me against his chest. "What is it?" he murmured against my hair.

I turned in his embrace. "I have an idea."

"Fia." My name was a warning on his lips, his golden eyes sharpening. "That was not part of the plan. We have to leave. Now. "

"But we're already in here..." I pressed my hands against his chest. "What if we could get more information on Stormshire? A layout, or maps?"

Frustration creased his features as he looked down at me. "What did you have in mind?" His voice was flat.

"I think I know where to look. And it should be empty."

"Empty?"

Before he could protest further, I reached out with my web, scanning the hallway. A few minds moved about, but as soon as they turned into their respective rooms, I shifted into shadow form. We raced through the healers' wing like smoke, emerging into the circular lobby just before the social area. A set of spiral stairs beckoned from the left. I felt Aether's darkness brush against mine as we rushed up them, staying close to the walls.

At the top, I found the door I was looking for. One quick check confirmed it was empty, and we slipped through.

The office was exactly as I remembered—walls of rough gray stone stretching up to meet dark wooden beams. A massive mahogany desk dominated one side, its surface meticulously organized. On the other, leather furniture sat arranged on a cowskin rug, looking barely used. Everything about the space spoke of rigid control. His rigid control.

I flew to the desk, yanking open drawers and rifling through papers.

"Where are we?" Aether asked, leaning against the wall.

I ignored him, pulling out scrolls and spreading them across the desk's surface. Maps of Fort Agate and Emeraal—fortresses, just not the right one. My hands moved faster, opening another drawer.

Aether's form moved toward the hallway, immediately going still as he peered into one of the rooms—Laryk's bedroom. One I'd never entered before. "How did you know it would be empty?" he asked, his voice taking on a dark quality .

My fingers brushed something small and jagged. I pulled out a piece of red jasper—the one I'd given Laryk months ago during training, on a day when his mind seemed elsewhere. The stone felt warm in my palm, heavy with memories I couldn't afford right now. I returned it quickly to its hiding place.

"It's got to be here somewhere," I muttered, turning to the cabinets behind me.

"It's his, isn't it?" Aether's voice had gone completely cold.

I stilled. "Yes."

In my periphery, I saw Aether's form dissolve into shadow, reappearing near the exterior door, as if he was dying to get out of here. Frustration mounted as I searched faster, knowing we'd stayed too long.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway.

"We have to leave," Aether's words cut through the silence.

The footsteps paused outside. I reached out with my focus—someone stood just beyond the door. My hands moved frantically through the remaining drawers as the knob began to turn. It couldn't be him, could it?

"Now, Fia." The edge in Aether's voice was dangerous.

The door creaked open just as my fingers closed around another set of scrolls. I grabbed them, praying that one of them held the layout to Stormshire—that this hadn't been for nothing. Quickly, just as footsteps rounded the corner, I shifted into darkness, catching a glimpse of an emerald uniform before following Aether through the wall and into the night.

Why was a royal guard in Laryk's room?

We raced across rooftops and through alleyways until we reached the familiar street behind the Apothecary. The greenhouse loomed ahead, its glass panels reflecting moonlight. Behind it, nestled between herb gardens and storage sheds, we found the crate of healing potions.

Aether lifted it easily, and we made our way through the city toward the Grove. My heart didn't slow its frantic beating until we reached the trees, their branches offering welcome cover as we began searching for the Vordr.

"Tryggar?" I whispered into the darkness, scanning between the trees. Beside me, Aether moved with lethal silence, but the tension rolling off him was almost palpable.

Unable to stand the weight of it any longer, I pulled out the scrolls with trembling fingers. Please let it be here. The first two were supply lists, the third a report on Guard rotations. But the fourth—I nearly gasped as I unrolled it. Stormshire's layout spread before me in precise detail, every corridor and chamber carefully marked.

"I have it," I breathed, a smile breaking across my face.

Aether said nothing. His jaw was set, eyes fixed ahead as we waded deeper into the forest.

"I know I cut it close," I admitted, "but it was worth it. Now we're not entirely blind."

He gave a single nod, but the movement looked pained, like he was barely containing something darker.

I rushed forward, placing myself in front of him. He stopped just before we collided, but wouldn't meet my eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked. His jaw tightened further as he stepped back, running a hand through his hair and letting out a long, slow breath.

The silence stretched between us, broken only by leaves rustling overhead. When he finally looked at me, the intensity in his eyes made me feel like I was drowning in molten gold.

"I'm happy you found what you were looking for," he said, his voice carefully level as he brushed past me.

I turned to follow, catching sight of Tryggar's silver form materializing through the trees. Aether walked straight for Nihr, and Tryggar let out a warning growl as he passed. Aether ignored it completely .

"Not now," I whispered as Tryggar stomped excitedly at my approach. "Someone's in a mood." I watched Aether mount his Vordr in one fluid motion, his shoulders rigid beneath his leathers.

The forest opened up ahead, giving the Vordr enough space to spread their massive wings. We took to the sky in silence, climbing until we disappeared into the clouds. For an hour we flew, the tension so thick I could barely breathe. Anger radiated from Aether's direction, but I didn't dare press him further.

The clouds provided excellent cover, but they also obscured the land below. I dipped beneath them briefly, my eyes falling onto a silver ribbon cutting through darkness—the Sprithe River. My heart dropped as memories rushed back—watching helplessly as my friends drowned in those currents, victims of the very Guard I'd later joined. I forced the thoughts away, scanning North until I spotted Obsidia's windmills turning lazily in the night air, thick forests sprawling behind them.

We landed in those woods without being seen, then moved like smoke through the sleeping village. The inn appeared ahead—a weathered two-story building at the edge of town, warm light spilling from its windows.

"I'll get us a room," I said, already pulling up my hood to hide my distinctive hair. "Stay out here."

Aether's expression darkened. "That's not?—"

"You'll draw too much attention," I cut him off. Those golden eyes and void burns would be impossible to hide. People would certainly have questions . After a moment of clear internal struggle, he melted back into the shadows.

I pushed open the heavy wooden door, a bell chiming softly overhead. The common room was mostly empty—a few farmers nursing ales in the corner, an old man dozing by the hearth. Worn tables and chairs filled the space, and the whole room smelled of pipe smoke and cooking meat.

Behind a scarred wooden counter, a woman with gray-streaked hair looked up from her ledger. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in my cloaked figure.

"Need a room?" she asked, her voice carrying that Northern lilt I remembered from those that visited Luminaria for solstices, filtering into the apothecary for tonics to boost their experience.

"Just for the night," I said, keeping my head slightly bowed. "We'll be gone before first light."

Her eyebrow lifted at we but she didn't comment. "Two silvers," she said, already reaching for a key. "Up the stairs, last door on the right. Extra blankets in the chest if you need them." She paused. "No funny business, mind. These walls are thin as paper."

I felt heat rush to my face as I handed over the coins. "Of course not."

She gave me a knowing look that only made me blush harder, then turned back to her ledger. I clutched the key and hurried toward the stairs, painfully aware of how the old wood creaked beneath my feet.

The room was small but clean, with a narrow bed, a decent sized chair by the hearth, and a window overlooking the forest. Perfect for a quick escape if needed. I moved to the glass and just as I was about to open it, Aether materialized beside me, still radiating that careful distance that made my chest ache.

Whatever was brewing beneath his controlled exterior, I had a feeling we wouldn't be able to avoid it much longer.