Page 38

37

Two armed guards stormed into Lord Cofsi’s guest chamber, startling him. Cofsi sprung upright, eyes still laden with sleep. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.

Ignoring Cofsi’s request, one of the guards grabbed his arm rather tightly, hooking it behind his back and dragging him from his bed. Cofsi stumbled, trying to shake out of the guard’s grip. He took in the appearance of the two martial men: they were about his height and only armed with a longsword strapped against their hips. Cofsi might have been able to fight one, but not two.

Cofsi grunted as he struggled against his confines.

“You’ve been accused of conspiring against the prince.”

Cofsi’s brows furrowed as he resisted every jostle. “W-What? That can’t be—” Cofsi’s thoughts were cut short with one simple name. Evrardin .

Evrardin must have told the prince of Cofsi’s bargain to provide him with information about Acastus’ inner political workings. He always knew Evrardin was a sadistic bastard, but he never thought him nefarious enough to betray innocent people. Did he truly hold that much loyalty to the prince that he would risk the life of the kingdom he was sworn to protect?

Cofsi knew the prince would be anything but aware of his meeting with Evrardin, something so below his caliber of importance. Cofsi concluded that Acastus likely didn’t demand any conspiratorial intel out of Evrardin. No, Evrardin had told him on his own violation.

Cofsi seethed all the way to the dungeons, grateful at least that it was the middle of the night and no nobles were lingering about the halls to gawk at him. Though, he supposed it didn’t matter much. Word would break loose first thing in the morning. Everyone in Kairth would be aware of Lord Cofsi’s arrest. Now he just hoped what little evidence Acastus might present wouldn’t be enough to convict Cofsi of treason.

Cofsi was shucked into a damp cell, the small torches creating a burning glow over the wet stone. The iron gate dragged along the ground, making Cofsi wince.

“Do I at least get to know how long I’m intended to be held?”

“Until the prince wishes to bring you to testify. But with the weddin’, I wouldn’t expect anythin’ soon.”

Cofsi grumbled curses to himself, the guard’s heavy footfalls echoing through the corridor. He didn’t know Evrardin as well as he used to, but he couldn’t imagine him truly wanting to see Acastus succeed—whatever that may entail. Cofsi paced back and forth; why would Evrardin do this? Cofsi groaned when his foot sloshed in a puddle, soaking the shoes he had haphazardly pulled on in the mad dash to the dungeons.

Cofsi approached the bars of his enclosure, his hands tightening on their warped surface. He began to regret his insistence on trekking to the Summer Solstice alone, wanting to protect his people if things had gone askew. Well, they had gone wrong, and now Cofsi was in Kairth without an ally.

He rested his head against the cold metal and sighed. But then something odd struck him, his heightened senses tingling within his blood. When Cofsi took a breath in, instead of smelling the wet mold of the stone dungeon, he smelt blood and decay. Decay strong enough to mean hundreds of dead bodies.

He looked up in confusion, expecting to see a pile of corpses rotting in front of him, but it was just more cells. He breathed in again and could tell the bodies were tucked away. They were certainly in the dungeons, but they smelt faint, like the dungeons went beyond just these confinements and instead had a labyrinth of hidden alcoves and halls.

They seemed relatively fresh too, with how potent the scent was. Recognition bloomed in Cofsi and he held his head higher. He began laughing to himself. First quietly, then loud enough to echo down the halls and gain a scolding from one of the sentinels.

“Fucking Evrardin,” he muttered to himself in reverence. Cofsi knew Evrardin was under some dark spell that forced his loyalty to the prince. He was likely sworn not to share any sensitive details he heard from Acastus. There was no way for him to tell Cofsi of Acastus’ plans. But he could show him. “That sly bastard.” Cofsi had a grin on his face that began to sink. He knew Acastus was doing something with hundreds of corpses, likely intertwined with dark, forbidden magick. But now Cofsi was trapped in the dungeons. He couldn’t do anything locked down here.

His fingers tightened on the bars. He’d have to find a way out.