Page 58 of Shadow Throne King
It was nothing compared to the sunlight outside, but once my eyes adjusted, I could see clearly.
Ahead, the dwarf turned, continuing to walk upon the path that was now lined with clear, glowing stones. After we passed through the cavern, we circled a lake, the water a brilliant green that cast sparkles onto the walls and ceiling above. Something dark moved through the water, its back cresting the surface for a moment before it dropped down again, leaving the water as still as a mirror.
The glowing stones that lined the path brightened, then climbed up the walls as we reached a room thick with gemstones. A massive one in the center had been carved into the shape of a badger, rearing back, its mouth open in threat.
It was nearly identical to the seal that the Krustavian king used on all of his messages. He may not have been hearing directly from Tallu, but unless Maki had learned to perfectly imitate the seal, Talluhadbeen receiving his messages.
I considered what that meant, as we continued on. Finally, as we entered a room dripping with stalagmites and stalactites, I couldn’t help but say, “I was told that the depths of Krustau weren’t safe to travel.”
Ahead, the dwarf chuckled, his voice booming in the cavern, shaking loose some bats who flew over our heads before disappearing into the dark.
“These are no moredepthsthan the cellars of your houses in the north. We are just beneath the city above. True depths are those our miners fear to touch. We would have to walk another full day just to reach them. Come.” He led us through a narrow opening, and the cavern beyond brightened with real daylight. We emerged at the top in Mountain Thrown City, the entire city built into the mountain peaks.
Each door was an opening that had been dug into the mountainside. We stood on a flat plateau carved under the peak, and from it, we were able to view a spread of land on either side of the mountain.
Looking down, I saw the lake and the Lakeshore Palace, and beyond them I could nearly see all the way to the forest we had spent so long crossing. On the other side, flat plains of grassy farms faded into blackened trees beyond.
I pointed. “Forsaith?”
Tallu nodded. I remembered the smoke that lit the sky for weeks. Half a continent away, and we could still see the results of the Imperium’s fury. My mother would stand for hours watching, her face pale from the cold, one hand on my shoulder, one hand on Eonaî’s, as she forced us to see what would happen to our nation if we failed.
How much worse to see it closer, to have a view of the burning towns. Now all you could see was the charred remains of the once-prosperous kingdom.
Would they have been able to see the prototypes of Seka Zami’s flying ship from here?
I searched the mountainside. “Where is the path down to the base of the mountain?”
“There is none,” the dwarf who’d guided us said. “To get up here to Mountain Thrown City, you need a stone mage.”
His smile was amused when Tallu turned to him. I looked down again, squinting until I saw some evidence of where the path had once been. Now the path broke off into a sheer cliff face ending in a forest of scraggly pine trees. They were too far down and too spread out to break our fall. We were trapped.
“We learned from Forsaith, too. This way,” the dwarf said. He led us into one of the large openings on the mountain wall, massive columns decorated in the Krustavian style framing the doorway.
I had expected more untamed spaces like the caverns we had just traveled through—massive uncut gems hanging from every wall to show Krustau’s wealth; it could let such treasure sit unattended.
Instead, we walked through rooms that could have been extensions of the Lakeshore Palace: rooms with friezes that covered all four walls, tables and chairs carved from old wood, and decorated with plates and bowls made from diamonds, even a library with Krustavian books from floor to ceiling.
In every room, dwarves occupied the space, their laughter dying when they saw us, lively conversations turning to silence at a glimpse of Tallu’s crown. At the back, Asahi was growing increasingly tense, and the angry hornets of his thoughts made me wince, bringing a hand to my temple before I dropped it at Tallu’s frown.
No one tried to follow us, although I couldn’t help but count the number of people we would need to kill to escape.
“Are all of these people members of the court?” I asked, desperate to hear some sound other than the threatening silence that surrounded us.
“Court?” Our guide sniffed. “That’s an imperial conceit. These are the members of Badger Guild, those who aren’t working.”
At the next doorway, I blinked, recognizing that the dark colors of their clothes had traces of dust and chipped stone at the hems. One of the women saw me looking and crossed her arms, glaring.
I smiled, trying for friendly, but it had the exact same effect of dropping an annoyed skunk into a tea party. Her lips went even thinner, and I took two steps to catch up with Tallu and our guide.
“What a welcoming guild,” I muttered.
The dwarf grunted, stopping in front of a pair of enormous stone doors. They were covered in gemstones patterned like mosaics. They must have weighed as much as a whale, yet our guide touched the handle of the first door, and both openedimmediately. Like the bears earlier, the stone seemed to move itself.
We stood at the entrance to the room, and I was reminded of all those months ago when Eonaî and I had stood at the edge of Tallu’s throne room. It had been dark there, too.
But this was a different sort of dark, not simply a difference in light. We were deep in the heart of the mountain, and the pathway into the throne room was lit by small, glowing rocks, throwing their pale green light into the darkness as though it could illuminate more than our own feet.
Our guide stood at the doorway, his body turned perpendicular to ours, watching with interest. We didn’t move.