Eleven
Heidel and I waited in the corridor. Despite my elven heritage, patience had never been one of my virtues. How long did Kull and the princess need? They stood in the hall with their hands clasped. I imagined Kull was letting his bride-to-be know that he was going away for a while.
She brushed a delicate finger across his cheek and gave him a warm smile that almost looked genuine. For such a mismatched couple, they complemented one another—her magical strength and his physical. If they got along as well as they seemed, they’d become a formidable force of power in Faythander.
But did she really want to marry him? I supposed it was none of my business, but seeing the two alone together made me question if this marriage had been arranged. Seeing an opportunity for power, perhaps they’d planned it themselves.
Finally, the couple broke apart. Euralysia returned to the gathering hall, while Kull stalked toward me. Heidel joined us as soon as we reached the staircase.
“You took long enough,” Heidel said.
Kull wrapped his arm around her shoulder. His smile looked genuine. Spending time with his fiancée must have put him in a better mood. I hoped it lasted.
“Jealous, little sister?”
She pushed him away. “Never.”
Kull laughed, then turned to me. “Don’t let her fool you, she’d drop that warrior’s exterior in an instant if the right man came along.”
“Lies,” Heidel replied.
“Lose her wits to live in a castle with bare feet and a pregnant belly and seventeen little ones scampering about.”
Heidel’s eyes narrowed to slits. “The princess has made you lose your judgment, I see.”
“Nonsense. If any man could get close enough without you slitting his throat, you’d be married in a week.”
“Then you should know that I have a lover already—one that I haven’t spoken of because I fear you would frighten him away.”
Kull’s eyes lit up. “A secret love! Splendid. When will you introduce us?”
“I won’t. Ever.”
“No need. I will make the introductions myself. Who is it? Brodnik? Gurnsten? Oh, wait— Fendelwort! Yes, that must be him.”
“Agh!” Heidel threw her hands in the air and marched forward, leaving me with her brother.
“Are you two always like this?” I asked.
Kull cocked an eyebrow. “That was nothing—friendly banter.”
“I see.”
“Heidel knows I jest.”
“Perhaps. But it also seems you know how to infuriate her.”
He shot me a questioning glance.
I decided it was time to change the subject. Practicing my psychoanalysis on Wults wasn’t something I wanted to make a habit of. “So, how are we getting out of the fortress?”
“Through a passage Euralysia showed me when we first arrived here.”
“She showed you how to get out?”
“Of course. But the passage doesn’t just lead out. It also leads to the bedchambers of certain members of elven royalty. She knew it would come in handy.” He winked.
I tried not to think of why it might come in handy.
We caught up to Heidel. A stone wall, slick with slime, blocked our path. I felt magic emanating from it and recognized it immediately as Euralysia’s spell.
Kull pressed his hand to the wall, whispered an elven word, and it disappeared. A dark, narrow corridor appeared where the wall had been. A chill wind gusted from the tunnel.
He and his sister walked into the passageway. I shouldered my pack, thought of Jeremiah, remembered the promise I’d made to Shawna, and followed them inside.
Kull removed a lantern from the wall and ignited the flame. The light illuminated the walls and floor in a pool of amber. Smells of dampness entered my nostrils. Slime slicked the bottoms of my shoes as we walked.
He stopped at an intersection. Several tunnels branched away from us. He pointed to the passageway straight ahead. “This one leads outside the city.”
“How do you know?” Heidel asked.
“Trust me.”
“Do you have a map?”
“I don’t need one.”
Heidel placed her hands on her hips. “You’ll get us lost, just like always.”
“I’ve never gotten us lost.”
“You have—”
“I’ll follow,” I spoke up. “I’m sure he knows where we’re going.”
Kull shot his sister a smug look. “At least someone trusts my judgment.”
Heidel followed, though she didn’t seem appeased.
As we walked, I couldn’t stop thinking about my father. It must have been hard for him to acknowledge me in front of the other elves. When we’d visited in the past, he’d always come alone to my home in the sky king’s mountain. I couldn’t think of a time when we’d met in front of his peers, though he’d promised to introduce me from time to time.
I wondered how badly I’d damaged his image. He must have been relieved that I’d chosen to stay with the Wults. If we ever met again, I’d make it a point to meet somewhere in private, away from the city.
A stray beam of moonlight drifted through a grate in the ceiling. Kull paused and stared overhead. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the whooshing sounds made from the light-rail carriages. A brief burst of golden light overpowered the moonlight and then disappeared.
“We’ve made it to the light-rails,” Kull said. He placed his pack on the ground.
“So soon?” I asked.
“I told you we wouldn’t get lost.”
Heidel glared at him as he inspected the grate overhead. It didn’t look much different from a drainage grate, although images of delicate ivy vines wrought in gold covered the iron bars. Elves. They had to be artistic even when creating sewage coverings.
Kull opened his pack and pulled out a rope. “Heidel, let me lift you.”
Heidel’s expression didn’t change. “No.”
“You want to be stuck down here?” he asked.
“You aren’t touching me.”
Kull sighed. “Olive, how about you?”
“Lift me?” I stared at the grate. Twelve feet up, at least. What made him think I would be able to reach it?
“You’ll just have to push the cover off and climb through. Tie this rope to whatever looks secure up there, and then we’ll follow.”
“I don’t know.”
“I won’t drop you. Trust me.”
“All right. I’ll try.”
I took the rope from him and hoped he knew what he was doing as he grabbed my waist and lifted me up. As he inched me toward the grate, I reached for it.
“A little higher,” I called.
A gust of warm wind brushed my face the higher he raised me. I should have been frightened. Heights had never been my thing. But the gentle strength from his hands around my waist kept me at ease. His nickname of Thor Skullsplitter had been presumptuous. It made me wonder if he really had beaten that jagamoor with his hands tied behind his back. When his hands cupped my butt and he lifted me higher, it made me wonder other things as well.
“Can you reach it?” he asked.
“Not yet. Just a few more inches.”
The glow from the light-rails illuminated the grate. Cold metal chilled my fingers as I grabbed a metal bar. I pushed. Tried again. It gave an inch. I pushed harder, and the grate moved aside with a screeching sound.
“Got it.”
“Can you climb out?”
“I’ll try.” I reached for the lip of the opening. Dirt and grime crusted my fingernails as I grabbed for something to hold on to.
Kull lifted me higher. I grabbed a handful of grass, threaded my fingers through the roots, and pulled myself out of the tunnel. The smell of fresh air washed over me, and the whooshing of carriages from the light-rails buzzed through my ears.
Glancing around, I tried to get my bearings. I stood near a tree on a grassy hill overlooking the city. Golden spires reached for the nighttime sky, encircled by
the city wall.
At least we’d made it out of the city.
I reached for the tree and tied the rope around the broad trunk. Luckily, it fit all the way around. “All set,” I shouted as I lowered the rope into the tunnel.
Kull grabbed the rope first and hoisted himself up. As soon as he reached the top, Heidel followed. When she crawled from the opening, Kull untied the rope from the tree.
“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked me.
My heart fluttered as he stared at me. I’d never realized what an intense gaze the man had. I felt one part fear, another part something else. Respect, perhaps? I supposed having a reputation like his did that to people.
“No, it wasn’t so bad.”
He winked at his sister. “It pays to trust me.”
Heidel didn’t react as I’d expected. She locked her gaze on the light-rails, and her voice turned grim, as if she spoke of something she didn’t care to remember. “You’ll not feel so confident once we reach the Borderlands. There are creatures there that even you can’t defeat, brother.”
Dreamthief Page 15