“You’re the only threat to this sector,” Adira spat out.
The regent frowned. “Guess we’ll see about that, won’t we?”
He turned back to the old woman just as the ravagers closed in on her. Adira squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face against Alec’s arm, but she could do nothing to block out the screams, the sound of bones breaking, of muscles tearing and flesh ripping away.
When it was over—when the haunting wails finally ended—she opened her eyes. The regent stood facing her.
“I’m sorry it had to come to this,” he said.
Then he raised both of his hands, and the light from his hands spread to reveal more of the ravager land on the other side of the runestone force field. One by one, more witches from Miss Balek’s home came into view, each imprisoned in their own runestone cell. All of them male. Even Erik, who, for all the problems he had caused, still didn’t deserve such a gruesome fate.
That was why he’d taken them. To force Adira to do as he said. Their lives depended on her obedience now.
Jedrick dipped his head, imploring her with his gaze. Like he was trying to tell her something. But what?
Dvorak dusted off invisible lint from his shoulder and ran his hands down his lapels. “Please don’t make me do that again.”
He walked off, his light footsteps crunching over dry leaves as he headed back the way they’d came. “Come along,” he called over his shoulder. “It’s not safe out here, you know.”
Alec nudged Adira forward, and she could practically feel his regret in the way he guided her back toward the castle. As they left the outskirts of the sector, he lowered his mouth to her ear.
“Wait for me,” he breathed. “Don’t do anything else until I come for you.”
Chapter 24
There had to be a way out of this. Something Alec was missing. The idea that they had to succumb to the regent’s wishes in all of this was unthinkable.
But what exactly were they supposed to do? Adira would never agree to do anything that would put her newfound witch family in danger. And if the regent so much as thought something were amiss, he would take out those witches one by one until there was no one left.
Knowing the regent, he wouldn’t think twice of taking out the female witches in holding, too. If Alec was certain of anything, it was that once it happened, Adira would start fighting back again. Once the witches were gone, Dvorak would have nothing to hold over her. But even that wouldn’t stop him.
And then what? Would Adira be willing to run away with him then? Where would they go? No one even knew if any of the other sectors still existed. Hiding out here was also off the table after everything that had transpired recently, and surviving in the ravager lands was impossible, even with Adira’s abilities.
That stupid magic-suppressing cuff didn’t help, either, but they could get that off with her sundial charm once she was ready to run.
Alec slammed his fist on the bedside table. Here he was, already killing off those other witches in his head. As if sacrificing them to save Adira was okay. Had he not already realized that sacrificing lives was not the path to nobility? The very woman he was trying to save had been the one to teach him that!
He had enough blood on his hands. The sacrificing needed to end.
He stared across the room. Leaning against the wall in one corner was his magic sword. The regent had finally returned it to him. But Alec wasn’t a fool. Dvorak didn’t trust him. Deep down, the regent knew something was up between Alec and Adira, and he was either denying it to himself or planning something greater.
Possibly both.
What Alec needed wasn’t some sword to fight a ravager. He needed some way to fight Dvorak. Or to help Adira do so. There was only one way he knew of to do that, and the last time he’d tried, it hadn’t ended well.
There wasn’t much time, though. By morning, they would likely be preparing Adira to face the ravager, and after that, Dvorak would take her as his bride. How had Alec ever thought he could let that happen?
He took a swig of his whiskey and closed his eyes as the smooth liquid burned down his throat.
What must be done must be done.
Alec set the bottle on the nightstand, stood, grabbed and sheathed his sword, and walked to his bedroom door. He held his breath as he peered both ways down the long hall.
Adira was in the queen’s chambers just around the corner, which would be heavily guarded, and by now, the regent would be in his chambers, which made the secret library inaccessible through that room.
Alec would have to find another way to get his hands on those hidden spellbooks.
Alec hated sneaking around, but more than that, he hated that he still hadn’t had the chance to tell Adira what he’d discovered. He was certain the regent would expect him to steal a visit to Adira, but needed to save that card because he might only get to use it once before being found out and exiled for treason.
First, the spellbooks.
Alec slowed as he passed the regent’s room, peering to the space beneath the door to see if any light slivered into the hall. Nothing.
Clenching his jaw, Alec forced himself onward. The last thing he needed was another guard to catch him lingering by the regent’s bedroom, especially so late at night. He’d only narrowly convinced the regent he hadn’t betrayed him, and even then, he could tell Dvorak was still skeptical.
Someone, the regent said, had been inside his room. Did Alec know anything about that?
No, sir. He’d been on his way to assist with the witches at Miss Balek’s residence.
Why hadn’t he told the regent about Adira?
He’d wanted to, but he felt he was onto something bigger. He wanted to learn as much about her and Miss Balek’s hive of witches as he could before he turned Adira in.
That wasn’t Alec’s call to make. That was for Dvorak to decide.
I messed up, was all Alec had been able to say to that. And it’d been enough. Barely.
Although, Dvorak knew how close Alec had come to sleeping with Adira, thanks to Erik. There was no excusing that, and the regent made it clear in no uncertain terms that if he ever laid a hand on Adira again, his life would be over.
Hers, too, he’d added, as soon as I get what I need from her.
Alec cringed at the memory that continued to echo in his mind, haunting him with every breath. It would have been enough to stop Alec from what he was about to do, if he didn’t suspect the regent was going to kill Adira once he got what he wanted anyway.
Stepping out into the frigid night air, Alec sucked in a deep breath. No one would think anything of him being out here…but they would have a thing or two to say if they saw him climbing up the side of the castle. Which was exactly what he was about to do.
He walked around the side of the castle to the regent’s bower and tried to map out the inside of the castle from the outside where he stood. Two of those windows were the regent’s bedroom. Only one of them led to the secret room.
He scanned the horizon, considering what he’d seen from that window. The river and the trees. But that could be seen from any of the bower’s windows.
At the sound of voices coming from the front of the castle, Alec curved around the next corner and pressed his back against the stone. His chest heaved with slow, quiet breaths. They couldn’t hear him from this distance, not unless he started talking in the drunken shouts they were talking in.
Once they had passed on to wherever they were going, Alec took another look around, then up. That smaller-than-usual rectangular window looked familiar…
That was when he realized the first three windows he was looking at weren’t the regent’s and the secret room, but the regent’s and one of the guards’ rooms. The office, which the secret library was behind, was at the far end of the castle, which meant the window he was looking for would be, too.
It had to be that one. That one right over his head.
Now to figure out how to get up there.
He
turned toward the castle and assessed the stones. There wasn’t much to hold onto. He stuck his toes on one of the ledges and then reached up to find a handhold. Grunting, he stretched higher, his fingers grazing an edge, but he couldn’t get his hand high enough to hook his fingertips.
This wasn’t going to work. He let himself down and stepped a foot to the right, then tried again. Here he got a better grasp and was able to pull himself up. He had to stretch his leg for the second foothold, but it was there.
Alec worked his way back under the window and was nearly to the second floor of the castle when his foot slipped.
He clenched his teeth to stop the curse that threatened to spill from his lips, digging his grip harder against the stone. His fingernails ached and his muscles strained as he pulled his body up, foot fumbling for a new hold.
There.
He blew out a low breath, trying to steady his pounding heart, then tried again.
The window was close.
Just. One. More. Boost.
But there was nothing to grip. To go up, he had to stretch back over the way he’d come—away from the window.
Sweat beaded his forehead and dripped into his eye. He grimaced, trying to blink away the moisture now clouding his vision. Alec climbed higher, placing himself adjacent to the window, but there was still nothing for him to grip to move over.
Damn it!
He looked down, considering retreating and finding another way into the room. Perhaps through the regent’s office? Or even through the regent’s room again, once he was out for the day, now that he knew what traps to avoid?
Unless new ones had been set.
But tomorrow was not soon enough. Tomorrow, Adira would face the ravager, and why should she have to do that when everything they knew about Sector One was a lie?
Alec could not let that happen. He was getting in, and he was going in through that window.
Tonight.
Fumbling for more juts in the stone, he scaled higher, until he had passed the window. Maybe now he could make it across. He stretched out his leg, every muscle in his body burning to hold the rest of his body against the wall. Finally, he found what he was looking for and made quick work to shift his body over until he was just above his target. Then he eased himself down until his feet dangled in front of the window.
There was nowhere to place his feet now—not until he reached the large window ledge below. Holding as firmly as he could with his right hand, he let go with his left but kept it pressed against the wall as he glided it down the bumpy stones to find a new handhold.
His fingers couldn’t take much more. As his hold began to slide, he shot his right hand back up to the handhold it’d just departed from. This wasn’t going to work. Alec had trained since his youth and was by far the strongest man on the guard…but this was no task for a human.
He couldn’t give up. Adira needed to know what she was getting herself into. He could die after that, but not before.
Gritting his teeth while holding steady to the handholds, he gave his body a light swing inward and let go. He landed on the balls of his feet and then followed through to his heels as not to make too much of a thud, but he still winced at the sound of his landing.
He’d made it. He was on the large window ledge. His stiff muscles screamed from the pain, but he worked through it. He needed to get the window open now, and he had just the tool for the job.
Alec pulled the sword from its sheath and pushed it against the seam of the window until it cracked open. At least now, he knew the regent hadn’t removed the magic from the sword—that alone wouldn’t have been enough to open the window otherwise.
With the locking mechanism popped, Alec re-sheathed his sword and hooked his fingers under the window sash. With a light tug up, the window opened the rest of the way.
But once he climbed in, he stood face to face with Regent Dvorak.
Chapter 25
Waiting for Alec was making Adira anxious. He said he would come for her. When would that be? And what difference would it make? Miss Balek was already dead. And if she tried anything, more of her friends would soon follow. Even if she were willing to sacrifice their lives, running from the regent would only put the rest of the sector in danger as well. This was the role she was meant to play.
Wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, she took a slow, steadying breath, trying to work through her sobs, hiccups, and sniffles. She needed to find the rest of the witches. Only the men had been out there with the ravagers, which likely meant the women and girls were somewhere in the castle. Dvorak’s “back-up” plan. Truth was, Adira was still expendable. If she failed, one of the others would be next.
She couldn’t fail.
Adira strode to the double doors and yanked them wide open. As she stepped into the hall, the guards crossed their spears, stopping her from continuing forward.
“Excuse me. I would like to visit the prisoners.”
One of the guards laughed.
Adira posted her fists at her hips. “That’s funny?”
He stopped laughing. “The regent ordered you to stay here.”
“Then get him and tell him I would like to see my friends.”
The other guard shook his head. “He’s busy.”
“Busy? In the middle of the night?”
“He takes treason quite seriously,” he said, leveling his gaze at Adira. “Now go back inside. He’ll see you in the morning.”
“And if I don’t listen?”
“Then we’ll be forced to lock you in a cell where you’ll have no choice but to listen.”
“At least you two aren’t very bright,” she said. After she stepped back into the room, she shut and locked the door behind her, muttering under her breath. “Idiots.”
Did they really just tell her that if she tried to go down to the prison to see her friends, that they would stop her by locking her away as well? Well, there was always that. But Adira would save that for plan B. It would be far more ideal if she could get to them undetected, to speak to them without an audience.
She glanced around the room, assessing her options. The window would never work. She was too high up. With the cuff on, she couldn’t use magic. She’d already tried to use her sundial charm to break the metal clasp, but it was no use. It not only blocked her own magic, but it also blocked her ability to use any magical item. She would need someone else to do it.
As she circled the room, she figured it was probably for the best. She needed to keep that cuff on, even if for no other reason than to keep the regent off her back. Adira ran her fingernails along the walls, pursing her lips. Dvorak was certainly the type to have some sort of hidden passage, but there was none here.
Adira paused near the laundry chute and sighed. Sure, she would fit. But squeezing down an old shoot that led to who knows where was not her idea of a good time.
But this stopped being about what Adira wanted a long time ago.
She pulled open the chute door, then tilted her head as she assessed the inside. Instead of a plain chute, she found two pieces of rope hanging inside. A dumbwaiter. That almost seemed too good to be true.
Adira tugged one side of the rope until the car appeared. She took a deep breath. Well, this was it. She held the rope steady as she climbed in, wincing as the rope-pulley system creaked beneath her weight. This was not what these things were designed for, and this one seemed older than dirt.
Would it even hold her weight?
Only one way to find out.
With both her hands gripped around the rope, she slowly began lowering the car. She bit the inside of her cheek as the room disappeared. Darkness swallowed her. As the car rocked, she pulled her feet closer to her body, her knees bent up, to avoid her toes pinching inside the space in front of her where the ropes dangled. Her knuckles scraped along the wall as she shimmied the car lower.
Although she tried to lower herself quietly, the old dumbwaiter groaned with every move. Her palms began to sweat, and her hand
s gripped tighter to prevent from slipping. In the dark, there was no way to see how much farther she had to go. Only a sliver of light from above marked how far she had come.
Smoke started to filter in from beneath her in wisps and swirls, and unintelligible whispers bounced all around her.
Something didn’t feel right.
When the outline of a face appeared in the dumbwaiter with her, Adira startled, and the rope slipped against her palms. She clenched the rope with a gasp, and the car jerked to a stop. Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a few slow breaths.
This isn’t real.
The regent must have cast some spell on the dumbwaiter to scare people away from using it. That was the kind of person he was, too. He could have just had it sealed off, but instead, he thought to terrify anyone who would use it as she was. She probably wasn’t the first person to try to use it for means of escape.
Someone would surely be waiting for her at the bottom. She would deal with that when she got there.
She kept her eyes closed for the rest of the descent, but nothing could block out the whispers or the feel of smoke in her lungs that was somehow there even though it wasn’t.
Once she reached the bottom, she pushed open the door, bracing herself to face the regent.
But he wasn’t there.
And for some reason, that concerned Adira even more. What could he possibly be so busy with to miss this? Surely, he had been looking forward to catching her in this very act.
Cautiously, she climbed out and assessed her surroundings. A large counter in the center of the room. An oven. A fireplace.
The kitchen.
She swallowed and tiptoed forward. The whole of the downstairs was eerily quiet. Where were all the guards?
As she scanned the room and peered into the hallways beyond, she spotted an old wooden door she’d seen guards going in and out of during dinner the other evening. She padded over and carefully turned the knob, then eased the door open to reveal a staircase leading into the ground.
Origin: an Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 1) Page 17