Curse of Stolen Flame (Firebird, #1)

CHAPTER 37

Tess was back three days later, waiting for Kindra in the training ring like nothing had happened. Kindra forced herself to look casual as she approached the other Firefury.

“You’re back,” she noted, keeping her voice light and nonchalant.

“Indeed I am.”

“Where were you?” Kindra fought to keep any note of suspicion out of her tone.

“I was sent to some of the outposts and fortresses, per the Council’s request. Discussing defense plans, taking stock of what they have and don’t have, that sort of thing,” Tess explained. If Kindra didn’t know for a fact she was lying, she would’ve believed her without question.

It stung to be lied to so deliberately. Kindra gritted her teeth, reminding herself to stay calm. “Of course. That’s understandable.” She nodded towards the ring, wanting to be done with the conversation. “Shall we?”

Tess raised an eyebrow. “Not in the mood for chatting today?”

“No,” Kindra bit out, turning away and marching out into the openness of the ring.

Tess regarded her for a moment longer, eyes narrowing slightly. Then she followed suit, and she’d barely finished the countdown when Kindra unleashed herself at her.

It was an unrefined match, Kindra growing more and more wild and out of control as she grew angrier. She was hurt that her friend was lying to her but also deeply concerned. What had Tess been doing? Was it something dangerous? Her thoughts spiraled as they continued to fight.

What if she was working with one of the other kingdoms? What if she’d known about the Harvest Festival bombing? Kindra didn’t feel much loyalty to the royal family, despite the fact that she was soon to be part of it, but she did care about the civilians that resided in Alverin. They would be the ones who bore the brunt of this war.

Tess kept up with her, clearly thinking at first Kindra just had some energy to release. But as the match continued, her brows furrowed with worry as it became obvious Kindra’s fire was fueled by anger.

“Kindra,” she shouted over the roar of fire. “Kindra, what’s going on?”

Kindra didn’t reply, just sent another blast of fire towards her. Tess deflected it easily.

“Kindra,” she tried again, “you’re letting your emotions get the better of you. I can see—” she cut off, dodging a particularly nasty blow. “I can see you’re mad at me for something. Just talk to me.” She dodged again, and this time her face contorted with exasperation. “Dammit, Kindra, can you use your fucking words?”

Kindra snarled, but she stopped. She stormed over to Tess and hissed, quiet enough that only the two of them would hear: “You’re lying to me.”

Tess betrayed nothing. “What are you talking about?”

Her refusal to admit the truth only made Kindra angrier. “Cut the bullshit, Tess. I saw you. In the hallway, when you disappeared into a—a fucking broom closet! And then, a few days ago, outside the forge. I know you saw me, and I know you know that I saw you. So stop fucking lying to me and tell me what’s really going on.”

Tess blinked. For a brief moment, a mere heartbeat, her composure slipped. But then her mask was back in place, and she laughed. “Oh, yes. You saw me yesterday in the worker district. I was making a stop at my favorite metalsmith before coming back to the castle, that’s all. Technically, those of us on the Royal Guard aren’t supposed to go to anybody but the castle smiths, but I like to slip out and get some things for myself sometimes. That’s why I was trying to stay hidden from the other guards; it could be a strike against me if I’m caught. But Kindra…” She frowned. “This thing about seeing me in the hallway? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Again, the lie stung. Kindra opened her mouth to argue, to rip the truth out of Tess, but then thought better of it. If Tess wanted to withhold things from her, then fine. Kindra would just figure it out herself.

She closed her mouth and offered up an awkward smile. “Right, well, that explains that, then. Sorry for all the accusations. Although I wonder who it was in the hallway… should I report it to the guard? That seems like a security risk.”

Tess’s eyes flashed. “You can, though I’m not sure what could be done now.”

“They could post more guards in the halls at night, so there aren’t as many gaps where somebody could slip by,” Kindra suggested mildly. She didn’t miss the slight stiffening of Tess’s shoulders.

“Right. They could do that.” Tess backed away from her, aiming towards the water barrel. “I have to run—I’ve got patrol soon. But I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Another lie. Tess didn’t ever have patrol at this time of day. She purposefully had requested mornings off so she could train with Kindra.

“Oh.” Kindra followed her to the barrel. “Did you get reassigned?”

Tess shrugged. “I just picked up a shift for one of the others. He’s sick today.” She smiled at Kindra, but it was thin, wary almost, lacking its usual warmth. “See you around. Thanks for the match.”

“See you—” But the Firefury was already gone, hurrying across the ring as if she couldn’t wait to get as far away from Kindra as possible.

“Sala, I have a question for you,” Kindra proclaimed as she entered her rooms, sweaty and aching from a match with Ryle. After Tess’s abrupt departure, she’d found the Windspinner across the ring and they’d trained together for a couple of hours. Their session culminated in a sparring match, and try though she did, Kindra did not emerge victorious. This time, at least, she got closer, a small victory for what had otherwise been a very frustrating morning.

Now, as Sala helped her out of her nerushmyr and into the steaming bath, Kindra’s mind spun with theories and worries. Tess’s lies and half-truths had not deterred her. In fact, she was only more determined to uncover what was really going on. She’d started with Ryle as they’d been warming up: an innocent inquiry about the sickness in the guard.

“Tess had to skip out early today. She’s covering a shift for one of the other guards, said they’re sick. Is there some kind of bug going around?” she’d asked .

Ryle had frowned. “Not that I know of. But maybe somebody drank too much last night.”

Kindra had really wanted Ryle to confirm Tess’s excuse. But with no solid answer, she now moved on to her next source of information.

“What’s your question, Lady Kindra?” Sala ran her hands down Kindra’s back, her eyes flashing with every pulse of magic she used to soothe the worn muscles.

“I’ve heard there might be a sickness in the Royal Guard.” Kindra sighed as the aches eased and then vanished entirely under Sala’s careful touch. “Have you heard anything about it, among the other Healers? I imagine you all are kept informed about the health of all in the castle.”

“Yes, we are. Healers have meetings on the mornings when there are updates, actually. We didn’t have a meeting this morning, so I’m not sure if there’s any sickness going around. Perhaps a bad hangover—the guards like to claim it’s an illness when they’re merely sick from a night of too much drinking.”

Kindra barely mustered up a laugh. “That makes sense, I suppose.” She sank down into the water.

Sala hummed in reply and didn’t say anything more about it. Kindra didn’t push any further.

After lunch, she made her way to the Great Library. The giant space was sparsely occupied. It was a nice, rather warm day for late autumn, so many had decided to take advantage of the weather before the brutal cold of winter arrived. Over the sound of her own footsteps on the polished stone floors, she could hear the crackle of the giant fireplace, the soft rustle of pages being turned, and the quiet murmur of conversation between some of the scholars and courtiers who had decided to spend their time among the books.

Perfect. She didn’t need an audience right now.

As inconspicuously as possible, she made her way to the records section of the library. It was on the ground floor, spanning for what felt like miles as she peered down aisle after aisle, each stretching and curving beyond what her eyes could see. It was also restricted. Nobody was allowed except for the most high-ranking scholars and officials, and members of the royal family, which she considered herself to be, if only because it helped justify breaking the rules .

The librarian’s desk was blessedly unoccupied, the only people nearby a couple of robed scholars pouring over giant texts together at one of the tables. It was easy enough to sneak around them, and they were so engrossed in their reading they didn’t even look up. Her infiltration successful, she began her search.

Using the plaques at the end of each aisle, she walked until she came across one that read “Architecture and Plans.” Then she squared her shoulders and started down the aisle. There weren’t so many books here as there were scrolls, some faded and dusty and torn, others still crisp and clean, as though they’d just been placed on the shelves the day before. Luckily, the shelves were labeled, making her hunt considerably easier, but it was still quite some time before she came to the shelf that held what she was looking for. It seemed as if they had every blueprint every drawn in the whole kingdom of Alverin on these shelves. Kindra supposed it wouldn’t be surprising if they did.

Now, standing before a towering bookshelf marked “Castle Building Plans,” she began pulling scrolls off the shelves and unrolling them as she sat on the ground in the middle of the aisle. Occasionally she had to light a small flame on the tip of her finger to help read; many of the plans were obviously very old, going back centuries, and time had left its mark on them. Some she could hardly make out, others had been rolled up for so long that when she flattened them out, they threatened to break apart in her hands. She tried to move through them as gently and quickly as possible. Finally, she found the scroll that held what she was looking for: the plan for the catacombs beneath the castle.

It was a massive scroll, too wide when unrolled to lay flat all at once in the width of the aisle. Fortunately, these plans weren’t too faded, though she had a hard time figuring out how exactly they lined up with the castle itself. It was hard to visualize them fitting together.

The idea had come to her last night: Tess had disappeared into the catacombs. She imagined the broom closet might hold an entrance to them, hidden behind something or opened by pressing a certain stone. It was the only thing that made sense; otherwise Tess had just vanished into thin air, which was only possible for Shadowmasters, which Tess was not. Kindra just needed to confirm her suspicions by finding the floor plan that showed there was an entrance there. It would be too risky for her to sneak into the broom closet on a theory. Plus, now that Tess was back, Kindra needed to be extra careful.

If Tess was going to conceal her activities, then Kindra was going to conceal her attempts to discover them.

Gradually, the map began to make sense to her. But it still didn’t tell her what she needed. This plan showed only the main level of the catacombs, which was mostly just tombs for the Annalindis family, and she needed plans that showed connections to the third floor, to see the hidden passages and stairways that began up there.

However, to her frustration, it seemed there were no other plans for the catacombs to be found. She poured over scroll after scroll, finding detailed plans for chambers, the kitchens, even the library itself, but no other scrolls of the catacombs and where, exactly, their entrances were. There were no indicators of any secret passages on anything she looked at. In the end, she placed all the scrolls back in their spots and left the records section feeling defeated.

Logically, she supposed she could understand it. The plans she needed were probably locked up in a much safer place than the library, where on a slow day anybody could slip past some focused scholars and get their hands on them. It made sense—just as people could use the catacombs to escape the castle, enemies could use them to get in, as well. So it was best to keep them well-guarded.

But understanding the reason didn’t make Kindra any less frustrated about her failure.

As she exited the library and made her way back to her chambers, where she was to meet Jasper for their afternoon walk around the gardens, she devised her plan: caution be damned. There was an entrance to the catacombs in that closet, and tonight, she was going to find it.