Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 28

Her life stretched out in what seemed like an eternity before her as the young soldier deliberated over her words. Something passed across his face, and for a split second Cole had to focus her entire being on not bolting up the stairs. But then it passed on, and the young soldier's face crumpled.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't told... I didn't..." he fumbled, and the sound of jangling keys filled the room. A moment later, the door popped open, bringing with it the stench of unwashed bodies, human waste, and mold. Cole fought a gag, and breathed through only her mouth.

"Sleep in the root cellar," she barked at him. "I'll come and alert you when you are to return to duty. Make sure you are properly sleeping, otherwise I'll be forced to report you for failure to fulfill orders."

"O-of course," the soldier stammered, practically tripping up the stairs, his armor jangling as he raced to follow what he said. As soon as he was out of view, Cole breathed out a sigh of relief and sagged under the weight of the tension.

She quickly pulled the door shut and stuffed the keys into her pocket. As she did, she let the magic filter away and dropped her disguise. It felt like a smothering pillow being lifted from her face, and she gasped as fresh air filled her lungs. One glance at her ring showed her she was low on whatever it was that made it so she could use magic.

However, that was the least thing on her mind. She was in. She was in the dungeon. Her mother was just beyond the darkness, hidden away somewhere close.

Cole wasted no time in snatching up the torch and taking it with her down the narrow hallway that stretched on beyond the tiny guard room. The young soldier only had a stool, table, and some literature and cards to occupy his time, and beyond that were the iron bars and doors that kept the prisoners trapped deep in the bowels of the earth. They were jammed up against one another, meaning that the cells within would be barely wider than coffins. Cole shuddered at the thought, but pushed it away as she stood on tiptoes to peer into the first cells. They boasted nothing but bare stone floors, and the musty smell of unwashed filth. They were empty. She moved on, looking in on each cell, but not seeing the person she wanted. She eventually did find people in the cells, and they struck her heart with heavy blows. They were just as pitiful as her mother, and she wondered what their families were thinking. Were these people just as good as dead, too? What atrocities were they suffering? Bile rose in her throat as she saw each crumpled form, barely more than a corpse... and she really had no way of knowing if they were indeed corpses. What was to say these people hadn't died and no one had ever noticed. The stench was enough to hide decay. It was all decay down here.

She was nearing the end of the dungeon, and still she had not seen her mother. It was not a very large pen to house those that had upset Thijs to this extent, and Cole realized that this was a fate reserved for those that deserved something worse than even death in the king's eyes. What in the world had her mother done to deserve this?

She approached one of the doors, leaning against it to peer in, and as her eyes were adjusting to the gloom to see that it was yet another empty cell, she heard a clatter at the other end of the hallway.

Her heart slammed into her ribs and her breath disappeared out of her lungs. She was out of disguise. If it was the young soldier, he'd see her true appearance, and if it was anyone else it wouldn't have mattered if she was in disguise or not. She was going to be caught.

She dropped her torch and stomped on it to put the light out, and vanished into the shadows. She could only hope that she had done it fast enough that whoever it was wouldn't have seen her.

Holding her breath, she tried to see beyond the dimness to who had entered. She still saw the ghostly image of her torch, which blinded her for the most part, so she ducked down and tried to become as small as possible.

Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain.

"Who's there?" a voice called from the other side of the hallway.