The sun leaked through the drapes of the window.
I woke up panting, having been drawn from sleep by another dream. An arm was wrapped around my midsection, and a snoring Sorin pulled me unconsciously closer to him. Realizing that I hadn't woken him up, I sighed.
Being careful as to not wake him, I shimmied from his grip and pulled myself to the edge of the bed. My nightgown still sat on the floor. I reached for it and began putting it over my head and-
"Mm, Vera." I turned and looked behind me. Stretching, Sorin was just waking up, a smile on his lips. "Come back to bed."
I grinned. "We need to go over the plan for the next four days." From somewhere in the house, I heard the faint sound of a sizzling stove, and I knew the others were up. "We need to be prepared-" Arms wrapped around my stomach and pulled me onto the bed. Sorin's lips immediately brushed mine. I giggled and shocked myself with how girlishly and carefree it sounded.
"Let's just stay here," he whispered, kissing me. His hand grasped my thigh, pinning it to his side. I smiled and pushed him away.
"As wonderful as that sounds, there's work that needs to be done." I slipped from his grip and climbed off the bed, leaving Sorin pouting.
"Come on, little assassin. Ten minutes?" I grabbed my robe from its spot on the floor and tied it around my body.
"Nope." I smirked.
"Seven?"
"I'm leaving."
"Four minutes?" I had already reached the door.
"Are you coming?"
"Two."
"I'll see you downstairs," I laughed, opening and closing his door.
Downstairs, I was surprised to see Ace, Carter, Sophie, and Rafe all in the kitchen. Well, really, I was just surprised to see Ace and Sophie, who were ignoring each other's existence, not ripping each other's throats out.
Carter and Sophie were making breakfast, and Rafe was helping Sophie with whatever task she was doing–from the smell, I assumed she was making muffins. Ace sat on the barstool, drinking what looked like orange juice, but really, you could never tell with her. She looked deep in thought, her head resting on her palm that sat on the counter, but I chalked that up to her inventor brain that was always thinking and never resting.
As I sank down onto the barstool next to Ace, I made the smart move not to acknowledge her. I'd noticed when she's in these little thought bubbles of hers, disrupting her usually leads to a catastrophic end. I was not in the mood to have an argument right now.
In front of me, Carter was cooking bacon on the stove, minding his own business as Rafe and Sophie bickered about the muffins. They hadn't noticed me coming down the stairs, and they didn't notice me now.
But Ace had.
"I hate Solstice," she said, still looking forward. She picked up her cup filled with the supposed orange juice substance and pressed the rim to her lips, sipping carefully, thoughtfully.
I had forgotten today was Solstice, and upon remembering, my good mood was instantly drained. Ace didn't seem to need me to respond to know that I too despised the holiday. She handed me her glass which felt oddly more like an obligation than just a nice thing to do.
"Be warned, it doesn't have alcohol in it. This place has seven bedrooms and not a single drop of damned wine." I drank it anyway, taking no more than a sip but wanting to down the whole cup. I'd pretend it had alcohol in it if it made me feel better.
Handing the cup back to her, I muttered, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
We sat in a moment of odd silence that, actually, didn't feel odd at all. Being silent with her felt normal, and I was thankful for it. But, after getting bored of watching Rafe and Sophie (still oblivious to me) fight over what temperature the oven should be set to, I ended up asking,
"So why do you hate it–Solstice?" It didn't take Ace long to respond. If she was uncomfortable with the question, I didn't notice.
"Obvious reasons. I miss my family, and I wish the night we were separated never happened. I miss Isabella (she was the one I spent my holidays with). I miss my wine cellar and my house that's away from people." She paused as if reflecting over her own words then asked, "What about you? What's your story of woe?"
I shrugged and leaned on the counter. "Well, I used to spend Solstice with my parents, and now they're dead; so now it's just a big shitty reminder of them I guess." Or something like that.
Ace nodded. "I'm sorry they died."
"I'm sorry you lost your family."
She pursed her lips, again deep in thought. "Me too."
"Oh! Vera!" Carter exclaimed as he turned with a plate of freshly cooked bacon. "Good morning! Happy Solstice! I didn't even see you come down!"
"Morning," I replied back. "You wouldn't happen to have made any coffee?" Carter grinned and set his plate down before turning back toward the cabinets. I saw him grab a mug.
"Late night?" He asked over his shoulder.
"You don't even know," I sourly responded. Carter didn't notice.
"Sugar?"
"Yes."
"Cream?"
"Yes."
He stirred the contents of the mug together and turned again, setting it in front of me. I thanked him, and he got working on scrambling eggs. There was color on his face as he smiled and hummed to himself while cooking. He was happy and more cheerful than usual.
"Good morning!" A voice, husky and deep, announced from the stairwell.
"Good morning," Rafe, Sophie, and Carter responded to Sorin as he descended the stairs. He took a seat next to me, and I thank whatever Gods might be listening that he did not make it obvious that he and I had sex. Not that I was ashamed of what we did. I was pretty sure everyone, spare Carter maybe, thought we were into each other. But knowing how Rafe disapproved of it–because of, you know, the whole murder mission thing–I didn't feel like dealing with his reprimand if he found out we did have sex.
"You're in a cheerful mood," Ace said in more of a suspicious tone rather than an observation. Sorin was better than to look at me and risk giving something away, but I could feel that he wanted to. I sipped my coffee. "Is it because of Solstice?" Sorin, for a moment, looked as though he'd never heard the word.
"Today is Solstice?" He finally asked. Ace nodded, brow raising, now more suspicious than ever.
"Yep!" Carter exclaimed from his place at the stove. I could tell from his voice that he was smiling. "Sophie and I are cooking-"
"Hey!" Rafe interjected, hurt.
Carter looked at him apologetically. "Sophie, Rafe, and I are cooking breakfast, and after, we figured we'd go walk around town."
"We know people here don't celebrate Solstice, but I figured we could make the most of it," Sophie said, shrugging.
"That is," Rafe looked at me, "if we don't have another mission to go on." We really didn't have to start looking for possible entrances to the castle until tomorrow, and from the looks of it, all of us could use a day of rest.
"No. We could use a day off. Just keep your eyes and ears open for any talk that could benefit us, don't be suspicious, and, especially you Sophie, keep your hoods on and your faces down as best as you can. I don't want or need any of you to be spotted and rumors of an enemy princess to spread. That won't do us any good. But other than that, I don't care what you do." Rafe and Sophie gave each other a triumphant grin and went back to the muffins.
—————————
Alone in the house, I quickly grew bored. Everyone else had gone to take in the city and walk around the busy streets, leaving me to sit alone. I thought I'd cherish the alone time (and I'd never consciously admit this under any circumstance, not even in a life or death ci—well you get the point) but I missed them. Okay? I missed their bickering and fighting and I hated feeling alone even though it was my own stupid choice to stay home.
So, I decided to distract myself by starting the process of finding our way into the castle. Grabbing the map that had the layout of the city, the castle, and the area around it with the points of the possible entrances, I left the townhouse.
I headed North to the wall and easily made it over without detection. Then I went West, to the first mine that was supposedly on the bank of a small lake, just South of Lake Mortem (the lake where the Núxta palace sat on the island Flos Terra).
It didn't take me long to find it.
There was a small tackle shop located on the East side of the bank. I ignored the lingering fetid of fish that soaked the air as I walked up. A small bell rang as I opened the dirty screen door, and a man with yellow, crooked teeth looked up. The flies around him shifted as his head moved to look at me.
"What are ya lookin' for, honey?" He asked in Nóhrib. "Bait, tackle, a man to ease your troubles?"
I pulled down the fabric that covered my face and protected it from the cold and let it rest against my neck. "Tackle," I lied. "And believe me, sweetie, you don't want to deal with my problems." The man looked both offended and amused.
"Ya sure?" He smirked and winked at me. "Women can't get enough of me." Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.
I looked from his scraggly beard that it seemed all Targaryen men had to his long, curly hair and lastly to his buttoned shirt that had what I prayed was some sauce and not fish guts. "Positive," I responded.
"K, well let me show ya where the-"
"I can find it," I assured him before he got up. This shop is so small, I can practically see everything from here.
"K. Ya know where I am if ya need me." I turned away and pretended like I was looking at the things stocked on the dusty shelves. My eyes stayed glued on the floor, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I passed the tins of worms that looked thousands of years old, then by the snack section that had cans of food. Picking one up, I examined the expiration date. Odd. It expired two years ago. Brows furrowing, I set it back down.
I turned. The wall had a tapestry hung up on it. And painted on the flag was a single, eight-pointed star. It seemed out of place, awkward, but this guy doesn't practice dental hygiene; I didn't expect him to know how to interior design, so I continued on.
Walking away, my boot hit the wood and an odd sound reverberated back to my ears. Hollow. Bingo. I continued walking but hit my elbow against a can. It fell and rolled on the floor. I cussed in Norhib and bent down to pick it up.
"Ya okay?" The man asked from the desk.
"Yeah, I just knocked over something." I was behind a shelf, away from the man's prying eyes. Reaching down, I pried my finger into the small crack into the floor. Then I pulled up, and the floorboard raised. Below, there was a tunnel. I didn't know how long it went on for, the darkness swallowing the mud path.
Silently, I lowered the floorboard back down and picked up the can, setting it back on the shelf. I brought a small box of tackle to the front.
"Just this." The man picked up the box and examined it.
"Seven qreez." I pulled out the coins and let them clatter to the counter. The man grabbed them and leaned over to put the coins up, and his collared shirt slipped down. I stiffened, breath catching. "Have a good day, honey," the man said, sitting back up.
I forced an easy smile. "You too." Shoving the box into my pocket, I turned and left.
Once I got a healthy distance away, I allowed my heart to slow, trying to comprehend exactly what I'd just seen.
That whole place was a death trap waiting to happen. The man behind the counter had a tattoo of a fox on his neck—the Targaryen royal guard's emblem. Every royal guard had one. Of course! Why didn't you see it earlier? Guards were required to keep their hair long. Most grew beards. You read it in the Targaryen 100 Year History book you stole from the Ravaryn library when you were thirteen! Idiot!
The place was a secret guard post, and whether they know if the tunnel is there or not, they're guarding or protecting something. It was way too risky to attempt to go in through that one. I crossed it off my map and continued my trek West.
The next tunnel was harder to find.
On the bank of Lake Mortem, I could see the castle off in the distance. It was larger than I ever would've imagined with a dreamy, white marble exterior that matched the snow and high towers that were clouded with haze. There was no gate around it, no walls, but why would you need them when the castle sits in the middle of a goddamn lake?
I went along the shore and soon, I came upon a cluster of hills that sat between the land and the water. The map said that the next mine would be on the shore, but there was nothing but a small stream that still had water running through it despite the frigid temperatures.
I sighed and was about to continue West to the next marker when my eye caught something—A cluster of rocks by the stream's edge. With snow on top, they looked nearly invisible. I crouched down in front of them and brushed the tops with my hand, and I saw, to my suprise, an eight-point star was traced by the various rocks.
Well this day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Standing, I brushed off my pants and faced the stream, watching it curve into the woods. Then I listened closely and heard a faint sound of water crashing. And seeing as I had nothing else to do, I decided to check it out.
The woods were silent except for that crashing noise that grew with every step I took. I was going the opposite direction the water was going, so I assumed the river connected to the ocean and then filled the lake; I'd have to check to see if the lake was saltwater first.
The river widened the deeper into the forest I went, and about a quarter mile from Lake Mortem, I found the source of the crashing sound—a waterfall. And as if this day couldn't get any weirder, I found another eight-point star traced by rocks.
I continued on.
Reaching the waterfall, I carefully balanced on the conspicuously placed stepping stones and crossed onto the stone that sat like a secret cave behind the waterfall. Light flashed in ripples through the flowing water, shining onto the smooth granite. I took a step in.
On the bottom of the stone, there was a handle fashioned from metal. Cautiously, I walked to it. A square trapdoor was carved into the stone. I went down to pry it open but paused. The last one had been a trap for people looking for the passage ways, or at least, that was my guess. Looking up, I examined the walls. Random holes were chiseled into the stone, but they weren't random. They were in perfect rows.
Brows furrowing, I turned back to the trapdoor. I reached to the small pack attached to my waist and grabbed the rope that I had used to scale the wall. Tying it around the handle, I stood and backed up all the way to the farthest back wall, sinking down onto the floor.
Then I pulled.
And as the trapdoor slammed open, a spring snapped and more than thirty arrows shot from the holes in the walls and landed where I would've been.
"Hm," I hummed, pausing for a few seconds before standing and walking to the hole in the ground, kicking away the arrows that laid on the floor. Kneeling down, I untied my rope from the handle, looking down into the cave. I reached into my pack and pulled out my fire starter.
I used the arrows and tied some fabric that I pre-dipped in fuel before I left around the end and lit it. Shining the light into the darkness, I found a ladder. "What the fuck is up with this place?" I mumbled to myself. For a moment, I debated whether or not I should down there at all. The stentch... I could smell it from here, and it took a lot in me not to throw up right then and there. Being underground after what happened all those years ago felt like sticking a hot rod down my throat. It was painful, sickening. But our safety depended on a good way in and out of the castle, and we were too close to fail now.
You're an idiot if you climb down there alone, Vera Drystan. I shrugged and swallowed. "Yeah, well, I'm already clinically insane anyway."
I lowered myself onto the ladder and plunged into the darkness.