Right now all I cared about was Jace and Em were safe from this city right now. It was a long night thinking about what was happening beneath these floors.
Aiden came to my room to escort me to the gardens for breakfast with him, we were heavily guarded, even at the gazebo we were surrounded. "We are fine, all of you are dismissed. Off with you all."
They hesitated, then left. I leaned over the table whispering aggravatingly at him, "when the fuck were you gonna tell me you work with Ryland?"
His lower lip flexed down, showing his bottom teeth, "I was sworn to not tell you, just as you are to your identity."
Leaning back, "you should have told me when you figured me out."
"Yeah well my mind was a bit preoccupied and shocked at what you are. Speaking of which, why didn't you kill my father."
Crossing my arms, "because he's being controlled. I don't know for how long but on his wrists are markings, stars with circles at the points. He didn't even know who I truly was."
His finger tapped, "that makes sense I guess, but the question is he making the choices or is someone making them for him and if they are who is controlling him."
Shrugging "dunno, but do you know what's happening in the dungeons?"
His mouth closed tightly, "yes and no, I've only seen them all in cages, they are being tested on or something. No one is allowed into certain rooms."
Taking a strawberry and popping it into my mouth, "well if no one is allowed in, that means someone I know should be going in there."
His eyes widened. "I bet you could handle it but that is a hard no from me. You'll get caught."
Taking another berry, "I've only ever been caught once, when I was a child stealing bread and look where I am now."
His eyes rolled and he chuckled. "This isn't bread stealing from a bakery, Lily."
Swatting my hand around "yeah yeah yeah. I'm still going to do it."
He leaned into the table, taking a strawberry from me, "here's a question, why do you care? If it was mordls with no abilities down there no one would care and you know that. No one even cared that they were being sold and slaughtered in Blagden."
He was right, people with abilities really didn't do anything for the mordls, no one really cared about the genocide happening in the north they only care now because the people who did it were coming here.
"Because, who else will do it? Right now I am everyone's only chance to do it since the crystals are still up. There will always be one person that will want to try. I bet there was someone out there that wanted to help the mordls"
Eating another strawberry, he watched my every move putting the berry in my mouth. After we ate we walked around the castle grounds for a while, guards still following us around. He took my arm and we both started running through mazes of bushes and trees till we got to a bench in front of a small koi pond.
I kneeled down at the pond's edge putting my hand in the water, the fish coming up to me in hopes I had food. It was quiet in this small little area, being surrounded by the bushes helped a ton, "I think they will leave us alone here."
I started picking dandelions and clovers, weaving them together like I used to do with June. Who was knelt in front of me doing the exact same thing right now. After making a small crown I put it on Aiden's head, he looked up "wow, what a crown."
I snickered, "yeah, it's the perfect crown for you, a very pretty dainty prince."
He raised his brows, "dainty? Should I take my shirt off and show you what you couldn't keep your hands off of?"
Started blushing hard, "n-no, no need."
He smiled mischiefly, leaning into me softly lifting my chin up to him inches between each other's lips. My heart thrummed, I didn't want to let myself give in to him.
Looking into his eyes through my lashes I had absolutely no idea how to seduce someone let alone know what was sexy. Leaning into him ever so slowly, nearly brushing my lips against his breathing a bit heavier, I kept myself just out of reach from him making sure we didn't touch.
He broke first and pulled my chin to him, kissing me deeply, laying me into the grass while hovering above me. Grinding between my legs just our fabrics rubbing together, kissing me like he couldn't get enough.
Going on for a bit he was kissing down my neck, slowly pulling down the sleeve of my dress when I heard voices, not from the bushes or from my head, but under us.
Sitting up "wait do you hear that?"
He pulled away from me "I'd rather be hearing your moans right now."
I elbowed him and stood up, "there are voices."
He stood after me "great now you're going mental huh?"
Rolling my eyes, walking around the pond there was a water well covered up, I moved the wood off of it and exposed it was empty. Though about 4 feet down a ladder started, I pointed down, "look."
He came over and looked down, tilting his head down to listen. "It's the dungeons."
I looked over at the pond, "the maps of the ground said there was water here and it led to a river right outside the walls."
Kneeling down at the pond, I couldn't see the bottom and fish swam down into it. "This castle gets weirder and weirder the longer I am here." Guards finally caught up to us, killing the rest of the mood.
That night I was unable to sleep, being absolutely hot and bothered thinking about our kiss in the gardens. Splashing cold water on my face repeatedly didn't help at all. So I took this opportunity to do what's best and snoop in the castle.
I put on a cloak with a big hood, grabbed a rope from the curtains and scaled the side of the walls telling Binx to stay. Sneaking around the gardens, avoiding anyone and anything till I got to the well and pond again. Throwing over the curtain rope in the well, tying it off to where the bucket would be tied too.
"Please don't break." I whispered the small plea, gripping on and hoping for the best. I slid down the rope to the metal ladder rungs that came jutting out of the walls.
Listening as I descended making sure no one was near. The ladder didn't end until it hit the floor, at the dead end of a tunnel. With dim lights coming around a corner it somewhat lit up everything.
Crouched down, shuffling my way to the corner I peaked over, it was a forked path, and all ways had bars blocking the paths. Listening to moans and more screams I determined the last hall was where I needed to be. The bars were perfectly wide enough for me to squeeze through.
Down the tunnel rotten wooden doors lined the walls, the smell of molding meat clouded the area. Rats scurried around holding chunks of something pink in their mouths. Holding my hand over my nose trying to block the smell, I peeked through one of the doors and I saw what the smell was.
Bodies, some in piles and some were strung up by meat hooks. Some of them I was able to recognize from just walking around the city they all had carvings on them.
Turning myself away pressing my back on the wall holding back my gagging. There was nothing that could be done with them now, so I continued down the tunnel. To most of the rooms being the same, carved up bodies all in big piles. Till I got to one, lined with massive cages and people crowing and moaning inside of them.
On their arms were marks cut into them, there were no guards in the room at all. The door also wouldn't budge open, but a small piece of wood did. Pushing it away and again squeezing myself through, actually seeing the room was sickening.
There were massive jail cells everywhere with hundreds of people crammed inside, they were all mostly nude. Some were in mid transformation too, but not like I'd normally see them.
Rats ran around their legs and bodies in and out of different rooms. Another door was across from me, it led to the castle no doubt.
The end of the room was another thick metal door, and the floors plastered with symbols. Crouching around a desk I saw Hudson, gasping in horror, dried blood caked on his body, filth all over.
I needed his attention and only his, throwing a rock in front of him he looked over to where it came and his eyes lit up crawling over to me and leaning against the cell, "you shouldn't be here Lily."
His voice was a dry whisper, "neither should any of you. What is happening?"
His eyes looking back and forth, "the Sutara, they are in the other room. Sticking needles and rocks in us, they are testing something. I don't know what it's about, but what I do know is that those that made it alive have changed fully into their shifted form and can also use all kinds of essentia. But they are not themselves at all anymore, the mordl part of them is completely gone."
Faint growling and screaming came from the metal door, "they have brought in different creatures and did the same."
Looking at him "who are they exactly?"
"I dunno, all I know is they are Sutara posing as guards. They look the same apart from blue gems on top of their gloves. Lily, you have to go."
Flicking my eyes around I saw the cages were just locked by padlocks, they had no hope in their minds so none of them tried, or at least seemed to have tried.
"I'm going to get everyone out of here. I promise." Touching his hand through the bars. He gripped onto mine, "where is Emberleigh?" I could feel his pulse raise as he asked. "She was able to get out, she is with Jace far away from here." Hudson closed his eyes and let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for hours. I knew he still cared for her, I wanted to talk to him more but he was right. I needed to leave.