She was the last one to return to the barracks, and by then all the torches had been blown out. To preserve oil, she would guess.
Before she could enter through the door, however, a firm hand reached out of the darkness to grasp her forearm, pulling her to the side and clamping a hand over her mouth before she could make a sound.
"Don't make me knock you unconscious," a distinctly feminine voice whispered coyly. "And don't play any of your tricks either. Trust me, I can slam your head into this wall much faster than you can break my wrist. You're going to come with me quickly and quietly. Promise I won't hurt you unless you give me a reason to. Tap my arm twice if you understand."
Astra grimaced behind the hand clamped over her mouth as a cold tendril of fear snaked her way through her heart. Was this her punishment for speaking out earlier? In Varaly, punishment was usually solitary confinement. Days and weeks, sometimes even months, on end in solitude with only the stainless steel walls for company. She'd never feared being alone, preferred it rather, and Xernes knew it. Instead, he had her take on the night shift in the solitary confinement wings for six months. The cells were sealed from sight, but not from sound. She would never be able to forget the endless screams of soldiers breaking down.
Wherever the woman wanted to take her, whatever her punishment was... safer to stay conscious and reserve her energy and perhaps get an idea of where the woman was taking her rather than risk being taken unconscious. Cautious and suspicious, she tapped twice. Immediately, the woman let go of the hand over her mouth and loosened the hold she had on her wrist, though she didn't let go.
"Follow me," she ordered in a whisper.
They went down the empty hallway for forty-two steps before the woman who led her opened a door to the left, the sound of it opening evident despite the lack of creaks from well-oiled hinges. Inside the room, the woman continued to keep a hand on her, likely making sure she would not run, and shuffled around in the darkness for several seconds with her other hand. A soft creak sounded in the silence.
"There is a rope ladder. Go down carefully." She pushed Astra forward slightly, until she could feel open space beneath her toes.
"What's below?" she asked as she crouched down carefully to feel the size of the open space with her hands.
"You will soon find out." The rungs of a ladder fell down to what seemed like an endless abyss. With no light entering the room, there was absolutely no difference between closing her eyes and opening them. Astra gripped the rung of the ladder before allowing herself to fall into that abyss, hand over hand and foot over foot for a long minute before her foot knocked against the solid ground once more.
"There's the firebrand," someone murmured from behind her. Astra jumped before calming her nerves again. She wanted to snark to the speaker that she was actually an icebrand, but she held her tongue.
She turned. From where the speaker had come from there came the distinct sound of a crisp snap of fingers. Astra unwillingly flinched back as several floating balls of fire slowly blossomed into existence, the sudden bright light assaulting her vision at the same time. Wraiths. Not guards. She took a slow step back, away from the flames, and looked toward the corner of the hallway to blink the spots away. The floating fireballs illuminated two people—two of the wraiths that had circled around during her brawl against Iker. They looked like brothers with the same stoic orange eyes, straight nose, and burgundy colored hair.
Behind her, the woman that had threatened her dropped down silently on the ground. The rungs of the ladder didn't even rustle. She must've jumped then.
"Why am I here?" They stayed silent. One of the male wraiths tilted his head toward the winding hallway behind him and his brother. Three of the eight floating fireballs floated forward to illuminate the path. Behind her, Astra could almost feel the woman's breath on her, as if warning her to not falter in her step now or to try anything unexpected.
Down the hall they all walked, until the males in front stopped to open a door. Inside, three fireballs floated, before the eight outside joined them, illuminating a hulk of a man and two much thinner ones leaning against a wall. A single metal table dominated the far corner of the room.
The door clicked shut as soon as the woman behind Astra walked in. With a wave of his hand, one of the brother fire wraiths sent the eleven fireballs to the walls, where they caught fire on the wicks of the lanterns. Then, the magical fire winked, and disappeared.
The lanterns cast a light, flickering glow on everyone's faces. The brother fire wraiths, who now made their way next to the other two men in the room, had a light sheen of sweat on their brows—evidently, containing and controlling those balls of fire hadn't been easy.
Astra had to conceal her surprise as she studied each face closely. The two male fire wraiths that had waited for her weren't the only familiar faces. The two other people in the room were wraiths as well, and one of them was Iker, who stood a few steps in front of her.
"Why am I here?" she asked again. "Where is here?"
One of the brother fire wraiths answered, "You're being—" His voice cut off as his brother stepped forward to slug him in the mouth. He spat out a gob of spit.
"Goddammit Jesper. The Seam is wrong with you?" Jesper didn't deign to answer and instead nodded his head at Iker. The hulking male near the wall straightened up.
"I am Iker. Fire wraith," he introduced again. "Aaro is an ice wraith." The male stood a little behind him nodded to her. "Jesper and Rousel are also fire wraiths." Rousel still had spittle stuck on his chin. "And Riviera, our only wind wraith." Astra glanced to the side to see the only female in the room besides her. With her cocoa colored hair—shaved to the scalp on the left and reaching her shoulder on the right—and cognac eyes, she looked more like a fire wraith than any wind wraith she'd seen. Though to be fair, wraiths in general were few and far between, and it had been a long while since wraiths roamed free outside of their natural clans.
Once introductions were through, Iker continued. "We are here now in one of the many bunkers in the underground barracks. They are rarely used, and there are no maps of the bunker system, which is very fortunate for us. You ask why we have brought you here. The answer is simple. We have invited—" she snorted at the passive word "—you to this meeting because we think you are worthy."
"Me? Worthy?" Astra replied mockingly the moment the last word fell from Iker's lips. She laughed. "That's new. What tipped you off?" At her side, Riviera narrowed her eyes at her tone. Iker splayed his hands.
"Everything up to this point has been a test. And you have passed. You are worthy, and I believe you can help us. I believe you can help everyone." Worthy. The word twisted strangely when she'd said it. What a sham of a word. Astra sneered, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall. There was little fear in her now now that she was certain Auxerran military had nothing to do with this. These were just enslaved wraiths, dedicated and secretive to whatever the hell they were intent on doing.
"You've got the wrong girl," she said coolly. She eyed the hands that had started to stray, not toward their waistbands where most men would keep their weapons, but upward where they were preparing to summon their powers. "Am I allowed to go? Or do I have to fight my way out of this one as well?" Rousel took a single step forward, face contorted in frustration before Iker stopped him with a hand.
Iker lumbered toward her. "At least hear me out." Astra swung her hair back and tilted her head up to the tall male to indicate she was listening. Iker paused to study her before he said, "Rumor says you killed two of Auxerre's city guards before you were captured. Is that true?" She smirked.
"I don't know. Is it?" Riviera had not stopped scrutinizing her with her gaze.
"I've been here for eight years. Captured when I was being a dithering fool in the bars. For the last... two or so years, me and mine—" he jerked his head toward the other four wraiths in the room "—have been in the process of trying to break out all the other wraiths in this army and to end the slavery and prejudice Auxerre is built on." Astra raised a single eyebrow, unimpressed. Two years. She was curious as to whether there were any rewards that had been reaped within that time. Or if all they did was meet under barracks and speak of freedom. Not that she cared to fulfill that curiosity.
"Why do you need me?"
"You can fight." She remembered Jemma telling her that he challenged every wraith to a brawl. He must test every single wraith then, to see if they were worthy. "You are willing to kill. You go against the guards, but you know when to stand down. And most of all, you have fire within you." Astra curled her fists.
"The only thing I have is ice."
"Fire and ice are not so different." Are they? She eyed Iker and the fire wraiths behind him. If fire and ice were not so different, then she would not be terrified of the destruction fire could bring. She would not be scared of the heat.
"Why not ask that girl then?" she deflected. "Luria. She seems the perfect type of person for this ragtag revolutionary team." Iker's eyes darkened.
"That girl is a fool," he growled. "She is brash, and she wishes to be made a martyr, though the Auxerrans are wise and careful to not make her one. But you are not brash. And if you are, you correct your mistakes. You despise this captivity for both yourself and others." Astra did not like how perceptive the older male was. She had not made an effort to conceal her opinions here in this army because she had assumed she would not be here long. That had been brash mistake—one she would indeed correct.
"Perhaps you ought to give her a chance." Astra shrugged. "She believes in freedom. For everyone. And she believes in saving the wraiths from captivity."
Iker boomed a single humorless laugh. "No. She believes in Solano. She knows she cannot call the wraiths to action, what with the majority of them enjoying this simple, easy, captive life. She is no warrior. She has no plan save for the endgame. Fool. But you could help us. You could help everyone. We need you." The last line slipped out of Iker.
"Then why do I need you?" Iker opened his mouth, and then closed it. She had surprised him. "You've already told me that I can fight and kill. What you haven't found out yet is that I am very patient. I don't need your help, and neither do I want it. I reject your offer." Astra turned to leave, but Riviera moved to block the door.
"You would abandon all these wraiths to slavery? You would abandon your own kin?" Iker asked.
"I abandoned them a long time ago."