Treachery Queen (The Callistra Chronicles #1)

TWENTY-SEVEN

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Who were you following earlier?"

"Excuse me?" Naeyrs asked, pausing to listen within the emptied cavern.

The two of them hung precariously on a thin ladder. Naeyrs put a finger to her lips, signalling for Pasiphae to be quiet. When she was satisfied, she pushed at the space on the wall where it met the lining of the ceiling.

A slab of metal slid to the side. Naeyrs climbed through.

As Pasiphae followed her, she tried not to be too begrudging about the fact that only a few days earlier, she had been dragged through this very underground cavern and tossed over the palace walls. At least now they were on the same side.

Pasiphae's hands sunk into thick carpeting. She clambered to her feet, brushing off the grit clinging to her palms.

"So this is how you're sneaking around?"

It would seem that the strange sub-levels led vertically up into the King Consort's underground floor. With the celebration earlier and the dive-bombing sylphs, there was nothing here with them but the sound of the occasional dripping pipe.

"More or less," Naeyrs replied. She frowned then, peering down into the space they had climbed through. "Was Lauha behind you?"

"We lost her ages ago," Pasiphae said. Then, "In the woods," she tried, "you and Lauha were following someone."

Naeyrs kept her attention fixed on the slab of metal she was sliding back into place, but her spine stiffened. "They have been following us for weeks now."

"They?"

"He, she, it—one, two, or even more, whatever—I don't know. Each time we give chase, they disappear. We almost thought we had them this time, but once we got to the palace walls—" she made an outward gesture with her small hands as she stood, "—gone."

"So you don't know who it is?" Pasiphae thought back to the silhouette. It had paused in spotting her, and stopped to watch. Maybe if it had lingered a bit longer, Naeyrs and Lauha would have caught up.

"We suspected the captain of the Guard for a while: thought he was onto us."

"Warin?" Pasiphae shook her head. "He was moving across town at the same time we saw the figure."

"Yeah, we figured it wasn't him eventually." Naeyrs stopped again, listening closely. "He was too nervous when Lauha approached him."

Pasiphae remembered seeing the two at the restaurant. She wondered if Seth had discovered what it was Warin was hiding yet.

"Exactly what are we waiting for?" Pasiphae whispered when Naeyrs hadn't moved for a few moments. She made to proceed ahead, but Naeyrs yanked at her wrist with a fierce grip.

"Wait."

"Why?" Pasiphae asked. "The palace is deserted."

"Not quite," she said, frowning. With another precautionary glance, Naeyrs hauled her down a complicated route of hallways. She appeared panicked, sensing something that Pasiphae wasn't, almost tripping in her haste when they came to a stop outside a door with a knob thick with dust.

Naeyrs hadn't knocked more than once when Lauha popped her head out.

Pasiphae had to rub her eyes in disbelief.

"By Callistra—" She jabbed at Lauha's arm, making sure the girl was solid. "Where did you come from?"

Lauha appeared puzzled. "This is my room."