He proudly grooms his tail. I set him on my shoulder and reward him with a stroke on his head, then pick up the key that he stole from Brigit.
Something feels off as I unlock the servants’ door. A part of me still expects Basten to smell the mouse or hear the key turning, and storm in with his glaring midnight eyes. Dammit, a part of me even wants that. I haven’t dared to ask where he’s been the past few days, because I don’t want anyone thinking I care about him. Rian is so shrewd that I’m worried he already suspects something.
Where is Basten? The last time I spoke to him was with tears in my eyes, when I yelled at him to get out of my room after we made love. I’ve thought about that night a million times since then. Hating that I still love him. Knowing the sex was a mistake but not regretting it. Wanting to see him—to know he’s okay.
It doesn’t matter. Basten is nothing if not a survivor. Wherever he is, he’s doubtlessly fine, probably not pining away for me at all. This is my chance to investigate the voice’s source, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to miss it because I’m too wrapped up in thoughts about an asshole huntsman.
With the mouse on my shoulder, I make my way down the narrow passage, praying no servants are working this late.
GET OUT.
There it is again. I drift to a stop, concentrating. I try to extend my thoughts throughout the myriad castle levels as I ask: Who are you?
The only answer I get is a wall of anger crashing over me. It’s strong enough to steal my breath, and I grip the wood paneling to steady myself. Sweat breaks out on my brow.
It’s rare to feel animals’ emotions. Usually, I can only communicate with them through words, though when Myst feels strongly about something, some of her emotions spill over into my head.
It gives me the shaky fear that I’m not dealing with an animal at all—but something else. Something that really doesn’t want me here.
OUT. OUT NOW.
The voice is so steeped in mad rage that it drowns out my own inner voice. Whoever the ghost is, it’s so deafened by its anger that I don’t think it can hear me.
Little friend, I ask the mouse, Do you hear the angry voice?
Its nose twitches. No.
All that really tells me is that it isn’t another mouse, since animals can only communicate with their own kind. I’m at a loss for what to do until the mouse scales down my body onto the floor.
Wait, follow me! I know angry!
The mouse leads me through twisting passages and down two flights of stairs. I follow after with my heart thrumming in my chest, afraid of being caught sneaking around but too excited to care. This might not be the ultimate freedom that I crave, but it feels thrilling to explore just the same. The mouse leads me through more unassuming doors that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. Luckily, Brigit’s key works on the locked ones.
We descend until I’m sure we must be far below ground. The air grows colder. The mouse leads me to a descending staircase, this one comprised of rough-hewn stone walls plunging into darkness. A barred iron gate blocks the way. The mouse scampers through the bars, but I stop.
The key doesn’t work, I say, frustrated as I rattle the gate.
The mouse climbs up the opposite side of the gate, and I hear a latch falling open under his small paws. The gate swings open.
The mouse continues eagerly into the darkness, but I don’t have its superior eyesight. Without a lantern, every step plunges me further into pure blackness. There’s no muffling carpet underfoot here, and my shoes clatter loudly on the stone, so I take them off and carry them. I keep my other hand pressed against the stones to help find my way without stumbling.
The air smells musty and dank, with a metallic note that shrinks my stomach. Growing apprehension tiptoes up my spine as I move lower and lower, unsure of where the mouse is taking me.
GET OUT!
A cry escapes my lips, startled by the voice’s ferocity. It’s so loud in my head that it feels like it’s coming from an inch away. Somewhere ahead, there’s a sharp thumping sound. The air has an odd taste—like iron.
My heart kicks into a faster clip.
Where are we going? I ask the mouse. I can’t see it in the darkness.
Come, come, almost there!
My bare feet finally touch a dirt floor. I’m glad to leave the stairs behind, but I have no idea where I am. The darkness is as complete as a blindfold. Dragging my hand along the wall like Immortal Samaur in the Prison of Night and Day, I follow the mouse’s urging.
Eventually, a light shines ahead. It’s flickering—a torch, not a lantern. Both fear and excitement grip my throat as I approach with tentative footsteps.
OUT. OUT. OUT.
We turn the corner, and the light grows bright enough to see that I’m in an underground tunnel. The rock walls are ancient, with crumbling mortar between the chinking where the original straw binding has disintegrated over the years. There’s one other recent set of footprints on the dirt floor—a man’s heavy boots.
Basten said the only things down here were a dungeon and potato storage. But I don’t hear any prisoners’ screams, and there sure as hell aren’t any vegetables.
Maybe Basten doesn’t know about this place.
The mouse pauses to make sure I’m still following him. Then he plunges around the corner.
Something crashes, and I freeze. There’s a strange stomping noise, followed by a hiss that sounds almost like something huge breathing. For a moment, my courage wavers. There’s something alive down here. Something big. Something angry—that wants me gone.
I swallow around my fear and force my feet forward. More stomps come, then something that almost sounds like a horse’s angry snort.
As soon as I round the corner, curiosity wins over my fear. I’m in an old, subterranean stable. There are dozens of abandoned stone stalls, most of which are caved in. Though almost everything is in ruins, a barrel of fresh oats rests in the corner. The smell of iron is stronger here.
More stomps come. Something kicks hard at a stall door.
Another snort.
With wide eyes, I move further into the ancient stable to discover that one stall has been newly repaired. Its door is reinforced with iron panels, though they’re dented. The door’s hinges are chained to the wall for extra support.
Holy gods.
The upper half of the stall door is barred, and behind it is a horse—only it isn’t a horse.
The illustrations in the Book of the Immortals don’t do this creature justice. It must stand twenty hands high, towering over even the tallest of Rian’s prize stallions in his racing stables. Its build is powerful, like a draft horse, with a long arching neck and broad, balanced proportions that grant it both strength and speed. Its mane and tail are black enough to swallow the light, and black hair also feathers over its hooves. Its body is covered in glistening black scales. At its nose and around its eyes, the scales are as delicate as my smallest fingernail, but they give way to armor-like scales on its shoulders and flanks that are the size of my splayed hand.
A monoceros.
A fae beast that’s supposed to be asleep, like the gods.
A horn as long and thick as my forearm juts proudly from its forehead. According to legend, it’s made of solarium, a material a thousand times more prized than gold. When the horn catches the light, an infinity of colors shines in its depths like a prism. As beautiful as the creature is, it’s deadly. A monoceros is only safe to be around indoors or under moonlight. If a monoceros’s horn reflects sunlight, the solarium concentrates the rays and projects it into a powerful fey fire burst that incinerates everything in its path. Only a highly trained rider bonded to the creature can direct the fire burst.