Reeca's heartbeat didn't quite stop pounding in her ears even as their carriage slipped inside the Palace gates and lush gardens waved at her. They turned to the left, the opposite side of where the dungeon should be. As was the plan.

Reeca drew open the curtain in full as the carriage passed stables full of rows after rows of different colored dagrine. Servants dressed in tunics tucked into waist-high trousers tended to the animals.

Farther from the gate stood the sheds designed to be the sleeping quarters for servants. Triangular roofs covered with thin, gray shingles tapered towards the sky No one, at least according to Pikard's intelligence, gave servants a second glance so it's safe to mingle around as one.

The carriage lurched to a stop for the third time. Reeca gritted her teeth as she edged away from her seat and yanked a trap door by the carriage's floor. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself through.

Reeca dropped to the ground on both feet before crouching and scooting over as June did the same. She flexed her fingers and went to work again, this time, hiding both of their forms as they slipped from the carriage and ran to the nearest shed they could find.

To the watchmen gazing at from the top of the towers along the walls, they were only going to see a carriage stopping briefly before continuing on. If, again, Reeca's weaving trick worked.

Reeca shut the heavy, wooden door to the shed and leaned against it. The last thing she knew of their ride was the fading sound of its wheels cantering against the pavement as it went on its way. Here's to getting alive out of the Palace, then.

Without wasting a minute, Reeca and June tore their costumes off and stuffed the layers into a cabinet housing a bounty of servant tunics and trousers. June lobbed his leather shoes into a corner and Reeca pried the slippers off her feet. Both of them sighed in relief and wiggled their toes as if on reflex.

Within seconds, Reeca and June tiptoed out of the shed dressed like the servants hurrying around the Palace grounds. June even bothered grabbing a pail from the shed's washing area much to Reeca's dismay. They were here to infiltrate and not scrub stairwells.

On they went, tackling the lush fields that spread north and east. Reeca craned her head at the walls looming over her, connecting towers taller than a forest tree in Narfalk. As they followed the wall, Reeca counted eleven towers jutting towards the sky, each connected by walls forming some sort of concentric rings surrounding a tallest tower in the middle. Flags bearing the Cardina crest waved at her from their spires.

Tall, wide windows are scattered generously across the towers in an asymmetric pattern, each plated with glass that reflected the sun's rays off. Crenelations were chipped into the walls, reminding Reeca of teeth in a cog. Each one was fitted with crossbows that would come in handy should this place face a siege.

Marble fountains and trimmed topiary decorated the lush gardens, distracting Reeca from the dull gray structure. Colorful flowers danced with the early morning wind, waving at Reeca as she passed them by. The smell of freshly-trimmed grass dominated any other scent present in this part of the Palace.

A quick glance at the timeteller reflected how much time they have left. Good. An hour and a half to go. Reeca glanced at June and nodded. They quickened their pace. Soon, they were sprinting fully.

Reeca huffed. Her calves burned and her wings tickled behind her. Being cooped up inside the gown, and now the tunic, was enough insult to all the winged folk that might see her. The wall blurred in her periphery as they ran. After a few minutes, they rounded a corner and came across a clearing with a single shed standing in the middle.

Reeca's run ground into a halt. The entrance to the dungeon. Just how the maps Viktir drew said. She cleared her throat and strode towards the shed. A door stood between them and the dungeon.

Reeca glanced around, noting the silence that surrounded them. Wasn't it...too quiet?

"Move aside," June disrupted her thoughts as he pushed her away. She opened her mouth to tell him that this was probably not a good idea but the half-blood pressed his hands on the door and barked a spell.

Reeca barely had time to cover her ears with her hands as the door erupted into a thousand splinters. She clicked her tongue. What a show-off.

Inside the shed was a single file of stairs leading down to infinite darkness. A cold stone dropped in Reeca's gut. She cast her eyes around and caught nothing out of the ordinary. Why couldn't she shake off the feeling that they were being watched?

June muttered something under his breath and proceeded to tackle the stairs. Reeca shrugged and followed the half-blood. The further they went down, the darker it got as the light from the shed's door failed to pass through rocks and soil.

Down and deeper, the stairs went. Reeca's stolen boots scratched against wood that creaked under her weight. How long were these steps built? At one time, Reeca flinched when light flicked into June's palm.

"You're going to get us sniffed with that magic," Reeca hissed, eyeing the rough walls that heralded them further down.

June waved his other hand. "We're this deep underground that no insect will be able to see our trails," he dragged his last word. "Relax."

Reeca did anything but relax. More steps came and went. Using the light from June's palm, she checked the timeteller. An hour and a quarter.

When Reeca was sure she couldn't feel her legs anymore, the stairs let up to a cavernous room that reminded her of a cave system. June swept his hand around, his light illuminating grated gates guarding cell after cell.

All of them were empty.

Strange. And suspicious.

Cleret hissed at them, their claws and teeth screeching against the stone as they scampered away from Reeca. In silence, they padded past the empty cells in search for an occupied one. Reeca waved her hand at the cobwebs threatening to smack her face as she walked. It took everything in her to remove the thought of an insect crawling in her face from her mind.

Focus on the job.

"June?" came a ragged voice from the farthest cell.

"Jarvik?" June called back.

Then, June was running. Reeca squinted her eyes as she followed. They stopped in front of a cell the same as the others but this time, three people sat inside them. Her breath turned shallow as the anticipation of completing their mission wrapped around her veins. This was it. Just a little more.

"June, what are you doing here?" Jarvik gripped the dark grails of their cell. His bloodshot eyes were wide. Behind him, Marin and Malin had their arms around each other while they slept.

"We are here to rescue you," June motioned for Jarvik to back away from the gate.

"Who?" Jarvik knitted his eyebrows as he stepped backwards and crouched over his children.

June laid a hand on the grails and muttered a spell. Reeca nodded her approval as the half-blood's magic winked the gate out of existence. "On behalf of Xanthy," June spread his hands in triumph. "You are now free."

"Dad?" Marin yawned as she sat up. Malin rubbed his eyes. Both children's faces brightened when they saw June. They crashed into the half-blood and started crying as June embraced them.

A smile crept into Reeca's lips.

"Why is Xanthy not here, then?" Jarvik asked as he stepped out of the cell. Reeca noted the fresh bruise growing on the man's cheek.

Reeca shrugged. "Vikara did not let her," she let the man go ahead of her. The children let go of June and clung to their father.

"Since when is Vikara interested in purged half-bloods?" Jarvik asked as they walked back towards the stairs. "She is a businesswoman."

Reeca snorted. "Uh, she is not."

Jarvik paused and turned to Reeca. "Run that by me again," he said.

So, Reeca told him about the Synketros and the Cardovia. She expected Jarvik to blink cluelessly but instead, the human's eyes narrowed. "So, my guess is correct," he tapped his chin. He resumed walking while muttering to himself. "The others must know this."

She knitted her eyebrows. Others? Could he be...?

"Did Vikara tell you anything about the thrones?" Jarvik inclined his head up and frowned.

"Thrones?" June jogged to catch up to them. His hand was lit up once more. "What thrones?"

Jarvik draped his arms over his children and shook his head. "It does not matter."

Reeca's senses tingled. Jarvik was another piece in the puzzle she couldn't place. True, she only ever met him on the day his children were taken from the Commons. However, the things he said were enough for Reeca to conclude that there's something more to Jarvik Draswist.

Perhaps, what he knew might lead to answers Reeca has long been searching for. Perhaps.

"Does it not look strange to you?" Reeca blurted, slapping cobwebs out of her face again. "If people are being purged from the Commons as regularly as I thought, why were they not here? Where are they?"

June opened his mouth to speak when his gaze landed on something beyond them. Wait, did it just get brighter? Reeca followed his line of sight and stopped on her tracks. Jarvik and the children followed suit.

A line of Civil Guards dressed in golden armor stood behind one man that looked oddly familiar. Before Reeca could place who, the man spread his arms and grinned widely. "Ah, you are all here. That makes the hunt easier for us, yes?"