Kastali Dun

Jeanine stepped into the giant cavern, arms laden with supplies. Tess had packed two baskets brimming with food and other critical necessities. The space was a flurry of activity. Cots were set along the perimeter, scattered around the stalagmites jutting up from the floor, makeshift dining tables had been erected out of crates and boxes, even a latrine area was cordoned off, with curtains to offer a bit of privacy.

The central command area was located near the southern end of the cavern. Her eyes darted there, immediately finding Prince Feowen. Her prince. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her fluttering heart. He stood over a map outlining all known tunnels and passageways beneath the great keep. Several sprites stood beside him, along with a handful of castle guards.

There were a few servants wandering about, helping others get settled in. She spotted Desaree laboring over a cook fire, spoon in hand. She rushed towards her, setting down the supplies. "It hardly looks the same as when I left it," she admitted, impressed.

"Welcome to the resistance," Des said, doing an admirable job of hiding her emotions.

Des had cried herself to sleep these past few nights. She'd done a good job at hiding it, but Jeanine had heard her. Had crept over and wrapped Desaree in her arms, holding her, rocking her. The first few nights, there'd only been a few cots, left over from the time spent brewing poison for the fight against the dragons.

They'd made do until it was safe to speak with Tess. While the head woman had been forced to swear allegiance to Kane—it was that, or death—she'd risked her life by helping them in secret. The keep was crawling with Oshean guards. Anyone caught showing disloyalty was punished. Brutally.

"What news?" Desaree asked, looking hopeful.

"I'd rather not repeat myself, so finish up here and we'll go report to command. Where's Jocelyn?"

"I'm here." Jocelyn appeared, bowl in hand. She dumped the contents into the simmering pot of stew. They were now forced to do their own cooking.

Desaree set her spoon into its holder and together they walked across the cavern. Feowen glanced up, did a double take, then smiled. Her stomach flipped. Even with everything going on, he could still fluster her with his attention.

"Jeanine," he said, straightening. "You're back."

Aithlin Naeris, Filvro Holowyn, and Rahlif Dorvyre stood with him. The other sprites were unaccounted for, probably mapping out more of the passages. The castle guards at Feowen's side were Eloi Ruybal, Fio Lima, and Lucas Cirvino. She'd only met them two days ago.

"How did it go?" Feowen asked, striding around the table. He leaned in to brush a gentle kiss over her forehead. His gesture made her flush. She glanced at the others. If the sprites disapproved of their prince's decision to love a human, they made no sign of it.

"Better and worse than expected," she answered. "No one spotted me, so there's that. Tess said that everyone she's spoken to in secret is still loyal to King Talon and Queen Claire. No surprise there. They're all hiding it as best they can, to stay alive. Those who aren't..."

Her mind flashed to what she'd seen earlier. The bodies. She pushed the image away.

"What happened?" Feowen sensed her discomfort. He'd grown better at reading her. It wasn't as surprise, given how close they were. What they shared.

"There was another uprising," she explained. "A group of commoners who acted out against Kane in the name of Queen Claire."

Feowen swore under his breath. "We already warned everyone in the city. They must pretend to be loyal. Their lives depend on it."

The entire city was itching for a fight. No one wanted to remain under Kane's rule. But they had to bide their time or suffer the consequences.

"Those poor souls," Jocelyn whispered, stricken.

"I saw the bodies myself," she added. "Strung from the keep's walls, for everyone in the city to see. He wasn't gentle with their deaths." Bile crawled up her throat at the memory. She pushed it down again.

"Something tells me that isn't all."

"It's not." She took a deep breath. "Three more Oshean ships have arrived, several asarlaí included. Turns out we didn't kill everyone in that battle."

"That's no surprise. It would have been too risky to send everything at us," Feowen mused. "They probably only sent a portion of their armies and sorcerers."

"Kane has promised them portions of land all around Dragonwall," she said, "so long as he rules the majority of it. There's all kinds of talk, of instituting new rules for magic. Naturally, you can guess who those rules will favor."

"The asarlaí and the mages," Desaree answered for them.

"Exactly," Jeanine said.

"That explains why Oshea helped Kane in the first place." Feowen looked disgusted. "Who knows what all he promised. I'm sure we're only seeing a small part of what is to come. What else?"

"He's hunting everyone known for being loyal to Claire and Talon. All of their closest friends and guards. Us, basically."

She'd be lying if she said the news hadn't made her sweat. Any moment, someone might discover where they were hiding. They took extreme measures to ensure no one got caught in the passages, but it was only a matter of time.

"Well, that's not exactly a surprise," Feowen mused.

"He's forcing the kingdom's mages into locating them with magic."

Feowen swore again, louder this time.

"Marcel refused," she said, swallowing. "So he...he..." She trailed off.

"Dead?"

"Dead," she said, exhaling. "I only heard about that from Tess."

"What?!" Desaree and Jocelyn gasped. While Jeanine hadn't known the Grand Mage, the others had.

"Six days," Feowen muttered. "Six days and we haven't caught a break."

"Well, we haven't been caught yet, or discovered," Jeanine offered, almost scoffing. "That's got to count for something—"

A surprised shout cut her short. There came a commotion near the edge of the cavern. Claire's three other spriten guards came rushing towards them. Their expressions left her heart racing with hope.

"We found it!" Jassin Orythra said, the first to speak. "We found a tunnel that leads directly into a single cell in the dungeons."

"Gods above!" Desaree's cry sounded. Jeanine turned just in time to catch Desaree before she collapsed to her knees in relief.

"It's just here," Gorded Cawyn announced, striding over to the map. He took up a quill and began marking off a new path. "We searched for hours. We were not expecting to emerge into a cell. The cell was locked, of course. Nothing a little of our magic can't open. But we dared not. Not just yet. In case we might be spotted."

"You found them," Jocelyn breathed, an expression of relief on her features.

This was huge! After all, that's what they had been doing these past days, among other things. Looking for Reyr and his imposter queen Merrian. For Dallin and Verath.

When it came to the secret passageways, Desaree and Saffra had the most knowledge out of any of them. Using resources they pilfered sneaking about the keep, they'd parsed together a massive map outlining everything they knew or discovered. It was slow going, as they only allowed certain people out into the passages. It was a risk, getting caught.

"What's all the commotion?" came a new voice.

Mikkin appeared, trailed by Jamie, Berbik, and Unka.

Jeanine had grown familiar with the four of them these past few months in the keep. Berbik had decided to stay in the capital to act in favor of the dwargs, while Unka had been named an official ambassador for the goblins. It still took a great deal of getting used to, on her part. The first few times she'd seen Unka, she'd all but slit his throat. His people were responsible for her village. For the deaths of so many. The death of her father.

But...he was on their side, apparently. Mistrust him as she might, she trusted the king's decision. Even if it was a struggle.

Jocelyn quickly caught Mikkin up on everything they'd discussed, while the sprites poured over the new addition to the map. Mikkin had played an active role in the war against Kane, gathering the dwargs to support King Talon's cause. He'd spent time in Shadowkeep's dungeons. Not many could boast of such. He had a good reason for it all, having lost his entire family to the wild dragons acting under Kane's orders.

"Did you find them?" Desaree asked, looking at the sprites who had just returned.

"Not yet, my lady," Gorded said, placing a hand over his heart. "Once we realized what we'd found, we rushed back. Better not to tempt fate until we are more prepared."

"But...we have to go to them," Des cried. "To make sure they are all right!"

Jocelyn slipped her hand into Desaree's, lending her support. "They're alive. They're okay."

"I know they're alive," Desaree said. "But we don't know what kind of condition they're in. We need to find a way to help them."

"We will," Feowen said. "I stand by my word. Getting to them is our highest priority. Jassin, Gorded, gather whatever supplies necessary. We leave in five minutes." Desaree stepped forward, but before she could speak, Feowen added, "Sprites only for this mission." He threw an apologetic look towards Jeanine. "It's too dangerous. We might need magic to avoid discovery and we cannot risk that. However, if...if you would like us to deliver a message, Desaree, now would be the time to formulate one."

Desaree looked as if she might protest, but logic won out. She nodded.

"Verath is strong," Jocelyn murmured. "He will be okay."

Desaree could only swallow and nod.

The king's shields were alive. They knew that much. Kane loved public spectacles. He would have made a grand one if he'd killed Talon's most beloved guards. No, they were still locked in the dungeons. But who know under what conditions.

Everyone scattered. Desaree went to quickly write a letter, Jocelyn to help her. Feowen stepped up beside Jeanine, lifting her chin for a brief kiss. "Any sign of Claire's spriten staff?" he asked, pulling away to look at her.

He'd sent her on a secret mission. None of them had seen the queen's spriten staff. In the chaos after Kane had appeared, while they fled into the tunnels, they'd tried to take it with them, knowing how valuable, how important it was. Under no circumstances could Kane get his hands on it. Only, it hadn't been propped against the wall. For months and months, it had sat untouched, as if waiting for her to return.

"No." Jeanine's shoulders dropped. "I searched everywhere. It's like it just vanished. I can...I can go back. Look again."

"No. You took enough risk already, sneaking into the king's tower."

"I made sure Kane was away at court. It's not like he keeps guards in there."

"Even still." Feowen stroked a tendril of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "I can't risk you like that. I trust that your search was thorough. That staff..." He huffed. "I think it has a mind of its own. For all we know it knew it was in danger and simply disappeared."

"We'd know if Kane found it."

"That we would." He leaned in, letting his lips linger on her forehead. "You did well today. Get some rest, yes?"

She nodded, giving him another kiss, sharing his air.

Feowen was every inch the prince. She'd watched him step into the role of authority the moment things had gone to ground. From getting them to safety, to taking control in the caves, he was their new ruler until they got their shields back. Until they got King Talon and Queen Claire back.

"Be safe," she murmured, pressing her hand against his beating heart. She couldn't bear the thought of him getting caught by Kane. Of what the sorcerer might do.

"I will. When I return, let's sneak off together, yes?" His eyes crackled with mischief. Her insides squirmed in delight. She nodded and he grinned.

There was another flurry of activity as the new search party gathered what they would need. Supplies, food, perhaps even medicine for Dallin, Merrian, Reyr, and Verath. Who knew what state they'd find them in.

Then, they departed.

She drifted over to Mikkin and his posse as they made their way back towards the center of the cavern, to where the strange mausoleum existed. "Any luck?" she asked.

Berbik had already taken a seat, the same seat he'd occupied for days, to stare at it. He merely grunted. "Thoughts take time," was what he'd said the first time she'd asked. It had been a surprise to them all, when he'd made the announcement, that the mausoleum was of dwargen make, that it had a style and cut of stone only dwargs were capable of. That his people had been contracted to build it. He knew all that from just looking at it.

What he didn't know, was how to open it. But he'd assured them there was a way. "Our people are crafty. There will be a switch or lever somewhere, hidden, like a puzzle. I just need to riddle it out."

All she could do was take a seat next to him and wait. Wait for him to think of a way to open it. Wait for her lover to return from his mission in locating the shields in the dungeons. Wait for her queen to return. Wait for their lives to return to what they should be.

Taking a deep breath, she did exactly that. 

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️

Hi Bookdragons!

Okay, so, now we know what everyone in the keep has been up to since Kane took over. I love their little band of rebels. It reminded me a little of Star Wars with "the resistance." Who knew the secret passages would become so crucial to their survival, huh?

Okay, next week's chapter is from Merrian's POV, so you can probably guess it's a continuation of this storyline here. 

See you then!

--Mel

P.S. If you didn't see my announcement, September 1st is the last day you can preorder the special edition for Talon the Black (over on my website). I plan to place the bulk order at the start of September so that I can start autographing them and shipping them out to arrive by the October 1st release date! We are so close! **if you can't get your hands on a special edition (I know shipping is insane overseas) the standard hardcovers and paperbacks are also super gorgeous too! They still have artwork but it's black and white due to printing restrictions. You can get them on amazon and other booksellers worldwide.