The Crown of Spheres

߷ C H A P T E R - S I X T E E N ߷

C H A P T E R   S I X T E E N:

꧁꧂

The servants passageways smelt of damp and dust.

The stairs were thin, and the hallways were virtually light less a part from the occasional oil lamp or glassless window.

Nahm went first, then me, then Privi. We were all deathly silent, the only sound being the thumping of our feet one the stone steps and our quick breaths.

I began to smell rain, and it seemed as though the storm that I thought had passed overhead had actually just been lingering over the palace, biding its time. Loud thunder roared above and I flinched. Thunder and lightning storms were not something I was used to, and although they did not scare me in theory, the booming roar of mother nature herself was actually pretty unsettling. Especially after I'd been told as a child that thunder mimicked the roar of dragons at war from eons before our existence.

Nahm cursed under his breath at the faint rushing sound of rain now wafting in through an alcove in the wall, and took a passing glance at the dying light. "Hurry," he murmured, and I wondered if it was to himself or to us.

I wasn't naive to not think this storm would affect how easy it was for us to sail away from Monarch Island, but I hoped whoever Atlas had found to commandeer his ship was talented enough to navigate through it.

We reached the bottom, hearts racing and breaths quick and shallow. Both Privi and I huddled together as the temperature dropped, watching as Nahm peered round a corner that veered off to the left and into the kitchens. We could smell the food they were preparing for dinner and I had to desperately ignore the growl of my stomach.

"Okay," Nahm murmured, beckoning us forward. Servants chatter wafted towards my ears as they talked casually, gossiping about courtiers or passing on rumours. The sound of running feet forced Nahm to push us back, and we lingered in the shadows just out of sight of the main kitchen area.

"You'll never believe what I just heard," One of the servants panted, she sounded young... like child young. "Apparently Prince Calder was found in his bride's rooms, bleeding out."

"What?" Another voice asked, "You lie."

"No! The guards have been sent to search the palace for the Arunian Princess," the same voice carried on, still sounding out of breath.

"I never did trust those snow folk," Another murmured, their voice grave and old sounding. "cold to the bone, using the facade of peace to further their influence when they were the most vicious during the wars."

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard the stories."

I glanced towards Privi who grimaced and shrugged. She knew as much as I did about the wars, but Nahm had gone still.

"You best heed my warning," The old voice replied, "if that little ice princess is running around the palace bloodthirsty and untethered, we better all watch our backs. Once they get a taste for violence... for death, it's like a dog to a fresh meaty bone. She'll bite your head clean off. The lot of them are cursed to do so."

"You're scaring her," one of the other voices sighed, "come on. The rest of the palace still needs to eat, we can't stand here chatting all evening."

"What about Prince Calder? Will he be okay?" The young female voice asked. Thunder roared, and seconds later there was a crack of lightning. The kitchens went quiet, as if they were listening to the weather speaking its response.

"Come on." The previous voice murmured, sounding parental to the younger one.

We waited until the kitchens went quiet and prowled through, keeping to the shadows of the wall as it grew darker with every minute. Privi stopped however, and opened up her bag to shove some of the bread rolls and cheese cubes inside after wrapping them in paper. "Privi," I hissed. Nahm had made it to another door which lead through the pantry and out into the open where I assumed deliveries were brought.