Blood for her Crown

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jamie

Grace had vanished in the depths of the tunnels quite some time ago. He had debated going in there several times, but he couldn't abandon the others. He hadn't counted the minutes Grace had been gone for, but it had to be more than an hour.

Tanner was still asleep. Jamie had to check if he was still breathing twice to convince himself he wasn't dead. He wondered whether Tanner had experienced the same feeling he had when he'd fought Vayne all those days before, when he'd suddenly felt dizzy and couldn't hold his balance. Maybe that was what left Tanner like that. It didn't matter, though, because he couldn't even be sure Vayne had done it as long as Grace was missing.

Aderah became anxious as well. She continued walking back and forth along the walls, her legs trembling. Jamie had asked her to sit down more times than he could remember, but she refused. She'd said she needed to move when she was nervous. He got that, but instead of moving or doing anything useful, he slumped down in the corner where Grace had escaped him and vanished. It wouldn't make her return any sooner, but it did make him feel better for some reason—like he could sense if she needed help.

The minutes passed, slowly rinsing through the echoes of the hollow cave. He attempted to count them but quickly lost track as he reached the hour mark. His mind was probably equally restless as Aderah's, and there was nothing he could do about it. The waiting was killing him. Why couldn't she just listen to him this once?

When he was about to start counting the minutes for the third time when he heard an echo to his right. It came from the tunnel.

He leaped to his feet, which drew Aderah's attention. She made her way over to him. "What is it?"

He leaned into the narrow path, attempting to adjust his eyes to the sudden darkness. "I thought I heard something. An echo. Steps, maybe." 

He couldn't see a damn thing. Some lonely rays of light broke through the walls, dimly lighting the path, but not enough for him to make out the source of the noise.

"I'm going in," he decided.

Aderah grabbed his arm before he could squeeze through the gap. "Don't. If you were right and someone lured Grace into a trap, it could be them. Maybe we should hide."

He didn't believe that. Because if this was actually Vayne, who was most likely the one behind everything, Grace may be dead. And he wouldn't allow that. She couldn't be.

"We should at least grab a weapon, just in case," the girl continued.

When he looked at her, he saw uncertainty and worry in her eyes.

"Fine. But you're not going to do anything. Sit back and let me handle it if it's not her." Which he prayed wasn't the case.

She agreed, and they returned to the horses. Jamie snatched one of the swords Grace had strapped to her horse, keeping a safe distance from the beast. He leaned against the wall, facing the corner from which someone would eventually arrive. The blade by his side was only to assure the healer, since he had the feeling his best friend would return safely.

He thought he heard more faint echoes coming from that direction and kept on waiting.

She stepped around the corner two minutes later. His shoulders dropped in relief, and he sighed. The sword fell to the ground, and he took a step toward her. She looked up at him, her eyes laced with faint sorrow and regret. Everything he had planned to lecture her on was forgotten, and he just wrapped his arms around her. She didn't react at first, but then slowly lifted her arms and placed her hands on his back. He rested his head on top of hers, and she let him. Something must have happened that made her so sad. He'd seen it in her eyes seconds before, and now he was certain. Usually, she slammed her head into his chin when he did that, so whatever it was, it had to be bad.