Glass Rose

Chapter 3B

The sun was blinding through the kitchen's windows, reflecting off of the copper pans and pots hanging off nails above the oven. It hadn't helped that the hearth was roaring with heat too, the flames biting at the mishapen loaves of bread inside. She had packed some food already, a mixture of apples, pears, and anything she could find that could stay fresh for a while. All she was waiting for now was the bread.

Another messenger had come, though Laera was banned from the meeting. This time, the messenger was a human and was tasked solely with reporting where Kris was being held. The tradeoff was supposed to happen there, he said, moments before his brutal death on the floor of the castle.

It hadn't taken Laera too long to figure where Kris was after that. The guards weren't particularly quiet during their extraction meetings. No one had wanted to go to Alcea, and though Laera had never been, she understood why.

The city was crawling with mutts, from primitive sirens to disgraced fae, all just one step away from being complete animals. Neither Fotia nor Traison wanted anything to do with the dark wasteland. Her sketched out copy of the current map was sprawled out across her bed, and she anxiously hoped no one would walk in while she was out.

The rack was burning, even through the layers of towels Laera used to pull it out. Steam curled off the bread, and she quickly rolled each loaf into a napkin before running out the door.

Today she would finish packing, and tonight, she would leave.

The adrenaline was roaring in her ears.

~

Laera fastened the sword to her waist. Even though everything was packed, she still found herself rummaging through her things to double check. The now cold bread was tucked away with the rest of the food in her satchel, as her clothes rested on top. Matches were tied in a bundle off to the side as gold coins were spilling from a pocket inside.

The strategy the Captain was using in the catacombs shocked her. The guards were more spaced out than usual, monitoring set zones. The formation itself was an old one from the beginning of the war. The placement of the guards makes it extremely easy to get out. Her exit would be wide open. All she needed to do was step through.

Laera had persuaded a maid to help her out earlier. The distraction she was supposed to cause would be enough to pull the guards away from her door and make enough noise to prevent them from hearing Laera. And if anything went wrong, the gold coins she payed with would be more than enough to leave the castle.

Her heart was thumping against her chest and into her ears. She pressed her body against the door.

Clang. The crash sounded terrible, and soon enough, a fleet of footsteps were running towards it.

Laera slowly pushed the door open, praying it wouldn't creak, and softly closed it behind her. The cold felt like pinpricks against her arms as electric nerves ran through her body. With the click of the lock, she ran.

By the time she reached the steps, her mind had already crowded in with doubts. Nevertheless, she continued. The dimly lit staircase echoed her steps. Her fingers traced the stone walls, the cold dampness increasing with every step.

The shadows enveloped her. The archway to the first level was small. Candles burned near the feet of the row of graves, dark figures shuffling between them. Laera flattened out against the wall and pulled up her hood, as her breaths quietly steadied themselves.

She had been to the catacombs before. The familiar rotten smell hit her quickly. She had only ever stayed on the top floor though. She couldn't face the bottom floors just yet.