Mask of Poison (Fall of Under Book 1) by Kathryn Kingsley (great novels to read txt) 📕

“She will sacrifice herself,” Ini interjected. “She would sacrifice herself for anyone. That is who she is. That is her fate.”

Lyon felt his heart fall. His shoulders slumped. “Yes. I’m afraid you’re right.”

Every second Ember had spent in Under had made her feel ridiculously out of place, but nothing compared to what she felt like walking through the estate of the “King of Shadows.”

It was a twisting, massive labyrinth of doors, mirrors, and long hallways. Every square inch of everything was covered in elaborate detail and carvings. Mirrors sat across from mirrors, creating seemingly infinite corridors in both directions. She suspected that they weren’t meant to be shattered. But something about the fractured images, casting a million little versions of herself and her surroundings, made it all the more unnerving.

She felt small.

She felt powerless.

She felt mortal.

For the first time, it really hit her. The past few days of her life had been a wild and confusing series of events. She hadn’t had time to process any of it. A world of monsters, of creatures with powers unlike anything she could have imagined. And all of them seemingly older than the whole of the history of society on Gioll.

What is my life worth compared to all of this?

Maybe that was why, when Lyon came to her and quietly explained to her what the King of Shadows had said, that she had accepted the terms of the deal without much hesitation. Whoever created a palace like this, with its asymmetrical and bizarre grandeur, was powerful enough to do what he liked, whether or not she said yes.

She knew Lyon was a king, and Ini a queen. Even the undead Varúlfur Dtu was royalty. But they didn’t carry themselves like it. Lyon certainly didn’t act much like a king, or seemingly think of himself as one.

Whoever lived here clearly did.

Maverick walked at her side, leading her through the winding hallways. She would have become uselessly lost without him. The Elder of Words was in a dour mood.

“You should not have agreed,” he said, keeping his voice low. It still carried easily in the huge, vaultlike hallways. The lush carpets and thick curtains didn’t seem to do much to dull the sound.

“I couldn’t leave my people standing around in a field, waiting to die. If Rxa is bringing an army of drengil here, they’re doomed. It’d be too easy to outflank them.” She shrugged. “And I’d die with them. Now, at least, they have a chance.”

“Aon is dangerous. He is…unkind.” It was clear Maverick was being very careful with his choice of words. It meant that someone was almost certainly listening to them.

“I don’t have a choice.” Ember reached for the strap of her spear and sighed, finding it gone. She had owned it for over a year and had become used to tucking her hands into the strap as she walked. Now with it gone, she had nothing to fidget with. She stuffed her hands in her pockets instead. “I’m not afraid of dying.”

“Oh, he won’t kill you. He’s given his word on that.”

They came to a large door. The woodwork was stained so dark it might as well have been painted black. Silver filigree accented the structure in lopsided, off-center curls and spirals. The whole place was, like all of Under, both sinister and beautiful at the same time.

“If he won’t kill me, what’s the problem?” She couldn’t help but marvel at the things around her, even if she felt like they were going to eat her whole. Every nook and cranny had something to see.

Maverick sighed as he placed his hand on the doorknob. “He’ll just make you wish he had.” He pushed the door open.

She had agreed to speak with the King of Shadows alone, after all. She cringed, nodded, and stepped inside. “Thanks, Maverick…”

“Don’t thank me.” He shut the door behind her without another word. The click of the handle made Ember jolt, even though she was expecting it.

It took every ounce of her willpower to not unsheathe the knife that Lyon had given her. She kept her hands balled in her pockets.

The room was enormous, much like the rest of the palace. Bookshelves, mostly empty, soared high overhead. Electric lights burned in sconces on the wall, their filaments glowing amber and casting soft rays of light that glinted on the varnish. Here and there, thick carpet with elaborate swirls accented the otherwise wood surface.

Piles of books, some neatly stacked, covered all the visible surfaces. Everyone seemed hard at work putting their home back together. The rest of the palace looked in better condition than this. Maybe his servants aren’t allowed in here?

Slowly, she walked in, scanning the space for anyone. There was a huge wooden table that spanned the center of the room. At the far end was a fireplace, the smell of woodsmoke and the crackle of wood adding just a hint of comfort to an otherwise intimidating space.

“Hello?”

No one answered her.

She frowned. What was she supposed to do? She had been brought here, and then…dumped off without anyone around. Just don’t break anything, stupid. That would be all she’d need. Looking up, she let out a quiet “whoa” at what she saw. The whole of the ceiling was painted in an elaborate mural.

It looked like some kind of war. She recognized Ini and Dtu, but all the rest in the painting were strangers. A huge man in pointed, terrifying armor wielding a giant blade. A gigantic purple spider. A man in all black, commanding an army of skeletons. Another figure was a huge, turquoise winged snake, similar to the one she had seen but less ghostly. Its scales were made of jewel tones that seemed to sparkle even in the low light.

But the last figure made her pause. It seemed out of place from the rest. All the others were dark and terrifying in their own way. But the last figure seemed to almost glow in comparison. It