Last Stand (The Black Mage #4)(48)

“An interesting theory, but already you have neglected one of your country’s most notable features.”

“What?” My skin was starting to heat, and my pulse rose. “What is wrong with this plan? You haven’t even let me finish!”

“The Red Tunnels, my dear. Or did you forget that your king has countless tunnels hidden away at the base of that infamous range?”

“I…” How could I be so stupid? It was how they named everything. The Red Desert. The Red Gate. The Red Tunnels. “I forgot.”

“Yes, well, a Pythian doesn’t forget his enemy’s best hand. Your boy king’s father made sure every one of us knew those were there. Just in case we ever considered raiding his south.”

I couldn’t bear to listen to the rest of the duke’s response. Frustration was a crushing blow, and it was building with every second that passed. I thought this time would be different. The last time we spoke, I’d been so built-up with rage I had shattered what should have been—according to all measurable accounts—an unbreakable glass. The indoor training courts had been treated with the best potions an Alchemy mage could brew.

Then I had tried to convince the prince to run away with me so I could leave everyone else behind.

“…Of course, our traders heard about them long before your Lucius ever started spreading the word. Some secret, when we had spies at all the ports…”

What would I do if Nyx didn’t find an answer? If—

“Three more weeks.” Cassius placed a meaty palm on my shoulder. “I want to help you, I do, but my hands are tied.”

“We could still win. Darren is the king’s best defense, and he will be blindsided. We could—”

“What did I say about begging, Ryiah?” The man released me with a sharp look. “This meeting is done.”

“Wait!”

He turned and looked me up and down. “Well?”

Say something. Anything. “Darren has a key.” I took a deep breath. “It’s new. His brother asked him to start wearing it because he didn’t trust your claims. Blayne is beginning to get suspicious.”

“Nothing you are telling me is helping your cause.”

“Darren said the key was a part of the Crown’s best kept secret.”

“And what is this secret?” The man continued to stare, unimpressed. “How is it going to help us?”

“I…” I didn’t—

Secret. Secret. Best. Kept. Secret.

That’s when it finally hit me. All of Commander Ama’s lectures. The desert. Red everything. And the irony was the duke had brought on the answer himself.

The apprentices had spent all summer discussing those tunnels; their mysterious location had even become a butt of a joke amongst the mages. Several had even gone so far as to speculate the untimely death of Ishir’s previous commander, a man who had taken ill only three years into his reign.

No one knows their location. Not the barons or lords, not even the regiment, only the current commander and the Crown.

Darren had believed I knew the answer because it was obvious—gods, even Cassius had spoken the secret aloud.

Secret.

The Crown’s best kept secret.

“It leads to a map to the Red Tunnels. The Crown’s best kept secret.”

The duke’s expression immediately changed. “Why didn’t you—”

“I didn’t know what it was.” My heart was beating so fast I was afraid it would burst. “But as we were talking… I-I’m certain! The desert commander always said that only she and the Crown knew their location. Everyone who dug the tunnels died long ago, and the commander has scouts patrolling the border to make sure no one knows where they are.”

“Surely the scouts know?”

“No, they are only assigned a territory to patrol. The tunnels could be anywhere between. Their location was only to be revealed if we went to war. So if we knew in advance—”

“We could use barricades like the Red Gate.”

“And the Crown’s Army would never expect it.”

“The passages are small. We wouldn’t need a lot of men to hold them off. We just need to know where they are.”

“Well, well.” Duke Cassius ran a hand down his yellow beard. “I do believe you’ve found an acceptable solution to our problem… But we are still missing one thing. The map.”

“I have three weeks.” Nothing would stop me from saving us all. We had a plan. Darren had the key. We had time. “I’ll get you that map.”

“Do you know where to look?”

I didn’t, but I knew who to ask.



*

“Crown’s ‘best kept secret?’” I scoffed as the prince and I returned to our chamber much later that night. “More like the most obvious. A map of the Red Tunnels?”

Darren grinned wolfishly. “And yet it still took you a day.”

“Well, I am a part of the Crown.” I picked at the sleeves of my underdress, trying to frame my next question just right. “Shouldn’t I have the privilege of knowing where it is? What if something happens?”

“What?” A smirk was making its way across his lips. “No trust in your husband?”