Let The Wind Rise (Sky Fall, #3)(38)

She nods. “But I don’t see a latch or anything.”

“Maybe the password is enough?”

“Let’s hope.”

She leans down and whispers through the crack.

I can’t hear what she says—but it works.

A roar of wind knocks us back as it blasts open a hatch.

Solana drags me with her as she jumps, and my ankles definitely aren’t happy about the landing. But I can see through the eerie blue light that Solana’s family crest is painted on the stone walls.

We found the Royal Passage—and just in time.

Wind spikes explode above us as Solana shouts the command and seals us inside.





CHAPTER 20


AUDRA


We’re going in circles.

Wasting energy.

Facing too many dead ends.

I knew the fortress was a maze, but I thought if we kept pushing forward, eventually we’d find our way through.

Instead we wind up back in the dungeon.

“Should we make him guide us?” I ask, motioning to where the scarred Stormer lies unconscious in his locked cell.

“He’d lead us straight to Raiden,” Gus warns. “You can’t trust your enemies—even when you force them.”

“But how else do we find the way out of here?” I stretch the muscles in my neck—supporting Gus is taking its toll on my back.

Gus presses his ear to the wall, and I assume he’s listening for sounds of battle.

When I copy him, I hear a low, constant hum.

“That’s the Shredder,” Gus says, backing away from the wall. He looks as pale and gray as his Stormer jacket.

“You okay?” I ask.

He closes his eyes, taking slow, shaky breaths. “I can still feel it, tearing around inside me, like the winds bored into my essence.”

I reach for his hand.

“I’m fine,” he promises.

But when he wipes his mouth, I see red.

“Is the sound making you worse?” I ask.

“It’s probably the lack of wind. Or all this walking. And at least now we know how to find where we’re going. If we keep following the sound, it’ll lead us right to it.”

The plan seems to be working, but the louder the hum grows, the paler Gus turns, if the sound alone makes him bleed, how will he stand among the Shredder’s blades?

“Maybe there’s another way out—”

“I’ll be fine,” he interrupts. “We’re not changing the plan.”

His words would be easier to accept if his teeth didn’t have a reddish gleam.

I pull Gus’s arm around me and try to move us faster, hoping he’ll grow stronger if I can get him some fresh air.

The sound leads us through several more turns and then . . .

. . . we end up back in the dungeon.

The scarred Stormer laughs when he sees us. “Ready to give up?”

Gus kicks the bars so hard I fear he’ll break his foot.

“We’ll find a way through,” I tell him before he can kick again. “I just need to think.”

I try to remember every detail I noticed during my time in the tunnels, but nothing stands out.

And then I realize what we’re missing.

“The power of pain,” I whisper. “The Stormers always use broken commands to open hidden doorways.”

“Indeed we do,” the scarred Stormer says. “Which doesn’t help you at all, does it?”

He rolls to face me, and I cringe when I get a better look at his mashed-up face.

“Please,” I say. “If you help us, you can escape with us.

Gus pulls me away. “Forget him, Audra. He’ll never betray Raiden.”

“He’s right,” the Stormer agrees.

“Why?” I ask. “We both know what’s going to happen when Raiden finds you like this. I’m offering you a chance to live.”

“So long as I join the Gales and spill all of Raiden’s secrets—and fight at their side as they destroy everything I’ve helped build? No thank you. I have no intention of becoming a traitor.”

“So be a loner,” I counter. “Get us out of here and disappear. It worked for Aston.”

“Yes, well Aston had an advantage I don’t have—though he paid for it with his skin.” His hands move to his neck, rubbing his throat. “If Raiden senses that I’ve betrayed him, he’ll trigger my suicide draft.”

I’m not sure I know what that is—though the name speaks for itself.

I squint at his neck, but I can’t see any trace of it.

“There’s no way to remove it,” he tells me. “In case that’s what you’re planning. I can’t even feel it—if I hadn’t been conscious when Raiden formed it, I wouldn’t even know it’s there. And if I try to tamper with it, Raiden will trigger the slow death. I’ve seen it in action once.” He shudders.

I reach up to rub my neck and catch Gus doing the same.

I knew Raiden’s methods were cruel, but I never imagined anything like this.

“And he makes all of the Stormers have them?” I ask.

“He doesn’t make us. It’s how we show our commitment—and the commitment is mutual. We swear to be loyal, and Raiden swears to teach us his ways.”