She backed away, shaking her head from side to side. “I can’t betray him. The consequences will be dire.”
“Then transform and let me see the sigil on your hand,” I snarled.
“It’s already gone,” she replied with a sob. “I was only supposed to let his shadow into the palace and then escape, but the door trapped me.”
I ground my teeth, not wanting to reveal that I was the one who trapped her in case she shut down on us completely. There was something off about this female. She seemed to be protecting the Fear Dorcha, even though he had cursed her entire Court.
A long breath heaved from my lungs. If I couldn’t use the door, a coach reinforced with Drayce’s shadows might get us into the Summer Court, but entering that cursed space from its border would give our enemies ample time to defend themselves with monsters or capture Drayce and me.
Cathbad stepped forward and knelt at Erin’s side. “What does the sigil look like, then?”
“Will you release me if I give you a detailed description?” she asked.
“Yes,” I snapped.
“Horizontal lines sticking out from a single vertical line.” She traced several invisible lines with her hoof.
Cathbad straightened. “It’s focail déithe, the script handed down by Dana. The doe just inscribed ‘fire,’ the element that represents summer.”
My eyes widened, and triumph warmed my insides. “Let’s go and use the door.”
I glanced at Drayce, who flashed me a wide grin. Cathbad was turning out to be a useful ally. Without consciously asking the palace to do so, the wall on our right side opened up, revealing the chamber containing the arched door. Its swirls twisted around on the wooden frame as though in greeting.
The room consisted of a similar pale rock as the cornerstone’s wall, except the bricks were smooth, uniformly shaped, and bound with mortar. I stepped inside, the wall lanterns lengthening my shadow, and heavy thuds echoed across the chamber, sounding like an ogre’s fists.
“What’s that?” asked Rosalind from behind.
My gaze wandered to the box I had created in the corner, which contained the black ooze. “I trapped the Fear Dorcha’s shadow within the stone. It probably knows we’re here.”
“Queen Pressyne had a pendant with four keys, Your Majesty,” Rosalind said. “How do you intend to open the door with just a symbol?”
Erin’s fluffy ears appeared on the edge of my vision. She probably wanted to use the door to run back to the Fear Dorcha and warn him that we were coming. I nudged Drayce, who nodded and wrapped a tendril of shadow around her back hoof.
“With my blood.” I turned back to Cathbad, who stared at me through unblinking, amber eyes. “Carve the symbol into my palm.”
Drayce pulled out a dagger from his sword belt and handed it to the druid.
I placed my hand palm-up for Cathbad and clenched my teeth as he made shallow cuts into my flesh.
When he finished, he stepped back. “Done, Your Majesty.”
Blood beaded through the cuts as they sealed, and I pressed my hand onto the wood. With a hiss, red light streamed out from behind the door. It swung open, revealing a stagnant void of absolute blackness.
My heart plummeted. It hadn’t felt this terrible when Drayce shattered the windows of the royal carriage. As soon as the door became wide enough to fit a person, the doe dashed past and into the dark.
I glanced at Drayce and smirked.
“No!” Aengus rushed past and gave chase.
My heart jumped into the back of my throat. He was about to ruin our plan. I opened my mouth to protest, but Drayce placed a hand on my arm and shook his head. I nodded. Shouting after Aengus would only alert the doe and whoever was listening that we had a means to track her. I raised my shoulders and smiled. If Aengus managed to catch Erin, she was sure to make another escape.
“How are we supposed to see through that infernal darkness?” grumbled Cathbad. “Even with flaming torches, we’ll only see a few feet ahead of our noses. We’ll need something brighter than sunlight to deal with this.”
Drayce shrugged. “I can see in the dark.”
“We might get separated,” I glanced over my shoulder at Rosalind and remember the balls of faerie light that haunted dark forests and lured humans to their deaths. “Can you create a will-o’-the-wisp?”
She shook her head. “Those are the lost souls of pixies.”
“Right,” I muttered. “We could use the wall lanterns, but they’re even dimmer than fire.”
“What about Crom Cruach?” she asked.
My brows rose. “His gold?”
“It was brighter than fire,” she replied. “We could use it to fill lanterns.”
“Do it.” I raised a hand, and a few of the bricks came loose. A jar of glowing light rolled out of the gap in the wall.
Rosalind raised the jar with her magic and moved the lanterns off their perches. Cathbad opened up each lantern, letting Rosalind pour enough gold into its interior to make them glow brighter than the morning sun.
Drayce turned to me, his brows drawn together and his lips twisted into a smirk. “You’re using someone’s remains as lantern fuel?”
“Crom Cruach trapped the souls of innocent babies into his idols.” I pulled out the Sword of Tethra. “He might as well help us to destroy the female who supplied them.”
Aengus jogged through the door with a broad grin and the weeping doe slung over his shoulder. “I brought her back, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you,” I said with a chuckle. “Are we ready to go?”
Rosalind handed me a glowing torch that was so bright, I had to squint against its glare. I held it out into the darkness, expecting to see a forest or a palace but instead found what appeared to be a town square. Smooth cobblestones stretched across an expanse to large for the torch to illuminate, and to our immediate left and right stood tall buildings with downstairs shuttered windows protected by pale awning.
Black capall lay on the cobblestones beside fallen riders, their rib cages rising
