Aren
After greeting my friends at the entrance and hugging Max and quickly reciting as much information as I can to him, Bennett and I, with the witches hidden at our heels, slip into a bathroom without being noticed.
Professor Solace and the Dark Forest Witch pull off their cloaks revealing themselves as Bennett uses his earth ability to create a slightly sloping tunnel through the ground. We walk in a single file line down the newly created tunnel and Bennett seals the entrance, using his ability to make it appear as if the ground had never been disturbed.
The tunnel is thrown into darkness but with a wave of Evelyn's strange stick wand, a ball of light flies out and floats beside us. Following a rough map drawn by Ryland, we work our way towards the dungeon.
"We should be deep enough now." Bennett states and the slight slope flattens out. "Now we just need to walk due north and we should hit the dungeon."
We walk on for ten minutes until suddenly the earth ahead of us bursts out into an open space. Bennett peers out into the room that we have just broken the wall. He waves for us to follow and we exit into an empty cell. Bennett closes the wall behind us.
"Great. We have successfully stuck ourselves into a cell." Evelyn groans. Bennett smiles and suddenly we are sucked underground and fly up just outside of the cell.
Evelyn's scream is cut short by Professor Solace's hand over her mouth. Professor Solace whispers in her ear. "Shhhh. Just because the guards are focused on the ceremony doesn't mean this place is completely unguarded."
We navigate forward checking all the cells, but none of them contain Jay. We go hall after hall of cells and nothing. Just when I am about to start panicking, I spot a dark door at the end of the last section. I peer through the door's small window and spot Jayden sitting in a dimly lit but lavishly decorated room. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. He looks clean and well fed. I hear the bell strike, marking 2 pm. The bonding ceremony is starting so we have to move quickly if we are going to make it in time.
"Guys, he's over here!" I shout forgetting our need for silence. Bennett, Solace, and Evelyn rush towards me just as a guard steps around the corner. Bennett spots him and quickly sucks him underground and deposits him into an empty cell. Unfortunately, the noise notifies more guards and more flood into the dungeon. Solace and Evelyn start fussing over the door while Bennett and I step up to hold back the guards. More and more guards floor into the dungeon and I know that news must have spread throughout the palace.
I can only hope that we are able to get Jay and make it to the throne room where the first part of the ceremony is being held, before the Emperor can do anything rash.
I knee a guard in the thigh and grab his sword, pulling it out of his hand as I kick him into the guard right behind him. Bennett takes out the majority of the guards by transporting them underground into cells. Any guards he misses I take down. I figured out really quickly that these guards are human and my pheromone attacks don't work on them.
With a shout of triumph and a loud click Jay's door finally opens and he steps out. I rush to his side. Before I can hug him or ask him if he is okay a shout echoes through the halls and one of the cells holding the guards bursts open. It seems they have found their keys and released themselves.
"Shit." Bennett breathes beside me. The guards flood towards us, but just before they can reach us, we are shot into darkness. It takes my brain a moment to realize that Bennett has tunneled us underground away from the attacking guards. "I think I can navigate us back to the bathrooms."
"Okay. What do we do once we get there? Every guard in the palace will have been notified about the breakout in the dungeon." Jay asks.
"We get to Ora and hope our disturbance doesn't mess up the plans."
"What is Ora doing here?"
I look at him. "No one told you? Ora's bonding ceremony with Ryland is today."
"No." He looks confused. "She can't actually be going through with that."
"She agreed to keep you safe."
"Well I'm safe now, so she doesn't need to go through with it."
"There is a lot more to it than that. During the ceremony Ora will reveal herself as the moon goddess and damn the Emperor. We need to be there to support her and help her take power."
A steely look fills Jay's face and he nods.
We surface back in the bathroom where we started. I look around at our group and frown. Our clothing is covered in dirt from our underground journey and Jay is wearing simple clothing that is not suitable for a bonding ceremony of this scale.
"We won't blend in dressed like this."
"Not a problem." Professor Solace waves her cane and instantly our clothing and skin are clean. "You two go ahead and we will follow invisible." She looks at Bennett and I.
I nod in agreement and she pulls out her cloak and throws it over herself and Jay. Evelyn wraps her cloak around herself and they all vanish. Bennett and I stride out of the room and walk towards the throne room. The guards are in a panic running up and down the halls and when we reach the door the guard looks at us intensely.
"The ceremony has already started. You cannot enter."
"I am best friends with the pair. You can't force me to miss this."
"If you weren't late, then you would have been able to enter. You chose to be late, so you chose to miss it." The guard looks me up and down and then catches on the sword at my side. He puts his hand on the hilt of his own sword. "Where did you get that? Guests are not allowed weapons." Before he could fully unsheathe his sword, I thump him on the head and knock him out. Bennett follows my lead and quickly takes out the other three guards at the door.