“I’ve offered your father an alliance against Phane,” Isabel said. “It could be that they’ve decided to accept my offer and they’re just making preparations.”
“You could be right,” Ayela said, “but things have a way of happening in the background, when no one is looking, after my father speaks to the witches. Please don’t tell anyone about this conversation, and remember, don’t trust the men … any of them.”
“What will you do?” Isabel asked as Ayela stood to leave.
“Try to save what’s left of my family,” she said. “This passage opens by pressing here,” she pointed to a stone that blended in with the rest of the wall. “Use it only at great need. If they discover you’re missing, they’ll probably kill you on sight when they find you.”
She smiled sadly at Isabel in the dim light and whispered, “It’s good to have a friend.” And then she was gone and the hidden passage closed behind her.
“Yes, it is,” Isabel whispered to herself, looking at the vial of clear liquid she’d been given. “I just hope you’re not really an assassin.”
***
She woke to a knock at the door. A maidservant entered with a tray of breakfast, an assortment of unusual foods collected from the jungle. She sampled them all and found the few she liked before eating her fill. Trajan arrived several minutes later as she was sipping her tea.
“Good morning,” he said with a broad smile, “I trust you slept well.”
“A bed always beats a bedroll,” Isabel said.
“I have good news,” he said. “The Sin’Rath have agreed that my father should form an alliance with you. With your help, they think we can defeat Phane once and for all.” He was almost giddy.
“I thought you didn’t trust the Sin’Rath,” she said.
“Oh, that was just foolishness on my part,” he said. “I met Clotus last night, she’s one of the witches my father takes his counsel from.” He smiled boyishly. “My father told me they’re beautiful, but I had no idea. She was stunning, easily the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
Isabel tensed slightly and her awareness sharpened.
“They want to meet you,” he said. “It’s unheard of, they never speak to women, never, but they want to meet you. Today. It’s such an honor for you. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I think they’re going to invite you into their coven.”
Isabel said nothing while her mind raced. She was suddenly feeling very uneasy, but she was hopeful that the opportunity to form a meaningful alliance still existed.
“I look forward to it,” she said when she realized Trajan was looking at her expectantly. “Hopefully, together we can come up with a plan to strike back against Phane,” she added.
“I have to say,” Trajan said, “I feel better about our situation today than I have since this war started. We’ve been living under a truce with the Regency for decades. Sure, we’ve had occasional border disputes and even a few battles, but mostly we’ve been at a stalemate. Once Phane’s gone, we can get beck to normal, to the way things are supposed to be.”
Isabel frowned but held her tongue.
“Everything’s going to be all right now. You’ll see,” he said as he left, bowing with a flourish.
His behavior was so out of character that Isabel felt a chill creep up her spine. She didn’t know what to expect from the Sin’Rath but she was starting to dread meeting them. Even with her magic, she was no match for a whole coven. So the direct approach was out. That left subterfuge, not her strong suit.
Chapter 6
The guard took off her blindfold.
“We’re here,” he said, pulling open a large oak door.
She’d been led through a confusing maze of passages, up stairs and then down, until she was thoroughly lost under the stone of the hidden underground fortress. Trajan had told her that the Sin’Rath were very security-conscious, so she wouldn’t be allowed to know how to find them within the mountain … that he didn’t even know. A fact that didn’t seem to bother him, but one that did bother Isabel.
In the short time she’d known Trajan, he’d shown himself to be cautious and inquisitive, prone to gathering information before making decisions. Since his meeting with the witches, he’d come to trust them implicitly, laughing off any questions about their intent and accepting their guidance without hesitation.
Isabel looked into a roughly circular room, carved out of a cave. The walls rose at a steep angle until they fell