and hissed in challenge, guarding their next meal.
They moved with more care from then on which slowed them down but also prevented them from blundering into the clearing in front of the cave mouth leading to the fortress entrance.
Trajan signaled—four Regency soldiers—everyone went to a knee. He pointed to three of his men and signaled for them to circle the clearing and attack from a different angle, then waited for them to reach their position before silently ordering his remaining two men to follow him into battle.
All six charged into the clearing without a word, closing the distance to the four soldiers before they could fully process what was happening. Overwhelming force, coupled with the element of total surprise produced predictable results. Trajan reached his intended target first, swinging his bone club up and under the side of the soldier’s jaw, lifting her up off the ground and twisting her head around with such force that her neck snapped, killing her before the blood spray from her shattered jaw could reach the ground. The remaining three died almost as quickly, two managing to get their swords half drawn before Trajan’s men reached them.
Trajan and his companions entered the fortress cautiously, but the place was dead and still. At the main entrance, Isabel saw the remains of a battle she’d fought in days past. Four corpses lay crumpled around the entrance, decomposing just enough to lend a sickly scent to the musty air, all dead by Isabel’s hand. Several more killed by others were scattered about, left to rot where they fell. In the center of the room was one of the witches, the greatest stench of decay coming from her corpse.
“So this one is definitely dead,” Isabel said. “If we assume the ghidora killed the one Hazel sent it after and Phane killed Clotus, that leaves ten.”
“We should make a thorough search of this place,” Trajan said. “If more of the witches fell here, I want to know of it.”
“You know this place better than anyone,” Isabel said. “I recommend we stick together in case we run into more soldiers.”
“Agreed,” Trajan said.
The place was surprisingly large and Trajan did indeed know it well. He led them through an exhaustive search of the entire fortress, which proved to be a heart-wrenching experience for both him and Ayela. Hundreds of Trajan’s soldiers were dead, killed in pitched battles that took place in the halls and barracks. Soldiers fought without full armor, sometimes even without boots because the attack had been so sudden, the enemy had breached the gates so quickly and poured into the fortress in such force that the defenders didn’t have time to mount anything but the most hasty of defenses.
From the carnage, it was clear that the Regency soldiers had been ordered to leave no one alive. The dead had suffered various types of wounds, but each and every one of the fallen had another wound, a narrow-bladed dagger puncture to the heart. Even their own dead had been stabbed in the heart and left to rot.
The corpses were piled highest near the outer door of the king’s chambers. Isabel had to watch her footing as she climbed over the four-foot pile of bodies. Within, they found more dead, including one of the Sin’Rath who had fallen just inside the king’s door and died from a cut to her throat.
The king’s chambers were large, cold, and dark. It took nearly an hour of searching to discover the three hidden doors leading out. They would have stopped long before finding the first one, were it not for Trajan’s insistence that they keep looking.
“I know my father well enough to know that he has at least two hidden passages,” he said. “Keep looking until you find them.”
The first passage they found led to a series of more passages that seemed to permeate the entire fortress, shadowing the main passages and allowing access or a view into many important rooms. As well as Ayela knew the secret passages in the fortress, she had to admit she’d never been in these passages.
The second hidden door led to a long tunnel leading into the dark, a cool breeze picking up the moment they opened the door.
The third passage was locked from the inside, an oddity that made Isabel wonder. Further inspection revealed a peephole looking into the room from the hidden passage beyond.
“We should see what’s behind there,” she said.
“Agreed,” Trajan said, motioning to two of his men. They picked up a table and