Page 80 of Gilded Curses

The stairs had taken them below the earth. She had no idea how far down they were, but she guessed it was at least two or three hundred feet after the long descent.

As she crept forward, she felt the oppressive weight of all that dirt, stone, and castle above their heads bearing down on them. Straining to hear anything beyond these thick walls, she tipped her head to the side, but the silence was absolute.

When they turned the corner, a thick metal door came into view. Pip’s whiskers tickled her cheek when the brownie’s head turned toward her, but Sahira focused ahead.

If something was about to burst out of the door to eat them, she’d run out of this place as fast as she could. She wasn’t going to be a meal for anything in this realm.

When she stopped in front of the door, she examined its flat surface as she tried to figure out how to open it. There was no knob, no handle, or anything to help them enter whatever lay beyond.

Sahira frowned at the door as she resisted kicking and beating on it. Maybe they were supposed to knock and someone would answer, but she was sure that someone would probably chop off their heads, so she decided against that option.

However, she refused to be dissuaded. She hadn’t discovered the hidden entrance and come this far only to be thwarted by a door.

Stepping back, Sahira examined the walls beside the door. They were mostly smooth gray stone, but a set of rocks to the right stuck out more.

Until now, the dagadon had been meticulous about how carefully they concealed their hidden chambers and how to enter them. Why would they make something so obvious now?

Still, she couldn’t pretend those rocks weren’t there. Running her fingers over the stones, she discovered she could pull them apart a little.

“Careful,” Pip cautioned.

Sahira didn’t have to be told twice as she gently prodded them apart. Set on hinges, the rocks swung outward to reveal a flat stone beneath. That stone was at least a foot high and a foot wide. Inside were dozens of moveable pieces on tracks.

“What are those?” Pip asked.

Sahira was wondering the same thing as she examined the small pieces. “I think it’s a puzzle.”

“Oh, that can’t be good.”

No, it couldn’t, especially since Sahira had no idea what picture it was supposed to form. It would make sense for the dagadon to do this though. Yes, it would take them time to complete the puzzle and enter this room, but what did they care when it could stop others from getting inside and possibly to the prize they sought?

Sahira looked from the pieces, to the door, and back again. Then, her gaze fell to the floor, and her heart sank.

She hadn’t noticed it when they first approached the door, but a crack ran along the floor on all sides of them. Lifting her foot, she stomped down on the floor. Not only did it thwack off the solid stone, but a hollow thud also accompanied the noise.

With a lump in her throat, she pointed out the cracks to Pip. “If we get this wrong, we’re dead.”

“Or we’ll wish we were.”

“Do you want to go back?”

“Do you?”

“No.”

“Neither do I. Let’s hope they give us a few wrong guesses before throwing us to the wolves.”

Sahira didn’t know how likely that was, but she hoped for the same thing as she studied the dozens of puzzle pieces. There was nothing to do but start, and the best way to go was to try matching all the similar colors together and hope the rest fell into place.

With a tremulous hand, she clasped a dark brown piece. She steadied the tremor before sliding the puzzle piece up its track and into a new position at the top, where there was a hint of a dark mark.

When the floor didn’t immediately fall out from beneath them, she released a small breath before gripping the next one.

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Orin caught the woman as she fled toward another doorway leading off the spacious bedroom he’d entered. She squeaked as he gripped her arm and spun her around before snaking his arm around her neck.

“I’m Alda!” she blurted before he could cut off her air supply. “I met with Sahira in the garden!”