Born of Flames

Chapter 20 ~ Apologies and Agreements

    The hours passed slowly, each was seeming to drag out even longer than the one before. The storm gave way to a few rays of light just before sunset. Morana had watched the clouds disperse and the sun sink through a river of blood before it disappeared beneath the horizon.

    Now, she'd spent at least another hour gazing at the stars and there was still no sign of Tarion. She had determined to let him be the one to approach her when he was ready to talk again, but with so many hours having gone by and no sign of him, she was starting to worry.

    Was he just not ready to see her again or had their argument led him to do something worse than avoid her? Morana chewed her lip and clasped her hands tightly as she watched a few wispy clouds drift across the moon. Perhaps it was time to seek him out?

    But what if he still just wants to be alone? Morana asked herself. Will he be upset if I check on him? She glanced over her shoulder, but there was no movement beyond the balcony doors.

    She pushed herself to her feet without a second thought. She would just check on him, that's all. She would simply make sure he was all right, and then continue to leave him alone if that's what he wanted. Morana made her way to their bedroom and paused outside the closed doors.

    She rapped her knuckles against the wood, then waited, but no answer came. "Tarion?" She called hesitantly. There was only silence. She nudged the door open and slipped into the room, drawing a quick breath. Her mate's scent was stale, old enough to tell her he hadn't been in the room since they left it that morning.

    Morana furrowed her brows and began rubbing her thumb across her scarred left palm. Where else would he be if not here? He's avoided basically every part of the palace that he can since we arrived. She hurried out of the room and breezed down the hall.

    Perhaps she could find a guard or servant who had seen where he'd gone. It would take some time to find them too though. She and Tarion had asked the palace staff to restrict their work to areas where they weren't likely to be.

    Tarion had been worried about panic overwhelming him if there were guards trailing their every footstep, just as they had when he was Astaroth's Angel, and Morana hadn't wanted any servants attempting to clean up areas where they'd been researching and removing something they might have needed.

    She went down several flights of stairs before she began to notice signs of other activity, such as freshly polished floors and newly hung window drapes. She quickened her pace as she reached a lengthy corridor and noticed two guards positioned by a set of doors. They straightened and squared their shoulders the moment they caught sight of her.

    They began to step away from the door, as if to leave the area. "Wait!" Morana insisted. The guards paused, watching her with blatant confusion. "You don't have to leave. I won't be long. I was just wondering if either of you have seen the Prince recently?"

    The guards glanced at each other, then back at her. "I saw him a few hours ago at my last station," one of them answered. "It looked like he was heading downstairs." The guard averted his eyes and cleared his throat. "To the dungeon, that is."

    Morana's heart lurched into her throat and she barely managed to whisper her thanks before racing down the corridor to the nearest set of stairs that could take her all the way into the bowels of the castle. She'd never been down there herself, but she knew what she would find. She just didn't expect it to be so untouched.

    The moment her feet met the stone floor, she was overwhelmed by the scent of mildew, stale blood, and rot. Morana gazed about her surroundings in stunned silence. There were dozens of cells around her and hallways leading into even more cell blocks. Most of the ones she could see were blocked by grates or bars, a blend of iron and stone chiseled with strange runes.