Chapter 376: You are safe now

Morgana did not run off.

Damon noticed that before anything else. She had the note in her pocket, the information burning inside her head, one child protected in the inner wing and another child somewhere in Valcair’s hands. Even so, she did not start throwing loose orders around the courtyard. She stood still for a few seconds, breathed once, and only then turned to the guard captain who had approached.

"Close the smaller gates. No one leaves the mansion without identification and an order from me or Ingrivid. Send two riders after her at the Merrow barn. I want to know whether they found Vara Leth, whether there are prisoners, and whether there is any trace of the second child."

The captain nodded and left.

Damon looked at her. "You are not going to wait for the reports."

"No."

"You are going to the mines."

"Yes."

"Today."

"Yes."

He nodded slowly, as if the answer had already been clear before the question. "Then we need a small team."

Morgana looked at him. "Small team does not mean you alone."

"I know."

"Nor you in front."

"Depends on the door."

"Damon."

"I know."

Aria returned before the discussion could grow. She had left Lia and Mara with the doctor and seemed to have run back through the corridor. Her hair was messy, her expression serious, and there was ink on one of her sleeves.

"Lia is in the inner room. The doctor is examining her. The mark is still cold, but it is not growing. She asked if you were going to be all right." Aria looked at Damon as she said it.

He stayed quiet for half a second. "Tell her yes."

"Simple lie or comforting lie?"

"Short version."

"Understood."

Morgana took the note from her coat and handed it to Aria. "Valcair has the second child."

Aria read it. Her face lost color, but not control. "Third?"

"Maybe the third child. Maybe the third ear Nera mentioned."

Damon crossed his arms. "Ancient blood opens the first ear. Cold opens the second. Bell calls the third."

Aria closed her eyes for an instant, mentally repeating it. "Then Lia was the first key. The second child may be another ancient blood. The bell would be used to confirm it. And you..."

"Cold," Damon said.

"Yes."

Morgana looked at Aria. "Do we have the names of the other families?"

"Three possible ones in the capital, two in the villages near the mines, and one on an old farm along the northern route. I already sent guards to the ones in the capital. If Ingrivid reached the barn, she may discover which one was taken."

"Bring the mine maps, Nera’s report, and the list of families. No originals. Copies."

Aria nodded. "And the Council?"

"Elizabeth will handle it when she returns. Until then, we continue with the normal report. Nothing about the Heart."

Aria hesitated. "You are going without Elizabeth?"

"If she is at the barn, she is closer to the eastern route. She can catch up with us on the road or stay with Ingrivid if there are important prisoners."

Damon looked toward the gate. "And Ester?"

Morgana stared at him.

He understood the look. "I know she will want to stop me."

"She will want to keep you alive."

"Those are similar things, but not the same."

"Today, they are."

Damon did not argue. He looked at his own wrist. The internal lock was damaged, but not useless. He could feel the thin lines attached to the meridian, crooked and incomplete. If he got near the mines, that might not be enough. It probably would not be enough. But not going also had a cost.

Morgana noticed he was calculating. "Damon."

He raised his eyes.

"You said I decide."

"I did."

"Then I am deciding that you are coming, but under limits. If the root reacts too strongly, you retreat."

"If the child is inside..."

"You retreat until you can act without being used."

The sentence was simple. No drama. No attempt to make him smaller. Just an objective condition. Damon did not like it, but accepted because it was correct.

"All right."

Aria looked at him. "This is getting scary."

"What?"

"You obeying."

"Do not get used to it."

The first messenger from the barn arrived fifteen minutes later, panting, with dust in his hair and dried blood on his sleeve. It was not his. At least not all of it. Morgana received him in the side hall, where the map had already been opened on the table. Damon stood beside her. Aria had a pile of copies. The guard captain waited for orders.

"Report," Morgana said.

The messenger swallowed air. "Lady Ingrivid intercepted the group at the Merrow barn. Seven men captured, three dead resisting. Vara Leth fled before arrival. They found another silver bell, burned documents, and a child’s blanket with blood. There was no child at the location."

Damon went still.

Morgana closed her hand around the edge of the table. "Trail?"

"Yes. It followed the old mine road. Lady Elizabeth sent a message: she believes Vara took the child in a light carriage, escort of four. Lady Ester also sent this."

He handed over a smaller paper.

Damon took it before Morgana. He recognized Ester’s handwriting, firm and irritated even on paper.

Do not try to be a hero. Bring the incomplete lock. I will catch up with you on the road.

Damon stared at the sentence.

Morgana read over his shoulder. "She knows you."

"Unfortunately."

Aria tilted her head. "Does that count as affection?"

"In her language, maybe."

Morgana pointed to the map. "Old mine road. Where might she be going?"

Aria opened a copy. "If Vara wants to reach the third mine, there are two paths. The main road passes through a guard post and is slow. The old one cuts through the hills and reaches near the sealed entrance. It is bad for a heavy cart, but a light carriage can pass."

"How much of a lead?"

The messenger answered, "Maybe an hour. Less if they changed horses."

Damon looked at Morgana. "We have to go now."

"I know."

The group was assembled in less than half an hour. It was not an army. Morgana chose eight trusted guards, the captain, two scouts, Aria, and Damon. Aria tried to argue that she should stay in the archives, but she was the one who realized the old maps might be necessary on the road. She complained about her own usefulness for almost a minute.

Morgana put on a dark cloak, light armor under her clothes, and fastened a sword at her waist. She did not look like a duchess going to war. She looked like someone going to retrieve a kidnapped child before politics had time to get in the way.

Damon changed his cloak for tighter traveling clothes. He tied his hair back and put on gloves. The gloves were not for warmth. They were to hide the bluish lines that appeared when the cold rose. Before mounting, he tried to reconstruct the lock in his wrist. The structure lasted four breaths. On the fifth, it cracked.

Aria saw it. "Is that bad?"

"It is better than nothing."

"That sentence never reassures me."

"Me neither."

Morgana approached with her horse already ready. "If Ester orders you to return?"

"She will not order. She will shout first."

"Probably."

"Then she will fix the lock."

Morgana nodded. "Until then, you stay away from the bell."

"That is the plan."

"No improvising."

Damon looked at her.

Morgana looked back.

He sighed. "I will improvise only if the plan dies."

"Is that the best I will get?"

"Yes."

"Then it will do for now."

They departed through the side gate. The city was left behind quickly. The old mine road began after the last workshops, climbed between dry fields, and entered a strip of rocky hills. The sky was clear, but the air grew colder as they advanced north. It was not only altitude. Damon knew that. The root in his chest knew it too.

At first, the pace was good. The scouts found recent wheel marks, horseshoes, and a piece of green fabric caught on a bush. Vara was not trying to completely hide the route. Either she was out of time, or she wanted to be followed. Neither option was good.

Aria rode badly, but with determination. She kept the bag of maps strapped to her body as if it were her own child. After almost falling for the second time, Damon brought his horse closer.

"Do you know how to ride?"

"Theoretically."

"That means no."

"It means I read about posture and balance."

"Great. Did the horse feel relieved?"

"He judges me less than you do."

"The horse is busy suffering."

Aria adjusted the reins with irritation. "I am essential to this mission."

"I know. That is why I am trying to stop you from dying on a curve."

She accepted the help without thanking him directly. She simply stopped swaying so much in the saddle.

Morgana rode ahead, beside the captain. Damon noticed she did not look back much. Not out of carelessness. Out of forced trust. If she kept checking everyone every minute, she would lose the road. It was the kind of decision that seemed small, but cost something. She could not protect everyone with her eyes.

Two hours later, they found the first carriage.

It had been abandoned off the road, one wheel broken and the door open. There was no horse. No child. There was blood on the step and drag marks leading to a narrow trail that went east, toward a stone ravine.

The captain crouched near the marks. "They changed vehicles or continued on foot."

One of the scouts returned from the trail. "There are small footprints. Child. Two adults. Maybe three."

Damon felt the cold rise.

Morgana looked at him. "Control."

He breathed. "I am fine."

Aria opened a map. "This trail does not lead to the main entrance of the third mine. It leads to an old ventilation shaft."

"Ventilation?" Morgana asked.

"A secondary tunnel used for air and evacuation. Officially sealed after the accident."

Damon looked toward the trail. "Closer to the fourth gallery?"

Aria checked the map, then went pale. "Yes."

Morgana closed her eyes for an instant. "She does not need the main entrance."

"No," Aria said. "She has the maps."

A guard found something inside the carriage: a small hair ribbon with bloodstains. Morgana picked up the object carefully, then handed it to Aria to store. She said nothing. She did not need to.

They continued on foot from there. The horses were left with two guards, hidden among low trees. The trail was narrow, full of loose stones and dry roots. Damon walked behind Morgana and ahead of Aria. With every step, the elemental root grew more attentive. It did not pulse strongly, but it aligned. Like a needle pointing north.

After twenty minutes, they heard the first sound.

It was not a bell.

It was crying.

Low.

Interrupted.

Morgana raised her hand, and everyone stopped.

The captain signaled for two guards to spread out to the sides. Damon closed his eyes for a second, trying to separate the crying from the sound of the wind. Child. It came from inside the stone, beyond the bend.

The trail ended at an opening partially hidden by bushes. The old ventilation shaft was low, reinforced with old wood and stone. There were recent signs of use. An extinguished lantern on the ground. Footprints.

And a woman in a green veil standing at the entrance.

Vara Leth was tall, thin, wearing dark traveling clothes and gloves. The veil covered her face from the nose down, but her eyes were visible. Far too calm. Beside her, a man held a red-haired girl, perhaps ten years old, with a knife near her waist. The child cried softly. Behind her, hanging from Vara’s hand, there was a silver bell.

Morgana took a step forward. "Release the girl."

Vara tilted her head. "Duchess Arven. You came quickly."

"Release the girl."

"She will be released when she fulfills her role."

Damon looked at the child. Behind her right ear, partially hidden by her hair, there was a pale mark shaped like crystal. The second key.

The bell vibrated.

The girl screamed.

Damon felt the root answer, but he locked it down. The structure in his wrist cracked further, and a thin pain climbed to his elbow.

Aria, behind him, whispered, "Damon."

"I know."

Vara looked at him. "So it is you."

Damon did not answer.

"Seraphine will be pleased."

Morgana drew her sword. "Seraphine is not here."

"She does not need to be." Vara raised the bell again. "The first ear has already opened. The second is before me. The third only needs to be called."

Damon spoke quietly to Morgana. "She wants me to react."

"I know."

"If I advance, she rings it."

"I know."

Aria, trembling a little, opened the map. "The ventilation shaft goes straight down. If she enters, she can reach the chamber before Ester catches up with us."

Vara heard part of that and smiled with her eyes. "The doctor is far? Shame. She seemed competent."

Damon looked at the man holding the child. Then at the stones above the entrance. Old wood. Worn support. A narrow opening at the top. They could not attack from the front without risk. They could not freeze everything without knowing what the bell would do.

Precision.

Ester’s word came before the anger.

Damon slowly raised both hands. "You want to take me."

Vara looked at him. "I want you to come of your own will."

"In exchange for the girl."

"In exchange for her staying whole."

Morgana turned her face toward Damon. "No."

"I did not say I accept."

"Good."

Damon looked at Vara. "I can go. But if you ring that bell again, I will not enter anywhere. I will freeze the entrance, and everyone dies out here before you reach the chamber."

Vara went still.

It was a partial lie. He did not know whether he could freeze the entrance without reacting to the bell. But she did not know either. And in that moment, doubt was worth something.

"The monster negotiates," Vara said.

"The monster is tired."

Aria, barely moving her lips, spoke behind him. "Upper support broken. Loose stone on the left side."

Damon heard.

So did Morgana.

Vara did not.

Morgana lowered her sword by half a centimeter. The gesture looked like surrender, but it was a signal. Damon moved his right hand only slightly. A thin line of ice ran across the ground, not toward Vara, not toward the bell. It went to the left side of the entrance, where the stone was loose. At the same time, Morgana advanced two steps, forcing the man with the knife to look at her.

Damon closed his hand.

The stone came loose.

It did not fall on the child.

It fell behind Vara, blocking half of the ventilation shaft and raising dust. The man startled. The knife moved a handspan away from the girl. It was enough. Morgana entered his reach and struck his wrist with the guard of her sword. The man dropped the knife. A guard pulled the child back.

Vara rang the bell.

Damon was waiting.

The lock in his wrist broke.

But he had already prepared the cold somewhere else.

Not in his chest.

Not in the root.

In the ground.

Ice rose around Vara’s feet and trapped her legs before the bell’s vibration completed its second pulse. The root answered with pain, but Damon did not answer with it. He answered with a bad, crooked, improvised technique.

But it was his.

Vara tried to ring it again.

An arrow struck the bell, tearing it from her hand.

Ingrivid appeared on the trail behind them, bow in hand, Ester and Elizabeth right behind her.

"Did we arrive late?" Elizabeth asked.

Damon breathed, sweating cold.

"Almost."

Ester went straight to him. "Wrist."

"Girl first."

"The girl is with Morgana. Wrist."

He gave her his arm. Ester felt the broken lock and let out a low curse. Then she looked at Vara trapped in the ice.

"You rang the bell near him?"

Vara smiled beneath the veil. "He answered."

Damon looked at her. "Not enough."

Morgana was kneeling near the red-haired girl, speaking softly. "What is your name?"

"Elin," the child answered, sobbing.

"You are safe now."

Elin looked at the mine entrance. "The woman said my brother is still inside."

The words fell over the group like stone.

Aria opened the map with trembling hands. "Brother?"

Elin nodded. "She took Toma first. Said I was only to call."

Morgana slowly stood.

Damon looked at the partially blocked ventilation shaft.

Ester gripped his wrist hard. "No."

Damon did not answer.

Because this time, everyone heard it.

From the depths of the ventilation shaft, a low sound crossed through the stone.

Thum.

Long.

Distant.

Thum.

The elemental root in Damon’s chest pulsed with it.

Not as an answer.

As a countdown.