The passage opened up into a vast, cavernous chamber. From the faint reach of the firelight, I could see wagons full of cobwebs and crate upon crate, stacked in clusters. A storeroom of sorts, or once a place of trade, and it felt vast, endless. I stayed nearby the Vespers, but my eyes roamed my surroundings with its high ceilings that melted into darkness and the stone pillars that stood like trees. I kept waiting to come across skeletons, thinking it must have been pandemonium when the curse unfolded here.

“Ah, here is the lift.” The countess’s voice broke the heavy silence.

Mazarine had already located it. The troll stood beside a sleek platform of wood, its railings made of iron; she studied its pulley and gears. Lanterns burned at the four corners of the lift, granting light to see. “It is still functional.”

My father joined Mazarine’s side, examining the lift’s operation. “Yes, it looks just as we left it, all those years ago. It hasn’t aged a day.”

“Enchanted,” Olivette whispered in awe.

“Cursed,” Nura added.

Mazarine glanced up from the lift to study us, her eyes catching the firelight like those of a cat. “Ambrose was brave enough to lead us to the doors. I took it upon myself to lead us into the passage. Now it is your turn, Lady Raven of Amarys, to be the first to take the lift.”

I watched a shadow dart across the countess’s face as she frowned, but then she seemed to have a change of heart and smiled.

“Of course, Mazarine. My family and I will be the first to return to the fortress. It is only fair. Come, Lennox and Phelan. And you too, Anna.”

I followed them onto the lift. I remained near the railing, but my palms were slick with perspiration as I imagined being toted upward, into the darkness and unknown, on this piece of shaky wood.

The duke stepped forward to unexpectedly join us. “I will ascend with you, Lady Raven,” he announced gallantly.

“How kind of you, Your Grace,” the countess replied, but I heard the twist in her words. She didn’t want the duke to accompany us.

“Are we ready?” Mazarine drawled.

The countess nodded.

The troll shifted a lever and the lift began to groan and shake. The chains tightened and rotated through a great wheel, and up we went.

I held on to the railing and looked down at my parents and Imonie.

They were staring at me, worry and fear drawn in their faces. I was being carried away from them, out of sight, and I felt a twinge of anxiousness.

I glanced away from them first, casting my eyes up to the darkness and the unknown.

It was a slow but steady rise.