BooksBarbecue
Back The Ones We Burn Save as PDF
Chapters (93)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Part One: Skra: Sixty Days Remain
  5. PART ONE SKRA SIXTY DAYS REMAIN
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4 Two weeks later
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. Part Two: Monster: Twenty-Five Days Remain
  25. PART TWO MONSTER TWENTY-FIVE DAYS REMAIN
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. Part Three: Butcher: Six Days Remain
  40. PART THREE BUTCHER SIX DAYS REMAIN
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. 49
  59. 50
  60. 51
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. Part Four: Bloodwinn: Coup Successful
  64. PART FOUR BLOODWINN COUP SUCCESSFUL
  65. 54
  66. 55
  67. 56
  68. 57
  69. 58
  70. 59
  71. 60
  72. 61
  73. 62
  74. 63
  75. 64
  76. 65
  77. 66
  78. 67
  79. 68
  80. 69
  81. 70
  82. 71
  83. 72
  84. 73
  85. 74
  86. 75
  87. 76
  88. 77
  89. 78
  90. 79
  91. 80 EPILOGUE Three months later
  92. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  93. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aramis punched him in the arm, and together, they descended into the mines.

27

THE TUNNELS REEKED.

The bay was higher here.

Seawater had long permeated the mines, leaving stagnant pools along the walls. Ranka led the way, squinting against the dark.

“How much longer?” Aramis whispered. “We’ve been walking for ages—”

“Quiet.” Ranka ran her fingers over the wet walls. “Voices carry. We don’t want whatever’s down here to know we’re coming.”

That shut her up.

The tunnel curved south, sloping downward. The blood scent grew thicker. The only sign that Aramis was still with her was the whisper of her breath. She and Aramis traded positions every quarter mile. The princess led now, shoulders trembling through her shirt. She turned the corner—and screamed.

A guard sprawled across the tunnel floor. He was missing his head.

“Solomei help us,” Aramis gasped. She braced a hand against the wall and gagged, her shoulders trembling from the effort of swallowing down bile. Ranka waited for her to recover and crept forward to investigate the dead man.

Ranka knelt and read the name on his uniform. Lieutenant Sorhee.

Yeva flashed through her mind’s eye, and she swallowed her grief. At least this man’s death had been fast.

If they weren’t able to get a team to recover his body, at least his family would have closure. She ripped the patch free, tucked it into her pocket, and rose. “Come on. Lieutenant Forthis may still be alive.”

They kept walking.

There had to be hundreds of miles of tunnels down here. Openings yawned on either side of them, and it took everything in Ranka not to flinch every time they passed one. Her axe kept slipping in her hand. She counted under her breath to keep calm—it was a trick Ongrum had taught her years ago, when the nerves before a raid left her bouncing and unable to sit still. The rhythm of the numbers always brought her back down.

“Ranka,” Aramis whispered, lifting a trembling hand. “Look.”

Bloody footprints formed a haphazard path in front of them, tracing forward and back, shooting ahead and back through side tunnels, as if whoever had been down here had been running in laps to make the trail unreadable. The slashes of rust were small and round, not the steady tread of a booted guardsman. Whoever had been down here was barefoot, and in bad shape.

Behind them, somewhere deep in the tunnels, something moaned.

The hair on Ranka’s arms stood on end. Aramis looked at Ranka, her pupils blown wide in the dark. Ranka swallowed her bolt of terror and reached for her. “Take my hand, Princess. And don’t let go.”