THE DUNGEON was an appropriate name for where they stood. A long cobbled stairwell drew them down below the city. Andorra could tell the moment they were beneath the surface by the chill in the air. The stones against her palm were cold, and the air smelled stale. It was dark all around them, with the exception of sconces that would light as soon as Ero passed by. As soon as they were mere steps away, the light would dim to dark once again.

"It's keyed to my blood," Ero explained when he caught Andorra staring at the light sources. "That's the only reason we're down here right now. My blood has granted us access, but my father will know. When he decides to check, anyway."

That didn't quite sit right with Andorra, but she wasn't about to voice that.

Once the stairs came to an end, the three of them stared up at a large locked door. It was a slab of rectangular stone, but there was a circle carved in the middle with intricate designs that wrapped around in a labyrinth of sorts.

Two sconces on either side of the door flared to life when Ero stepped forward.

"We don't need guards down here because this is keyed to royal blood as well. No one goes past these doors without a Royal with them." Ero pointedly looked behind his shoulder as if to remind Andorra that she needed him. She would have never gotten to the Asrai without him.

Her mouth twisted. "It seems your father has a lot to hide."

"On the contrary. Anlithamy has no security, so any in comparison seems egregious."

Andorra couldn't argue with that; Ero was correct.

"So, are you going to open the door or what?" Andorra was half convinced Ero had dragged them down there just to wave in front of their faces. But, Ero took a single step forward, pressing his hand to the center of the stone. His hand burst into a green light, which then seemed to leech into the door, the green following the carved marks and lingering. As soon as the entire door was lit up with green light in the intricate designs, Ero took a step back.

"What is your business with the Asrai anyway?" Ero asked as the door swung open. But, that was something Andorra was not giving away. Ero and his father already seemed to know everything about her, and she was keeping this close.

Andorra stepped through the doorway. She let Ero lead her forward, Oberon at her heels. She didn't dare breathe as the door shut behind them, sliding into place with a deafening thud. She wanted to flinch, but kept her chin held high instead.

The hallway that spread before them was perhaps once cleaned and kept pristine. There were chandeliers above their heads that did not spark to life. Instead, cobwebs decorated them, spiders hiding right out of direct sight. The flooring was cobbled, but each stone had a unique design that had Andorra peering closer as she stepped.

"Sigils. All of them. It's what allows us to walk freely without being trapped." Ero interrupted her silence, and when she looked up, he was offering a smile. This man would have to do more than smile at her to change her mind about him.

"They're keyed to your blood, but they'll trap everyone else?"

"Sort of. Anyone we banish down here has no chance of escape. Not with the magic in here. Shall we return back to the discussion at hand? The Asrai?"

Andorra pushed out a long sigh. It was why she had not wanted to involve Ero in the first place. "I met the Asrai in Anlithamy. They mentioned one of their sisters resided here. I told them I would pass along a message."

There, close enough to the truth without giving the full story. Or her full intentions. "What's up with this place, anyway? It had to, at one point, be beautiful. But now it's just... gross. And dirty." The walls were also stone, but different patterns were carved into them to create murals as they walked. Someone had spent a lot of time and resources on this space, just for it to be used to house prisoners.

She had expected Ero to laugh, but his face was suddenly serious and grave. A shiver worked its way down his spine, and Andorra watched as he stiffened. There was a story here, then. A story she wanted to know more about, but wasn't about to flat out ask.

She didn't have to. Oberon did. "It looked like it used to be a part of the home. Not a dungeon at all."

Just hearing Oberon had Ero's mouth loosening. "It was a home. My uncle used to live here. They used to call him the Dark Prince."

"Uncle? What happened to him?" Clearly he had not stepped foot down here in quite some time. Ero led them further down the hall, passing the closed off doorways that must have once led to separate parts of the Dark Prince's home. It intrigued Andorra, to have a piece of history right under her nose.

"My grandfather was involved in many different and dangerous endeavors. One of which killed my uncle. But before he passed, he was banished to this part of the castle, not quite allowed to live the Royal life like my father had."

Andorra turned this over in her head. She would ask Vulara when she got home about this Dark Prince.

"A tragedy, then." Oberon's voice sounded upset as well. "I'm sorry, if you were close with him."

Ero shook his head. "Nah, I didn't know him. He passed before I was born. Like, centuries before my birth. I just know the few scraps I can manage to pull from my father, or from the Serpent Riders in town."

"The Serpent Riders knew him?"

"I'd hope so. He was one of them."

At this rate, Andorra would have to carry around a booklet with all of this information, just to keep it straight.

"So, when did this become a dungeon? Right after his death?"

"No, my father had it sealed off for a long time before he turned this place into what it is today. The first prisoner, sadly-"

"Still lives here." The voice was that of a young woman. It drifted from down the hallway, calling to them. "Please, Erowillric, let me go. You can do it, I know you can."

Ero ignored the calls completely, as if he hadn't heard the woman at all. But, the way he gripped Andorra's wrist told her that whoever was speaking to them was dangerous. Not to be messed with. "Keep close," he hissed, releasing her as they turned down a hallway.

Andorra shot a look to Oberon behind her, eyes wide and brows reaching her hairline. She would have a lot to talk about when they finally left Averotho.

"The Asrai is one of my father's most prized possessions. Letting you meet here is a deathwish for me," Ero shuddered. "But she's right here. In this room. I won't go in there with you, due to how she'll react to seeing me. But once the door opens, she will not be able to leave. Not unless I will it. The magic at the door will stop her, so I'll leave it open, just in case."

Andorra nodded at him, hating the way her stomach twisted with the knowledge of what she had to do. She stepped over the threshold, and the lights flared on around her. Andorra wasn't sure what she had expected, but she took in the sight of the small pond in front of her.

The water was miraculously clear. She stepped closer to the shore line, but then her eyes caught on the racks that lined the walls of the cell. The racks held vials, some empty, some filled with clear liquid. Andorra wanted to step forward to examine them, but there was a splash from the pond, and water was suddenly soaking her from head to toe.

When she looked back to the pond, the Asrai had poked her head out of the water, eyeing Andorra with hatred and distrust. Her tail flicked back and forth, threatening another splash. "What is this? Another fae looking for a drink of life?"

Andorra looked to Oberon, who stood beside her protectively. "Come again?" He asked for her. His arms were crossed as he leaned forward, eyeing the Asrai. "Drink of Life?"

"Don't be coy," the Asrai sang out. "I know why the Prince brought you down here. So what shall it be? My tears? Or a bath in the well?"

Andorra looked back to Ero, but he was out of sight, no longer in the doorway. Coward, was her first thought, but she didn't dwell on it. She looked right at Oberon. "I'm giving you one hour here," she said. "I will come back in an hour, got it? We owe him."

She kept it cryptic enough, knowing Ero could hear them. Then, she turned to the Asrai. "I have a message from your sisters in Anlithamy."

Something glinted in her eyes at the mention of her sisters. She raised her head higher out of the water, revealing her nose, her mouth, her chin. Her sharp teeth gleamed in the light. "My sisters?"

Andorra stepped forward and crouched in front of her. "Your sisters have asked that you trust me. Their message is to give me one minute max before you attack."

Andorra had only done this once before, but she knew she was capable of pulling the Asrai with her into the inbetween. She squared her shoulders, looking at Oberon. "Are you ready?" she mouthed.

Oberon gave a mute nod.

Andorra stepped into the in-between, and she pulled the Asrai with her, leaving Oberon in enemy hands. She had to trust Oberon would be okay for an hour. She knew he could handle himself. She just hoped an hour was enough time.

The Asrai, as expected, thrashed in the in-between. She bared her rows of sharp teeth at Andorra. "You dare make me your priosner?"

But Andorra didn't bother responding. She pulled the two of them back to Anlithamy, the strain of stepping to the separate continent feeling a lot like the first time she opened the gate to the fae realm. She could feel the blood drip from her nose as she brought them to the Asrai Palace floor.

The moment the gate opened, the Asrai was striding forward, straight for Madam Pela, who had been eating dinner when they arrived. Andorra enjoyed the way Madam Pela's eyes widened in surprise and shock, and then the way she stood from her chair and greeted her sister with a tight hug.

"You've done it. You saved Trinity." There was disbelief in her voice. "How?"

"Not legally. The King will be very upset when he finds her gone."

A few other Asrai, hearing the commotion, entered the room to embrace their lost sister. Andorra watched, feeling her chest warm at the sight of the sisters crying in happiness of their sister's rescue. And Andorra knew she had made the right choice.

Endangering herself, Oberon, and even all of Anlithamy was worth this sort of reunion. Because what would Anlithamy be if the Queen didn't seek to protect all members? Andorra didn't want Anlithamy to be like Averotho.

If that meant war, then so be it.

Madam Pela looked Andorra in the eye, and nodded her head. "You have made everything right again. Thank you, my Queen. You have the protection of the Asrai."

Andorra realized then that she would have done this, one thousand times over, without that protection. But she liked that she had it, irregardless.

"And you have mine," she vowed, right back. No matter what the King had wanted from the Asrai, she would keep them safe. They were her people, after all.

Andorra stepped in the in-between. She knew it wasn't time yet to collect Oberon, and so she made a gate to the only other person who crowded her head space.