Even though I’d already thought the same thing, I had hoped Blue had at least been able to slow Requiem down. Tucking my fingers into a crack in the wall, I pulled myself up and felt around with my toes for a ledge to push from. The tiniest of openings beckoned to my right foot and I jabbed it against the sandstone with maybe more force than I needed. Then again, I didn’t really want to fall.

No matter how strong we were, or how fast we healed, that didn’t mean I wanted to feel the pain of a fall like this and deal with the recovery. Who was I kidding, if I fell, there would be no recovery; Requiem would end my life. Or worse, try to marry me too.

Our backs were to the ocean as we climbed. Was there a door and stairway into Requiem’s personal sanctum? Of course there was. And it was heavily guarded and not worth the bloodshed when we could climb. Bad enough that we had to leave that way. We didn’t want to alert Requiem and his lackeys until we absolutely had to.

My right hand slipped off my next grip and I hung in space from my left hand for a split second before I managed to dig my toes into the wall. Breathing hard, I dared a glance down. We weren’t even halfway up yet and I was struggling. So much rode on us doing this exactly right. Lives hung in the balance, and I did not want to screw this up.

Above me, Ash paused and glanced down. I gave him a nod, knowing how well voices carried over the water.

Fifteen minutes of climbing and my whole body was a tense bag of muscles and tendons. Ash reached the balcony and pulled himself over the railing. He disappeared into the room, the curtains fluttering around him.

“Thanks for the hand,” I breathed out as I reached for the next handhold. The pain that shot through my right foot made me hiss. A shell embedded into the wall stuck out far enough to slice me open, but not far enough to use as a grip. The blood on my foot made using it impossible to grip.

Inside the room came a thump and a gargle of a strangled cry. Adrenaline pumping, I tried to scramble up the wall, which only caused me another cut on the bottom of my foot from the same damn shell.

A second thump and the curtains blew out as if bodies were being tossed around inside. Gritting my teeth, I knew there was only one way I was getting up there fast enough to help.

Gauging the distance between me and the bottom of the balcony there wasn’t much choice. I couldn’t wait for Ash if he was getting his ass handed to him; my muscles were giving up, and one foot down didn’t leave me the control I needed.

I took a deep breath, coiled in on myself and leapt for the bottom of the railing. The air around me seemed to caress my face and arms as I stretched for the rail, every muscle pushed to its limit.

My fingers hooked the edge of the flooring and I hung for a moment, shocked when I realized I’d made it. Pulling myself up, I hooked a leg over the edge, stood and hopped the banister.

The gauzy curtain swirled outward and a figure moved behind it. I crouched, hands going to where the daggers rested at my belt. “Ash?”

A figure moved closer, but didn’t answer. I shifted the two daggers out, one in each hand with the blades flat against my wrists. As the figure parted the curtain, I leapt forward, seeing the blond hair and honey eyes too late. Ash caught me, his hands going to my butt as he stumbled back, trying to gain his balance under our joined momentum.

“What are you doing?” He came to a stop and dropped me to my feet. The skin under his hands burned as if he’d slapped me leaving a trail of tingles all the way down my legs.

“I thought you were hurt,” I whispered, pointing a knife at him. “When someone calls your name, you should answer.”

“Help me drag his body to the balcony,” he said.

I put my daggers away and grabbed one of the intruder’s feet. “One of the guards? Won’t they notice he’s missing?” This rescue mission was going sideways already.

“No, I think he was a thief. See the tools? He was the one who cut those grips in the wall. He came up the same way to rob Requiem while he was at his wedding.”

I stared down at the red hair. “He’s a Salamander.”

“That, he is.”

I frisked the dead thief as the implications raced through my mind. Fiametta must have sent him, whoever he was. A bag of tools was one thing. But it was the paper that he’d taken that caught my eye. The genealogy Requiem was obsessed with. I took it and tucked it into my vest. Ash gave me a look but said nothing. We dragged the thief’s body to the balcony and pushed it to the side.

Fiametta wanted Requiem’s bloodline information? Was it truly that important?

Before I could wonder further, Ash lifted a finger to his lips and pointed to the door. The heavy clunk of multiple footsteps climbing the stairs reached us. We stepped back onto the balcony, moving to either side without even speaking to one another.

The curtain blew out around us as the air pressure in the room shifted.

“Princess, I’m sorry.”

Finley spoke, her voice sharp. “Get out. None of you are worth my favor. Not one.” Requiem wasn’t with her, which was good. Except I didn’t hear Bella. Where in the seven hells was she?

The footsteps retreated and then the door clicked shut. I motioned at Ash to stay as I slipped back into the room.

A cloud of light blue material sat in the middle of the room, dark blue hair piled high on top of it like some sort of living cupcake. “Finley.”

She spun around, her eyes going wide and filling with tears. Stumbling over her poofy skirts, she ran toward me. “Lark, you’re alive! Requiem laughed at the ceremony, he said you would show up there or not at all. But Ayu said you would come for me. I wanted to believe her, but I was so scared. I couldn’t get Olive close enough to Requiem. I wanted to fight, I did!”