Chapter 261: Conclave

~ DAVID ~

My footsteps echoed ominously as I entered the secret chamber far below the castle. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and for a moment it seemed like the shadows were flesh, ready to reach for me.

I shook the feeling off. It was a child's fancy.

Sconces had been lit, and candles placed on every available surface in the round, stone room. But while Stark and I agreed that this space had likely been used for secret rituals in the past—it had a fire pit right at its center, and a thin smoke hole in the ceiling—it had only been used as storage in my lifetime.

The narrow stairs and halls that led to it were guarded every few feet by a pair of trusted men selected by each ruler, and the only servants who would be allowed to know there was a gathering, though it was unlikely Conclave had been explained in depth.