Book One – Chapter 15

At the heart of the room stood two large oak tables. Their surfaces were etched with knife marks, burns and wear. Their edges gleamed with steel reinforcements, as did the heavy stools surrounding them. They were built from the same dark wood and had legs fortified with iron brackets to withstand weight and strain.

Yu’s gaze drifted to the floor. Grooves. Thin, deliberate channels carved into the rock, running toward unseen drains before vanishing beneath the stonework. Concealed passageways, meant for water — or blood.

The kitchen is a means of retreat. Tirran’s words echoed in his mind. If Bubs ever lets you in, pay attention to the defences. It had been an offhand remark, spoken that morning as the omira came and went through the entrance, heading for his post outside. Yu had barely registered it at the time.

Now, he understood. The entire room was a fortress masquerading as a kitchen, as much battlefield as hearth. Some defences were subtle — the steel-braced tables and cabinets, the iron grating over the narrow window. Others were not. In one corner stood a double-tiered rack of weapons, things obviously not meant for cooking; knives, blades and two spears. A crossbow hung just above, quarrels lined beside it. How had he not seen it immediately? What other weapons were here, possibly hidden within all these locked cupboards? Yu’s stomach twisted. Was all of this necessary?

The decoration was no less unsettling. Sparse but … distinct. Above the blackened stone fireplace hung a large painted canvas. It absolutely dominated the wall. Yu had seen plenty of paintings before — but this was something else. A storm-lashed seascape, waves rising like clawed hands. A ship breaking apart in the maelstrom. And there, rising from the depths, dark, coiling shapes, serpent-like, monstrous, their forms barely distinguishable from the shadows of the storm, writhing between wave and abyss. It was grotesque. Full of dread. It was a disturbing clash; the dark hues and violent imagery brought to life by the flickering orange warmth of the fire below. And yet, despite himself, Yu could not look away, staring with equal parts revulsion and confusion.