CHAPTER 68: HOUSE OF AMBROSIA

I wasn’t able to do anything when Raye tugged me out of the castle right after breakfast. I hadn’t even make it three steps out of the dining hall when she suddenly appeared at my side, sparkling with mischief like the day itself depended on her mood.

Before I could ask what she was planning, her hand had already caught my wrist, and then my arm was tucked firmly into hers.

"You’re coming with me," she declared with no room for protest.

I barely had time to blink. "Where—"

"A tour," she cut in, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The city is waiting for you. I won’t let you rot behind castle walls like some poor locked-away maiden."

And with that, she all but dragged me out.

Her energy was impossible to resist, and well... I had nothing to do anyway.

"I’m really glad you decided to stay," Raye said as we walked, her tone suddenly softer beneath the brightness.

Her onyx eyes flickered with something genuine.

"I’ve always wanted a female friend, and now you’re here!" She threw her hands up in mock dramatics, then rolled her eyes. "Finally. You have no idea how exhausting it is putting up with those males."

I arched a brow at her, amused. "You don’t have a female friend?"

Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. Looking at Raye, her vibrant smile, her easy stride, the glow of someone who never seemed to run out of warmth, I couldn’t picture her lacking anything, least of all companionship.

"Unfortunately, no." She said it so casually it almost sounded like she was teasing.

The gates of the castle fell behind us, and Undercity sprawled out in its full glory.

The cavern’s ceiling hung impossibly high, a rough dome of stone stretching for miles above.

Embedded deep within it were luminous stones that pulsed with steady radiance, flooding the city below in a light so close to sunlight it was almost eerie.

Yet despite the false daylight overhead, the streets glittered with color. Lanterns – red, jade, violet, hung from doorways and posts, their glass panes etched with intricate designs.

Voices clashed and blended, vendors calling out their wares, children darting past with laughter trailing behind, patrol warriors clanking down the main roads.

Undercity was so alive it made almost made me feel alive too.

And for a moment, I forgot I was walking beside Rion’s spymaster.

"You shouldn’t feel sorry for me," Raye said suddenly, pulling me back to our conversation. She must have caught the flicker of pity on my face.

"It’s not that the females here dislike me. I just... spend most of my time with the Alpha. Living in his castle, I naturally grew closer to Ares and Diaval." She shrugged as though it didn’t matter, but her voice lowered slightly. "Because of that, most girls here are wary of me. They respect the Alpha and his Betas so much."

"And naturally they hold the same reverence for you," I finished for her, because she was too humble to say it herself.

Her grin turned sheepish, though her eyes sparkled. "Maybe."

We slipped deeper into the city.

Raye pointed ahead, her hand sweeping with a flourish.

"That tavern right there—" she gestured at a broad, two-story building with green shutters and a roof slanted like a hat "—best venison stew in all of Undercity. The cook is a genius. Even Ares sneaks there when he thinks no one notices. He’d rather bite his tongue than admit it, but trust me, I’ve caught him three times."

I let out a soft laugh. The idea of a Beta sneaking away just for stew... it was oddly human.

Raye continued without missing a beat, pulling me toward a side street where the air thickened with the earthy tang of herbs and smoke.

"This," she spread her arms wide, "is my favorite place. The apothecary. Old woman runs it—grumpy as a mule, curses at everyone who enters. But her remedies work like magic. Once, I broke my wrist falling off the training platform. She set it right with a potion so vile I almost puked, but it healed in two days."

I wrinkled my nose. "Sounds delightful."

"You’d get used to it." She winked.

We kept walking, weaving through the bustling veins of Undercity.

A narrow alley opened into a grand square, banners of green and silver streaming from tall arches.

Men sparred in the center, muscles rippling. The sound of strikes echoed, rhythmic and sharp.

"That’s the warrior’s hall," Raye said, her voice brimming with pride. "Young wolves train there until they’re strong enough to serve in the Alpha’s forces. I practically grew up sneaking into that place, watching them fight. Learned a few tricks myself." She smirked. "Probably why I was good enough to be Rion’s spymaster."

I studied her as she said it. The casual confidence, the fire in her tone. It fit her.

Beyond the hall, the street split.

One path hummed with laughter, lined with bakeries and tiny tea houses. The other pulsed with fire and steel—smithies hammering blades, sparks flying into the dim air.

Between them sat a small, almost forgotten building. Its faded sign was painted with ink strokes shaped like open pages.

"What’s that?" I asked, nodding toward it.

Raye followed my gaze. "Ah, the bookstore. Not many bother with it here. But I go sometimes. The old keeper tells the best stories when he’s not half-asleep."

The idea of Raye curled up in a bookstore made me smile.

The city unfolded like a story under her guidance. Stalls crowded with fabrics dyed in rich shades, their sellers calling out to us as we passed.

A boy darted past carrying a tray of candied nuts, his grin flashing before he vanished into the crowd. A woman bent over her loom by the street corner hummed a tune so sweet it almost made me stop.

Everywhere I looked, Undercity was vibrant, untamed.

Nothing like the controlled lands of Levian.

Beside me, Raye’s voice never stopped, her words weaving a map through every corner, every stone, until it felt less like a tour and more like she was sharing a piece of herself.

"I’m not sure if you mind... but are there others like you?" I asked carefully. The question slipped out before I could second-guess it.

"You mean, like here?" She tilted her head and shook it, her short raven hair bouncing with the motion. "But out there? I’m not really sure. I don’t have memory of my past, before Rion saved me."

Her voice was light, but the shadow that flickered across her eyes told me more than her words did.

There was a glimmer of darkness buried deep, a scar she didn’t want to uncover. It made me realize that behind her bright, sun-like character, she wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask more. Prying into wounds she wasn’t offering felt cruel.

And maybe, in some small way, I understood her silence.

Even when I thought about it, me being alone in a world full of people who were not the same as me, it felt lonely.

But at least she had found some semblance of happiness here, hadn’t she?

"So!" she suddenly clapped her hands together, her tone brightening like she had flicked away the shadows. "We’re here, at my favorite establishment!"

I blinked, pulled out of my thoughts, and stared at the building before us.

It towered over the rest of the street, at least six floors tall, its walls strung with brilliant lanterns, far more colorful and plentiful than any I’d seen so far in the city.

They cascaded down in rows, bathing the cobblestones in a kaleidoscope of light, crimson bleeding into emerald, sapphire melting into gold.

Its name was plastered boldly in front, etched in elegant silver letters that gleamed under the cavern’s glow:

House of Ambrosia.