Stayne had been right in thinking too much time had passed. As he was telling the White Queen about Iracebeth's plan of attacking at some point, Diprosopus and General Onca were setting up their forces in the newly grown forest around Salazem Grum, waiting for the cover of darkness to make their move. He had already received word that Mamorial had fallen and was now his.
He was confident that Salazem Grum would be no different, they would be successful in what they had to accomplish. General Onca was trying to keep his men quiet, they were not pleased about what they would have to do. They did not want to swim through the moat that until recently held the severed heads of Iracebeth's supposed enemies, they knew it would be ni impossible to climb the walls yet here they were.
They would have to do it in order to please their lord or suffer his wrath if they failed him. The sun began to set and the tension in the camp was palpable. General Onca gave the signal to begin taking the fortress, they had been told to cut down anyone in their path, take out as many as they could. They would be signaled when they had found what they had come for. Then they would retreat to Mamorial.
The men silently entered the freezing cold water, making sure to make no sound that would give them away. When they reached the other side they began the almost impossible ascent of the outer wall. They were able to make it to the top and silently drop down. They began to make their way into the castle, some had been told where they might find secret passages that only Iracebeth had known about, which would get them further into Salazem Grum.
They made their way through Salazem Grum as if they were spiders, they quietly dispatched any of the White Queen's men they came against and the alarm was not raised for quite sometime. The alarm was not raised until Iracebeth had what she needed and they were on their way out of the castle.
Diprosopus's men who had stayed behind were already on the move, the others joined them and did not stop. The prisoner was thrown into a cart pulled by a horse and they made their way as fast as they could to Mamorial.
•••
The White Queen was unharmed, had no idea the attack would come so soon after she had only just received the news of it this afternoon. It had been Stayne who had raised the alarm, letting out an unearthly yell, alerting the Queen's guard who were still alive that something was wrong.
By then the threat was no longer there but the damage had been done. In all almost all of those who had been on guard were cut down where they stood. Anyone else who had been in the way had not been spared and even now lay where they had fallen.
The Queen riled those still living to attend to the dead and the wounded. She sensed something was wrong and went to Tarrant's room as soon as she could. When she got there she was met with an empty room, was confronted with a pool of blood near the door.
She looked up, trying to gain control of her queasy stomach. She dropped to her knees, the tears falling unbidden. She gathered herself together, thinking desperately as to the reason why her sister would want to take Tarrant. The reasons that came to her were worse and worse. All she knew for certain was that she would not let this stand.