Over and over, Lunara searched for the bond as they trekked. For anything that would tell her where her mate was in this foul place, and—again and again—felt nothing.
It’s fine. He’s fine. Everything will be fine.
No, it was too much. Too much. She was so fuckingtired.
Tears sprang to her eyes, a wretched, consuming hopelessness with them. What if there was no point to this? What if he was already gone and she was doing nothing more than leading the rest of the people she cared about into ruin? What if they all?—
Something isn’t right.
Of course something wasn’t right.Nothingwas right. This was futile.
Stop it! This isn’t right! Don’t you feel it?
Lunara blinked, sniffling. Only then did she notice her breaths were coming in shorter and shallower. That there were fingers in her mind. Insidious tendrils digging in and searching through her.
“Wait.” She stumbled to a stop. “Just wait.”
Sweat dotted her brow and soaked the neckline of her fighting linens. When had that happened?
“What is it?” Vann asked, searching her face as Magnus loosed a low whine.
“I…” A hand was closing over her face to smother her. She was sure of it. “Something is wrong.”
No sooner had she said the words than the presence multiplied and a horrific pressure filled her skull, threatening to crack it in two.
“You would bring that trinket here, into my domain?”
Weeping fucking Sisters. Not another one.
It wasn’t herself. It wasn’t Endellion. It wasn’t even the monster who’d stolen Brand.
This was something else. Something old. Somethingevil.
She felt it in the tiny hairs on her body as they stood on end. In every particle as they cowered within her, begging her to run.
“Interesting choice, little one. If only you understood what it was you had. The gift you were giving me.”
Piss. Shite. Arse. Ithurt.She was going to shatter apart. Was going to disintegrate into a million tiny pieces.
Illamiata flared in her chest, vibrating as prismatic light flashed out from her.
The being chuckled.“Ah, yes. Very interesting, indeed. Not to worry. My children will thank you when they feed on your marrow. I will thank your barren bones when I am free.”
Lunara fell to her knees as it left her, gasping for air. The relief was so stark, so sudden.
She doubled over, vomiting, as if her body wished to purge any lingering traces of whateverthe fuckthat had been.
Who. Who it had been.
“Lunara!” Hedda was crouched in front of her, panic etched onto her face. “What is it? What happened?”
The shadows lightened, the black going tepid around them. Lazy.
“Something… something was here,” she rasped, still retching. “Someone. I don’t?—”
The entire chasm shuddered around them, and went still.
“I don’t like this,” Fern said, her head cocked to the side. “It doesn’t feel right.”
