“Be careful.” He eased away.
Vi gave him a faint smile. “Worrying about little ol’ me?”
“Have you looked at this bridge?” He grinned and pressed himself against the wall, putting as much distance as he could between them.
“It’s all I’m going to look at,” she muttered, shuffling her weight onto the planks of wood.
The bridge held as Vi walked, arms outstretched for balance. She crossed without the boards even creaking. Vi went immediately to the ice, taking a deep breath and whispering “Juth starys” before Jax could cross.
The fire burned underneath her right palm, outstretched to the ice. Vi lifted her left hand, summoning tendrils of flame to hide the glyph that spun there. The ice was certainly Adela’s magic and it would need more than the splintered elemental affinities of the Dark Isle to bring it down.
Motion caught her eye. Jax was at her side, hands lifted as well, fire burning from them. She kept her gaze forward, focused, digging into Yargen’s power and pushing it outward. She begged for the magic that lived in her to seek out its own and find the crown hidden underneath this frosty tomb.
Her hands were nearly on the crown after years of searching. The thought made her almost dizzy.
A monumental crack in the ice was accompanied by a rumbling roar that echoed against the cavern walls. Vi pushed harder. Steam filled the Caverns as the magic that gave the ice shape gave way beneath their joint efforts.
She saw Jax slump, panting. Vi launched herself forward into the haze.
The gold was so cold it nearly burned her fingers. Vi pushed through it, scattering coins across the scant platform, discarding them into the waters below. She knew the water was moving fast enough to carry the coins—at least some of them—out. There was enough gold here to buy a ship, and she needed the wealth far more than any of these young men did.
“What’re you doing?” Erion shouted.
“S-Stop!” Baldair bellowed. “That belongs to the crown.”
Vi ignored them, taking bags of gold, ripping them open, and tossing them over. It rained coins and jewels into the raging waters. She’d secure as much gold as she could for her, Taavin, and Deneya. In the process, she’d find the crown.
“Nox, stop!” Jax reached for her and Vi swung. He dodged backward and Vi grabbed for another bag.
Where was the crown? Yargen above! The damn thing must be here. Her mind raced as panic began to fill her. What if the past years of searching were for nothing? If the crown wasn’t here, then where was it? Did Adela have it, after all?
Had she already failed? Had Victor beaten her here and this was his ruse, not Adela’s? The thought nearly made her scream. It would be too much to bear.
“Jax, stop her!”
Jax kicked at Baldair’s command and Vi dodged. She tumbled, rolled, and righted herself.
“Don’t touch it!” she yelled. She needed him to wait a moment, just one moment to—
“What’re you doing? Tell us, we can help you!” Jax pleaded.
As if you could.
Vi’s eyes landed on the last, plump bag that’d been hidden at the bottom of all the other treasure. She lunged for it and Jax stepped on her hand. Vi pulled away with a hiss and grabbed a bunch of coins, throwing them at his face. When he was distracted, she grabbed the final satchel.
If she could get it all in the water, she could search through it later. The crown must be in this bag. It would be in her possession and this whole infernal vortex would be put to an end once and for all. If she got the crown here and now, she could get the scythe, and the axe, and then—
A hand grabbed the bag as she began to hurl it forward.
“No!” The word burst from her like fire, hot, singeing, painful.
The canvas ripped and its contents exploded. Vi twisted, off-balance. She stepped hastily, trying to recover. Her eyes landed on the gold-plated crown that now sat lonely on the mostly empty column of stone. Yargen’s magic called out to her longingly.
Vi’s arm rose. It was there, so close—she’d almost had it.
Her vision shifted. Jax was reaching for her—he was still going to try to save her. Even after she’d knowingly begun to try to push him away. The tiniest smile crossed her lips as Vi tipped backward.
Jax’s compassion was the only thing she could find joy in, given her failure. Cursing herself and her arrogant greed as she fell, Vi took a deep breath right before she plunged into the icy water below, and allowed the currents to carry her out to the sea.
