“Drazen, Thorne, this way! Hurry!” I shouted into the dim cavern.
Their voices echoed, growing louder.
“Behind you,” Thorne barked.
“I see him.” Drazen.
“Run! The walls are coming down!”
I bounced on my toes, hands clenched to my chest.Yes. Yes. Run. Run.
Kronk’s powerful muscles shook as if he physically held up the weight of the tunnels. Sweat trickled down his brow. “Can’t hold it much longer.”
Drazen and Thorne burst from the collapsing tunnel, colliding with Kronk in a tumble of arms and legs. Rock thundered. Debris exploded into the room in a violent rush. I squinted through the cloud, waving my hand and coughing.
“Everyone okay?” I called out over the sounds of grunting and cursing.
“Get off of me,” Thorne snarled from the bottom of the pile.
The three untangled and lurched to their feet, patting dust from their clothes. I scanned them with a healer’s eyes. Otherthan some scrapes and bruises, they appeared relatively uninjured.
I breathed a shaky sigh. “Thank goodness you made it.”
If anything had happened to them, toThorne… My throat tightened.
“That cave-in won’t slow them down for long,” he said, gaze flicking to Speck, who lay silent on the floor. “We should head back before nightfall. I sure as hell don’t want to get stuck here after we poked the hornet’s nest.”
I turned to the others. “Will you return to the mountain with us?”
Drazen offered me a rakish smile, taking my hand and kissing my fingertips. “As tempting as your invitation is, Kronk and I must leave at once. We need to warn Carcerem about the army we discovered.”
“I could fly you there,” Thorne said. “Once I have Serafina and her charge settled.”
“No,” Kronk was quick to answer, holding his stomach. “No more flying.”
“I’ll second that.” Drazen readily agreed. “I think we’ve had more than enough adventure for one day.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
SERAFINA
The chillof the dungeon permeated the oversized shirt and pants I’d tossed on after a quick bath. Even though Speck didn’t seem to register the cold, I drew the woolen blanket higher over his thin shoulders. His lean body took up little space on the metal cot. As a precaution, Thorne insisted he be strapped to the frame and locked inside the cell. It wasn’t ideal, but Speck was in no shape to care. At least being deeper within the earth seemed to settle him.
Sebastian rested curled up on Speck’s chest, same as he once did back in the loft at Rottbarry. His furry body rose and fell with each of Speck’s shallow breaths. Gone was the sunny glow that usually brightened my friend’s cheeks. Fortunately, the sedative I’d given him had worked even though every medicine I’d tried had failed. My poultices and elixirs only caused him to convulse and vomit.
Added to my long list of worries was Alaric’s disappearance. Thorne and I returned from Nefarr, eager to share news of Speck’s rescue and the wendigo army we’d found, only todiscover the dragon missing. When questioned, Myrna said she hadn’t seen him since the night Drazen and Kronk arrived.
Worried I may have truly injured him during our so-called training session, I’d told Thorne everything. At which point he’d flown into a rage. Only for once, that anger wasn’t directed at me.
After he’d calmed, he’d headed out to search for Alaric, starting at the healing waters.
While it was Alaric’s own fault, guilt ate at me for blasting him. Who knew how his curse may have reacted to my unpredictable magic? Even now, he could be off somewhere, alone and suffering. Because of me.
What if the Puritans were right to fear all things magical?
Images of Penelope in the tunnels came to mind. In my panic, I’d blasted her much the same as I had Alaric. In response, she’d experienced a moment of clarity, humanity overpowering her ghoulish nature. Much to her detriment. Penelope’s mortality had driven her fellow ghouls into a frenzy.
I brushed Speck’s hair from his forehead. Did I dare? With my attempts to use natural methods failing, what was left but the supernatural? Watching Speck suffer, I understood how Alaric felt in that training room. Desperate to try anything to break his curse.
