Chapter 30
Odessa
This tunnel was lined with artwork the father we trekked. Statues depicting the gods were molded to the wall, all white and intricately detailed to capture their divine essence. It was reminiscent of the statues that were placed in their temple, and I wondered if they frequently used this space to gather the nectar. It had to be where their supply was located. I could still feel the hot breath of the Gerataux as it chased us down here.
Dex was right behind me, but I didn’t care to slow down and walk with him. My anger at him was simmering under my skin with each step I took. He didn’t want to open up to me? Fine. I shouldn’t care as much as I did, but when I’d been vulnerable and fucking naked with him, hell I gave him my virginity! I felt like it was only fair.
We walked in silence, ears straining for any potential threat.
The tunnel took a sharp turn and emptied out into an all too familiar area.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The platform that we had started from was staring me right in the face. We were right back at the beginning. My stomach dropped.
There was a fallen body that had been badly burned splayed out on the ground. Upon closer inspection, I could see the gears on the gold-plated mask that still sat strapped to the corpse’s face.
“Fuck!” I cried out, pulling at my hair.
All of that wandering through these tunnels and we weren’t anywhere close to the end. How was that even possible?
“Hey, at least we know which way not to go now,” Dex said, bending down to see if the mask could be removed. It came off but caused the head to crumble into dust. I felt numb to the sight, having experienced so much death already that seeing what had become of him didn’t even make me flinch. What would have turned my stomach before was not even a blip on my radar at this point.
“Oh good, I feel so much better,” I spat out, wanting to collapse in defeat and still feeling mad at him.
“No—none of that. I’m not having you throw a pity party for yourself. It’s a setback. It sucks, but we know the way now. We just have to make a different choice.”
He was right. I knew it, but I still wasn’t happy about it.
Weariness made a home in my bones, making every step difficult. My boots were rubbing against my heels, and I’m pretty sure I had blisters that were forming at the tips of my toes. I wanted to bang on the platform doors and demand they let me out of here.
Keep goingthat deep voice from within called out to me in my subconscious. I jumped at it, forgetting that it wasn’t the first time I’d heard it. It happened at the masquerade as well but had been relatively quiet since then.
I still wasn’t aware of what or who it belonged to, and there’d been so much happening, I hadn’t stopped to ask. I’d wanted to forget it happened and had almost succeeded.
Was I crazy if I asked the voice what I wanted to know?
You’re not crazy…it responded.
Creepy. It could read my thoughts.
Well then who are you?I asked, afraid of the answer.
The voice chuckled like it found me funny.
What fun would it be if I answered that?It said finally.
“Are you good? We should head down the corridor and get to the rotunda. We could rest there,” Dex said.
I could only imagine what I must have looked like. Panicked about a voice in my head, but also feeling a sense of despair that we were no farther along in the game than when we first started.
My stomach clenched remembering the way the fire roared after us, forcing us down the tunnel. We could pick a different one this time, I just hoped it was the right one.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go,” I said, rolling my shoulders. I could do this. I had to.
Don’t be so eager to trust him. There’s much you don’t know…
Yeah, like who the hell you are?I retorted internally. Gods, I really had lost it. I was talking to a voice inside my head that no one else could hear. Even if they had a point. Dex had already made it clear that he had no intention of opening up to me about his plans.
He went on ahead and I followed behind him, choosing the opposite side of the platform that sat above the acid water. The dark, murky water was deathly still, reminding me that one slip of the foot would land me in its fatal clutches. The stone walls of the tunnel were charred black and still smelt of smoke.
