“No one can access any level past the Hedone room without the blood of Erebus or guided by one with it. The spells in place won’t allow it. They would crash into the walls, never gaining entrance.Ifthey even figured out this was here to begin with. They cannot even see the door that leads down here.”
Oh. Well then.
It reminded me of the fortress as we passed through these levels of the palace. Like that building had been carved from the star opal Etheralta Mountain, these levels had no coverings on the walls, floors, or ceilings, like the upper levels did in certain places. While the palace let the star opal shine through in many important rooms, it was equally covered up elsewhere. I imagined it got tiring to look at the same thing day in and day out.
But down here, it was incredibly obvious that the palace had been crafted out of a gigantic chunk of star opal that must have already been here. There was no way it was brought in. It was sodeepunderground. I couldn’t imagine how it got here. And I hadn’t heard of any other ginormous pieces of star opal, big enough to craft apalaceout of, outside of the mountains themselves.
The amount of star opal the palace was made from may be huge, but it was too small for mining like they did the Etheralta Mountains. Truly, a palace was probably one of the better ideas for what one could have done with a hunk of star opal lodged deep into the ground.
Walking down to the next level, I felt a chill come upon me. Calix gripped my hand tighter, and I let myself feel comforted by the strength in his grip. He wouldn’t let me go.
The stairs led us down into pitch blackness. My fingers were likely leaving bloody marks in Calix’s skin. Even with my Fae eyesight, I couldn’t see a damn thing in the darkness before us. Only turning my head back toward the stairs allowed me to see any light, but it only offset the deep darkness all the more.
I turned to Calix, and he merely lifted one foot into the black nothingness before us. A sudden whoosh made me jump, and I clutched Calix’s arm before mentally berating myself for acting like a scared maiden from one of the books I’d read.
Flames shot high to the ceiling, but where they came from, I had no idea. They brightened the space enough to see it was a cavern. A big empty space, smack dab between us and the other side of the path. There was no bridge, and I could barely see the other side; it was so far.
“What the fuck?” I mumbled to myself.
“My father showed me the portals when I was young.” Calix began, his wide shoulders heaving with a deep sigh as he stared across the flame-filled pit before us. “He explained that the gods put the portal behind certain protections. This one ensures only those who can fly can cross.”
Understanding filled me, and I watched as Calix’s wings shot out from his back. The black and purple scales shimmered in the light of the fire. I let my own wings unfurl, the flash of silver in the dark space contrasting sharply.
“Don’t let go of me.” Calix cautioned, the hand not entwined with mine cupping my cheek. “We have to follow a very specific path, or the flames will shoot out at us.”
I raised a brow, about to ask what the worry was, when he continued.
“These aren’t regular flames, my réalta. These are the fires of Tartarus itself.” A bit of fear entered Calix’s eyes that was so incongruent with everything I knew of him. Henevergot scared. “They will burn us the same as if we weren’t dragons.” My eyes widened as I realized just how dangerous this actually was.
I suddenly felt human all over again.
Staring out at the roaring flames that could shoot out and kill me, I gulped. I shook myself, squaring my shoulders. I hadn’t come this far to be taken out by rogue flames.
“I won’t let go,” I promised him, but had to tease him too. “After all, my dorchadas, you’re here to lead me through the darkness.”
Calix smiled slowly, but I couldn’t enjoy the beautiful sight for long, as his lips took mine with a passion that spoke of the fear he felt. His tongue forced its way into my mouth, and I gladly surrendered to it. When he finally pulled back to allow us to breathe, his forehead fell against mine, his silvery-white hair creating a curtain around us.
“No matter what happens, you have to get yourself home.” His voice sounded wrecked, and my worry instantly rose. I could feel him struggling in the bond, but he was doing his best to hide it.
“If you have to leave me?—”
His words summoned the fear I’d felt since I realized Calix was my mate. That this wouldn’t last. That it was all temporary.
“Not a fucking chance,” I whispered harshly. He pulled back to look at me, purple orbs clashing against blue as we started one another down.
“Celesterra needs you, Asteria. I can’t be selfish in this. If you need to leave me behind to get back, then you must do so,” Calix said, and his profound agony at the very idea of us being separated speared throughmychest.
“It needs both of us, Calix,” I insisted urgently. “Forget what Sunrise or Day believe. Remember your own prophecy. Tartarus, remember mine! We have to do thistogether, or not at all. I’ll get nowhere without you. So you are not allowed to sacrifice yourself or fall behind. We are both going in there, and we are both coming out. There is no reality where we don’t. Do you understand me?”
His eyes searched mine, and I let him see and feel whatever he needed to in order to convince him of this. I let my fear and determination and incandescent rage at the very thought of him not coming back out into the open for him to see. As much as I had tried to push down all my chaotic feelings lately, I refused to keepthisfrom him.
“Understood, my Queen,” Calix said sincerely, part reverent adoration and part relief. His lips took mine once more, and I let my hands snake into his hair and grip his shoulder as I held him to me for all I had.
I would take whatever moments we were granted.
But eventually, the roaring flames and dark cavern could no longer be ignored, and we pulled back. A last lingering kiss was shared before we both flew into the air, hands clasped.
Calix flew beside me, going slowly as we navigated around the reaching flames. I’d never seen fire behave in such a way. The flames had a mind of their own, constantly searching and reaching to grab onto someone. The path we took ensured they just missed us, but I flinched whenever it got too close.
