“How in Tartarus did they build all this down here?” I whispered to myself, but Calix snorted.
“Tartarus indeed.” He chuckled, and I nearly slapped myself as I realized what I’d said. But the brief moment of levity was over too soon as we approached the end. I let out a sigh of relief as we touched down on the other side, but Calix remained stiff and alert.
“This next one is more dangerous.” He cautioned as we walked through the hall down to the next level. “I need you to stay behind me, okay?”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he rushed to continue.
“Please, my réalta,” he begged. “I know you want to fight by my side. It’s one of the things I love so much about you. But this requires a shadow wielder.”
My breath caught, as it always did when he said those words to me. But I focused on what he was telling me. If only a shadow wielder could handle this, I would be useless here. A liability. And Calix could get hurt trying to protect me.
I nodded, promising to stay behind him.
As we entered the next cavern, it was just as pitch black as the last was at first. Only this time, no flames appeared. I held onto Calix’s sword belt as he inched forward.
A growl to the left had my head swinging in that direction, but I couldn’t see a damn thing. The darkness was so all-encompassing, so oppressive, that I couldn’t even make out Calix’s hand in mine.
Slowly, light began to filter in, and as it did, I could see Calix was using his power to clear a path down the middle. Physically pushing the darkness to the side.
A snarl came from the right, and I felt the movement of the wind as something pounced when a blast of shadow sent it falling back into the darkness.
I looked around as best I could, alert as I followed right on Calix’s heels, my fingers digging into the leather of his sword belt.
More beasts growled around us, and the tapping of stalking claws moving toward us echoed around the space. My heart rate picked up, and I tried my best to breathe evenly and not distract Calix.
He sent skeins of shadow at each beast, knocking them back with a strangled cry from each one. While the darkness may keep them at bay, it didn’t do much to stop them from trying again.
Which was surely the point. They were meant to keep this place protected.
But…
The creatures seemed to avoid the light. Calix pushed back the darkness to let light in from holes in the cavern directly above us. Meaning we likely weren’t directly under the palace itself anymore. But the beasts avoided the light, trying to swipe out at us from the darkness.
An idea came to me, and I bit my lip.
“Calix?” I ventured, working to keep my voice even as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Something was behind me.
“Prepare to blast them all back at once,” I told him urgently.
“Wha—”
Before he even finished the word, I summoned my starlight around me and then pushed it out, lighting up the area around us and leaving only the edges of the room still in shadow.
The beasts howled, and I nearly joined them as I got my first look at them. They hadno eyes,merely a mouth with razor-sharp fangs and two slits for a nose that must allow them to sniff out their prey. Shaped like a cross between a wolf and a panther, their fur was mangy and patchy. They were skinny enough to see their ribs but didn’t appear unhealthy either. It was the most disturbing combination.
Calix didn’t waste a second, and before a single howl finished, his shadows erupted and threw all of the beasts back against the walls. They landed with a thud and a whimper that almost made me pity the disgusting creatures.
He whipped around, grabbing my face, “Youreckless—”His lips crashed down to mine in a furious kiss before pulling quickly away, leaving me whimpering. “Genius.” He kissed me again, and I tried to keep him there, but he leaned his forehead against mine.
“How did you know that would work?” he asked, brushing my hair back as he straightened up.
I forced myself to shrug casually, trying to relax from the rush of the moment. “They avoided the light.”
Calix scoffed a laugh, shaking his head. “Avoided the light, she says. You have no idea how badly that could have gone. My father was extremely clear about only darkness being used to get through this level.”
“Well, yes,” I admitted, biting my lip slightly. Calix’s eyes narrowed in on the motion, and I could sense his desire as much as I could see it in his eyes, which were beginning to fill with color. “But there’s never been someone who had the power of starlight before either. It’s not as harsh as sunlight, so I knew it wouldn’t hurt them like that had the potential to do. It would just light the space enough to disorient them and keep them at bay.”
The pride he sent filled me and left me feeling like I was flying, even this deep underground.
