The darkness lunged for her ankle. Rune’s own shadows countered, snapping like fangs.
Then the voice from the mirror spoke again, shadows wrapping around his throat like claws.“Pretender.”
Rune froze at the cold, phantom presence behind him.
“Fate will not be denied. The hour of the end is nigh. For her—and for you.”
Rune bared his teeth as power surged through him, tearing the hold away. He shot up the shaft behind Nexus, shadows lashing out to shatter the grated dome above.
Stone split, metal rained down. Light stabbed down through the dome as the world broke open. Shadows poured upward, wrapping around him and Nexus both, lifting them toward the surface.
The fresh air was a split moment of relief.
Then he felt the light fall on his skin.
Even through cloud-thick skies, and his Bloodstone ring, it still sent a sear through his bones. The sun was low on the horizon, its amber glow shining directly on him.
Rune hissed, shadows flaring as he whisked away and reappeared in the trees behind the ruins, the sound of the sea crashing far below. Rune staggered back, skin smoking faintly where sunlight had touched him. He moved to sit in the shade of a large slab of stone.
How long had they been in those chambers?
Nexus growled softly beside him. Rune scooped up Alora in his arms and the Vareth’s panther form shifted as it shrank down into a cat again, tail twitching.
Rune tightened his hold on Alora.
Her head rested against his chest, breath shallow, lashes trembling. The mirror trance was broken but her mind hadn’t caught up.
He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, his fingers trembling. “Alora, come back to me.”
She hummed, soft and low, dazed in his arms. Rune exhaled, relief bitter as wine. She was all right.
But he may as well have sacrificed her himself.
He took Alora’s hand, turning it over to see the old scar on her fingertip. They should never have come here.
“Rune?” She mumbled groggily, blinking awake. “What happened?”
He clenched his teeth as a thin ray of sunlight slipped past the leaves. She reached up, shielding him with her hand, fingers brushing his jaw. A tremor went through him at that simple touch and he closed his eyes.
“We woke him.”
“Who?”
The name caught behind his teeth. Rune didn’t want to say it. Doing so made it real. But he had suspected it the moment he first saw the Blood Blooms.
Through her I will feed…
He turned from her, masking the war in his eyes. “We should go. We’ve seen enough.”
Saeroth appeared from the shadows, nickering.
“Rune, wait.” Alora pulled back before he could lift her onto the saddle. “Where are we going?”
“Back to the mountain where it’s safe for you.”
“What? Why?” Alora grabbed his hand, making him stay still. “Why are you so frightened?”
Rune inhaled a shaky breath, raking a hand down his face. “Love, I can’t explain yet. Not here.” He took her shoulders, holding her gaze. “Can you trust me?”
