Should we run back up the tunnel? Before I could suggest it, the split running the length of the altar began to pull apart, and thin wisps of darkness spilled out, gasps escaping a shroud. Inky blackness churned within the gap. I wasn’t sure if I dared to step closeror back away.
Whatever was inside that gap might not wish to be seen—but it had definitely seen us.
Twin dragons, three dimensional and carved in intricate detail, burst up from the gap, their silver bodies curving outward. The Evergorne Crest. Their teeth and claws snapped toward the other in frozen battle, and every ridge of their wings and every talon of their clawed feet gripping the platform under them felt alive. Their scales shimmered, catching the light, making them look like the surface of a stormy sea.
I stepped closer, my feet scuffing across the stone, studying but not reaching toward one dragon’s curved neck. I was afraid to touch. It felt wrong to claim even that as my own.
Before I tore my gaze away, the dragons' eyes caught mine, as sharp as glass. A shiver raced across my skin. They weren’t real, but something about the air felt heavier here.
“Wildfire…” Lore's voice broke through the silence. “You feel that, right? Like they’re alive?”
I swallowed hard, nodding, my heart thundering in agreement.
With a jarring thud, the platform beneath their clawed feet locked into place, as smooth and perfect as it had been before it split.
Split?
“Through true love, the split becomes whole,” I whispered. “Unbound by curse, unifying the soul.” I looked Lore’s way. “I told both of you that I loved you at nearly the same time. You were mortally wounded, and I thought I would lose you before I could tell you. I couldn’t let you die without knowing that I would give anything to save you.”
His fingertips trailed down my spine, and he curled around me to kiss my temple. “True love can heal the most terrible wounds. You healed mine.”
“Your soul was split by the curse, and with my words, Isomehow fused it back together. I think that’s what the first part of the riddle means.”
His arms tightened around me. “I will love you in this world and all the others beyond.”
I wanted to turn in his embrace, kiss him, show him how much his words meant to me, but I worried about placing my back to the altar. The dragons had appeared for a reason, and I suspected we had more to do here before this part of our lives was finished.
Farris whined again and looked from me to the altar. Catching his urgency, I stepped out of Lore’s embrace and approached it again, studying the dragons before focusing on the slightly raised platform beneath them. At its center, I discovered a shallow depression and pointed to it. “What do you think that means? The rest of it is smooth. Is it a flaw or…?”
Lore stepped up beside me and angled his head to take in the depression. “No idea. There are no runes, no puzzle to solve in that area as far as I can tell. Maybe it means nothing.”
“But it’s centered perfectly.” I moved around it, looking at it from every angle. “It appears created and not a simple defect in the stone itself. It’s uniformly cut with eight sides, though two are longer than the others. I see tiny lines skimming across the base of the depression. That shape.” Straightening, I tapped my chin. “It reminds me of a cut stone, which…” Jeez, sometimes, I could be obtuse. I smacked my forehead with my palm and recited the second half of the riddle. “Then bring forth the jewel of the sky’s tear-bled hue. Only with your bond will the truth shine through.”
Isodine’s ring.
Dread and anticipation scrambled through me, and I grabbed onto the chain, dragging it out from beneath my leather tunic to dangle on my chest. Latching onto the ring, I slid it back and forth across the chain like Valera had when we first talked, the whizzing-whirring sound echoing in the now-still chamber.
“Look.” Lore pointed where three etched scenes had appeared in a circle around the depression, each vivid and carefully drawn. I traced them with my light, bringing the lines to life. They rippled and undulated, pulsing together like heartbeats.
He rounded the altar to stand beside me. “The first shows dragons encircling fae, and it appears as if they're warding off monstrous shapes clawing at the edges of the image.”
“You're right.” We stepped over to study the next. “The second shows a fae king. I assume he's the king. He's wearing a crown.”
“You also wear a crown. It could be a queen.” He stroked his fingertip down one of my ears, making me shiver.
I pursed my lips at him and pointed. “That figure has a dick.”
“What dick?” He leaned closer and then twisted his head to peer up at me, a crooked grin on his face. “I see a bulge. A big one, actually. It’s an Evergorne king, then, for sure.”
“You.” I squeezed his arm because I adored this man like no other. “The dragon with this supposed, big-dick Evergorne king is larger than the others around it. It's flaring its wings. Do you think it’s recognizing the fae king’s submission?”
“I do.”
“Any idea what that might mean?”
He shook his head.
We moved around to look at the third etching.
