A shriek echoed through the chamber, a wrenching lash of anger and dismay. I’d heard it before. Inside the throne room when my mother collapsed and, in the marketplace, when I’d somehow sent the borgons away.
Prager.
Farris’s fur bristled, and he darted over to stand between us and the back wall of the cave, a growl ripping up his throat.
We pulled our blades and put our backs to each other, seeking the threat, but if Prager was here, she wasn't brave enough to show herself.
“We found the first talisman, Prager,” Reyla shouted, holding up the key before securing it in her pocket. “We'll find the others. You hear me? We're going to sever this curse forever!”
56
Reyla
“We need to get out of here.” That certainty blazed across my soul.
Prager was…here. And she was furious.
The room shook, and this time, fissures appeared in the walls, gouging down through the stone as if she held the cave in her hand and was slowly crushing it.
Lore tugged me into his arms.
Farris’s snarls grew louder, his head snapping in all directions.
“I can’t flit.” The desperation in Lore’s voice nearly undid me. “I can’t flit!”
I tried, and neither could I. Blocked? There wasn’t timeto find out.
The walls rippled, cracked. Dust rained down from the ceiling as fissures appeared overhead as well.
“Farris, stay close,” Lore bellowed, urging me toward the tunnel.
We rushed through the doorway and out into the hall and the doors snapped closed with an enormous boom behind us. A wall of rubble and dust burst through the panel, giving chase as if Prager had sent everything she had to kill us.
She’d done all she could to slow this. She’d kept Lore from marrying until he overcame whatever spells she’d cast to hold him at Evergorne. On the ship and within the castle, she tried to kill me to keep me from loving them both. She’d possessed Erisandra and used her as a tool to drive a wedge between us or make me run away.
And when that wasn’t working, when we were proving we could finally break the curse, she decided to outright kill us.
Billows of dirt filled the passageway, clawing at my throat as I forced my legs into a sprint. The tremors from behind vibrated through the stone walls, cracking stones loose. They clattered around me as I rushed beside Lore, his broad frame tense. He kept flickering his magic out, using the dirt and rubble to provide a shield to keep us safe. If I had a second to think about the fact that he was using her weapon to protect us, I'd grin. And mock her some more.
Instead, I kept my finger lit to guide our way, and Farris stayed close on my heels, his growl rumbling like a second heartbeat.
“Faster,” Lore barked, his voice cutting through the furor.
Another boom echoed behind us, louder and closer, followed by a sharp screech that made me grit my teeth. I didn’t have to ask what caused it. Prager’s fury was roaring through the air and scraping across my skin. She was still trying to claw her way through, to rip us apart with her venom and spite.
A glance over my shoulder showed the rubble-filled tunnel writhing like it had a will of its own. Prager’s magic was working to destroy what little remained between us and certain death.
“Keep going,” Lore cried.
The path sloped upward. My thighs burned, screaming in protest with every step as we scrambled across the smooth surface toward the faint light of the throne room far above. I wanted to rage at the world, at the fates, at how each inhalation felt like borrowed time. Instead, I clenched my teeth and pushed forward.
Another shudder rocked the ground beneath us, sending loose clumps of dirt filtering down from above. Lore shot me a grim look. “Climb first. You and Farris. I’ll hold everything off.”
“No.” I planted my feet. I'd take root here if need be. “We’re staying together. We live or we die here and now. I mean it.”
A pulse throbbed in his temple before his breath whooshed out. “Together then. I'm with you. Go.”
With Lore right behind, I scrambled up the slope, using the stones embedded into the walls on either side to brace myself, urging Farris at my front to keep going. My fingers clawed for a hold as Lore’s hands found my legs, boosting me higher.
