It swallowed her whole, snuffing out the light completely.
My heart stopped.
Fuck. Darkness could only mean one thing.
Danger.
"Summon everyone." I was already opening a portal. "We have to go.Now."
Chapter 29
Elariya
“The Price of Mercy”
Iwas walking in darkness.
Deep, heavy darkness. The kind that pressed against your skin and filled your lungs with every breath.
Breath?
Gods, I was so terrified I wasn’t sure I was breathing.
I was underground. That much I knew.
The air tasted stale, like it had been trapped here for centuries. And it felt... expectant. Like the darkness itself was waiting for something.
And watching. It was just as eerie as the sensation I’d gotten back at the house in the Land of the Dead.
I’d been down here for what? Fifteen minutes at least. And whatever had laughed at me on my way in hadn’t made itself known.
I’d been trying to summon even the smallest flicker of light with magic.
But nothing came.
I tried again, pushing harder, grasping at the threads of power that should have been there.
Nothing.
“Lumiere lundai,” I whispered to the darkness. “Please work.”
"You’re wasting your time." A voice came from behind me, calm, amused, and far too close.
I spun around, my heart hammering.
But there was only darkness.
"Welcome, little mage. " The voice came again. This time, it curled around me, dripping with amusement. Taunting. Like a cat toying with something small and helpless.
My skin crawled, a million spiders finding purchase in every nerve in my body.
The darkness shifted.
Something moved within it like smoke taking form.
A figure emerged.
A man. Or something wearing the shape of one.
