Only a human or those unaffected by the poison could have killed him.
And what a fucking coincidence. I’d just learned he was responsible for everything.Now this?
What the fuck was going on?
The air suddenly shimmered faintly above Dreynthor’s body.
A thin, silver haze drifted upward like breath in winter.
What was that?
I risked stepping closer and the haze moved toward me.
I stepped back, but it was too late.
It covered me, then lightning detonated all over my body. A howling sound filled the room. And the curse answered.
Shadow surged from my spine, swallowing bone and flesh alike. My Deathwalker powers took over and I hit the ground as the transformation tore through me in full.
Smoke bled from my skin and the world warped at the edges. The stone walls groaned. Then barriers came down around me.
Runes flared along the chamber’s perimeter, igniting in blinding white.
Something locked and sealed shut.
A cage.
I was in acage.
And I couldn’t get out.
Chapter 51
Elariya
“With New Eyes.”
The mouth of the dragon’s cave yawned before us, jagged stone framing the dark like teeth.
Cold air rushed out in steady breaths, carrying the scent of ash, iron, and something older—something alive beneath the rock. The walls inside shimmered faintly with mineral veins that caught my lanternlight, fracturing it into tiny glimmers.
This was the first time I’d been here since returning to Galaythia. Other than the first time I ventured into the cave, there weren’t any other journal entries. I understood if I’d never returned. The cave wascreepy.
Garrick muttered under his breath as Arielle and I stepped inside. He followed, grumbling like he had all the way here.
He hadn’t liked our planat all. He thought it was dangerous. He liked it even less that we’d involved him.
I didn’t want to drag him into this, but we’d needed him for a few reasons, safety being the biggest one. He could also help Arielle with the shield for the spell if I was successful here.
I was going to attempt the spell without Wolfe. Last night showed me I could.
In my hand was a vial, small enough to disappear in my palm, but big enough to capture magical essence from a time dragon. That was the goal.
I held up the lantern, pushing forward like I knew what I was doing, but the tremor in my legs gave me away.
I knew we should at least wait for everyone else—especially Wolfe—but something was driving me to do this. I didn’t want to wait. Grandmother always said the best time to do something is when you felt like it, especially if that thing was important to you.
I was at my wit’s end with patience, so the time had to be now.
