To my revelation, the creatures were much more intent on keeping us away from the temple than they are on preventing our escape from the island. Their efforts aren’t nearly as intense as we make our way to shore, which suits me just fine.
There are no shadowhounds waiting to attack, though we do notice the corpses of the ones we battled twitching. Rynthea says they’re likely coming to life again—that abominations like that don’t simply die. We don’t stick around long enough to find out, but we do hear their howls when we finally make it to the rim of the bowl.
Oddly, they aren’t my biggest concern.
What we really have to worry about are that there are no shadow assassins following us.
Fortunately, we’re able to avoid the reptilian creatures while wading through the forest. We do stumble past a few massive wasps near their nests, but Rynthea angrily cuts through them, leaving yellowish-green goop all over the place.
No one seems to be tailing us as we reach the platform path over the lava. Algar teleports me to the safer side, then returns and teleports Rynthea. She’s too weak to make the jumps safely.
Teleporting two of us clearly takes a toll on Algar, because once he releases Rynthea, he leans over with his hands on his knees and sucks in gulps of air. It takes him a few minutes to collect himself, and once he’s stable enough, we take off again.
The closer we get to the beach where we left our rowboat, the more hopeful I become that we’re really going to make it off this dreaded island. Relief buzzes through me, making me a little light-headed—or maybe it’s just the physical and emotional exhaustion finally catching up.
We’ve done the impossible and survived against all odds, and believe me, the odds have been substantial. We battled terrible creatures and defied death.
I step over a log across the path, shaking my head in disbelief. No, we haven’t just defied death. We told it to fuck right off. Algar actually died, and Rynthea came close to it, but here we are, still alive and breathing.
We wouldn’t be if it weren’t for Thane, though, and that notion pains me.
A heavy feeling settles in my stomach at the thought that we left Thane behind to fend for himself. I look over my shoulder while reminding myself that he knows what to do. He’s handled and protected himself for years. Still, that doesn’t make me any less worried about him.
It seems ridiculous to worry this much. He’s broken my heart. I shouldn’t care…but I do. And I don’t want him to die.
“I smell the sea,” Rynthea says after sniffing the air. “We’re getting close.” She picks up her pace.
I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders back as the path widens, and it doesn’t take long to catch glimpses of the beach through the gaps of bushes ahead.
I look back once more for Thane as we trudge across the dark sands. Algar drops his rucksack, and Rynthea marches toward the boat and drops her bag inside it.
Leaves rustle close by, and I startle, thinking it’s one of the assassins from The Shadow Guild—until I see a familiar outline break through the edge of the forest.
Relief springs to my chest just as quickly as the reminder of his betrayal. I fight to hold back tears once again and turn away from him as he approaches so he won’t see them fall.
Rynthea, however, has no problem expressing her feelings. “You bastard,” she snarls as she points a stern finger at him. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted!”
Thane clings to silence.
I cut my gaze to Algar. He can’t even look him in the eye.
“You’re lucky I don’t feed you to one of the monsters on this fucking island!” Rynthea rages on. “Tell us everything. Now, sorcerer.”
“I…” Thane trails off, but that single word alone is full of pain. His silence seems even louder as the ocean roars around us.
“He was once a part of The Shadow Guild, he stole a crystal, and now Seferin wants it back,” I provide when the silence has gone on for too long. “That’s not all he’s been hiding, though.”
“What do you mean?” Algar asks, limping toward me.
I hold the tome in the air again. “This is the Tome of Azidel,” I explain. “Azidel was the first and most powerful sorcerer of Thelanor. In order to retrieve it, the blood of a brave and noble mortal had to be offered. Thane knew all of this. He just needed a person who was desperate enough to come to The Shallows.” I grit my teeth to fight a new wave of tears. “He dragged me here to get this so he can be the next most powerful sorcerer in Thelanor. He did all of this for revenge.”
“Wait a minute.” Algar holds up his hands, frowning at Thane. “You brought us all here and lied to Zaira about the stones so you could get a fuckingbook?”
I finally look at Thane, just as he turns his head and clenches his jaw, refusing to answer.
“I knew you were hiding something.” Rynthea clenches her fist as she steps closer to him. I can tell she wants to pummel him into the ground.
“I can’t believe this.” Algar scoffs, not in pure disbelief, but in a way that he should’ve known all along and is upset that he didn’t piece it together. “You jeopardized Zaira’s life! Are you shitting me? Now her sister will die because you were greedy for power. How can you be so selfish?” He comes chest to chest with Thane, pointing a finger at him. “And all this time, I thought the old you was still in there somewhere. I thought you could still be redeemed. I should’ve known better.”
