My feet shuffle over rocks and piles of dirt as I scurry through the tunnel to keep up with Thane. I stumble and end up bumping into him because I keep glancing back at the mouth of the cave, which is now just a pinprick of light in the distance.
“What did Frevella mean by secrets?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Thane grumbles. “But I know elder sorcerers like doing things the old-fashioned way. They don’t care for debts. They just want to mess with your head.”
He says that like it’s a good thing.
When we reach the end of the tunnel, it feels twice as warm. I spot more flames flickering in the distance, but those are normal, not purple. We walk down three stone steps and round a corner, entering a room shaped like a half-circle with rocky gray walls peppered in silver. The silver catches the fire blazing in the hollow of one of the walls. The only sounds are crackles and pops, but there is no wood for the flames to scorch.
It smells like so many things at once—fish, spices, sulfur, flora, acorpse. I shudder at the idea that dead bodies could be hidden in this cave…and how easily we could be joining them. But hey, at least there aren’t any eyeballs floating in glass jars.
I spot Frevella to our left, standing next to a table that’s been built from alvanite. She slaps a thick book closed, startling me as she faces us. That snake of hers slides off her shoulder and slithers in our direction.
I draw in a breath as it coils around Thane’s ankle. He doesn’t stir, even as it creeps all the way up his body and winds around his shoulders. When it makes its way back down, the snake roams over my foot and slides up my leg. I fight a tremble as it circles my waist, then slinks to my chest with its tail wrapping around my ribs. It moves back so its face can hover in front of mine, eye to eye. I hold my breath, staring into its glowing red eyeballs.
Its black tongue rapidly flickers through its lips before Frevella says, “Good.” And just like that, the snake drops to the ground and slithers back to her.
My hands shake so violently, I have to fold my arms and tuck them beneath my armpits.
“Sit.” Frevella gestures to two rickety-looking chairs in the center of the room.
Thane goes first. I follow him. I hate that the chairs face each other. It’s hardnotto look at him, especially now that he has his mask lowered. His sharp jawline is peppered in stubble, his lips are pressed into a thin line due to his agitated mood, and his eyes dart from me to Frevella.
“How long will this take?” he asks as she glides toward us.
“However long it takes.” She stands behind him, but the snake slinks closer, stretching up to his eye level. And then it dawns on me—she’s seeing us through the snake’s eyes.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise and a shiver rattles through me as she asks Thane, “Why are you traveling to Elphar’s temple?”
“She needs a prosperity stone,” he answers.
Frevella is quiet for a beat. “And what doyouneed?” she probes, walking around his chair. Her head is tilted up while her snake studies him intently.
“I’m simply her protector.”
Frevella snorts.
He scowls.
“You. Girl. Why do you willingly risk your life going to Elphar’s temple?”
“For my sister,” I tell her.
“She needs your help, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, poor girl. You would do anything for her, wouldn’t you?”
My heart drums faster as the snake studies me more closely. “Anything,” I whisper.
The cave falls into a tense silence as she makes her way around the room, her fingertips pressed together. Sweat accumulates on my forehead and upper lip from the heat…and probably from the nerves, too. The fire is unnecessary, but perhaps she’s cold. Or maybe the fire is her only source of light. Either way, I can feel my clothes sticking to me, like honey to my fingers. I swipe at the bead of sweat dripping down the side of my face.
“You want my Kelvanite Sphere.” She stops between us. “Very well. I can give it to you.”
I perk up a bit.
“But, as I mentioned, there is a price.” Her snake looks between us, and my hope deflates. “Two secrets must be shared. One from each of you.”
