After long moments of calm, we unfurled, breaths heavy as we waited for another one, only it didn’t come. Releasing me from his grasp, Artton coughed from the dust that hadn’t quite settled yet. “You okay?” he asked Sidrick, who nodded in turn.
It was dark now, the firelight along the walls and corridors now out, and my eyes worked double time to adjust to the pitch black. Fae night vision was good, but not so good that it could see with no light source. Knowing I couldn’t conjure fire, I snapped my fingers, and tiny white sparks came to life.
Adjusting, I looked the others over. We were covered in dust, but fine. We walked up to and looked down the corridor. “Hello?” I called out, my voice echoing down the long, wide tunnel.
“Endymion said he’d keep the guards on the other side of the tunnel doors from now on so that Thaddeus couldn’t approach in private,” Sidrick said.
“That, and it allow us to speak freely,” Artton added.
“It’s a lot longer than I thought,” I said, allowing my magic to cascade along the path.
“Nyleeria,” Sidrick said, “if you allow your power to touch one of the light orbs, it might be enough to relight them.”
Following where he pointed, I did as he suggested. The moment my magic touched the orb closest to us, the entire corridor lit up again, and I called my powers back. “Well, that’s neat.”
Ignoring how cool I thought my magic trick was, Artton said, “Any thoughts on how to get out of here? I have a feeling whatever that was, we want to be as far away from it as possible.”
I bent over to assess the gate’s locking mechanism. “I didn’t see Thaddeus open it, but I think he used spellcraft.”
I glanced over my shoulder to Artton who nodded.
“I think,” I said, laying a hand on the solid section that I could only guess was the lock, as there was no key, “I might be able to open it.”
Sidrick stepped closer and peered “You can do that?”
I shrugged. “I mean, I haven’t used it since I was training with him and I’m not good at it, but Ihaveused it before.”
“And the cost?” Artton’s stern voice demanded. “What would the cost be to you now that you’re fae, Spark? We all know what happened when you conjured wind as a human, and we can’t afford for that happening again.”
I cringed, turning to face him. “I… I don’t know,” I admitted. “But do you have a better plan?”
“I think…”
I blinked at him. “What?” I asked, his words hard to hear.
His mouth moved, but nothing came out. The edges of my vision blurred, and the harder I tried to concentrate on him the worse it got.
I swayed, grasping for the bars as I fell, and missed.
Firm hands caught me before I hit the ground.
I floated—both there and not—as the world spun. I looked past whomever held me, and as if I saw a different reality a menacing shadow loomed. Angry and hurt wafted off it as it called for death. No. Power first. Death after. Revenge. Vengeance. Agony. So much agony.
I gasped as my lungs took in air like I’d drown, and the room came into focus. “That’s it, Little Star, follow my voice.”
As quickly as the world had disappeared, the world snapped into focus. “Endymion!” I cried, clutching at his leathers.
“We have to go,” he said.
“What happened?” Sidrick asked, as they helped me up—though I wish they would’ve let me stay.
“Antidotes first,” Endymion said, reaching for the neck. “It’s going to pinch and then sting, okay?”
Still a little dazed, I nodded. I cried out from searing pain that followed in the antidote’s wake like acid burning through my veins.
“I know,” he soothed. “Just a few more seconds.”
He was right. Within heartbeats, it was gone.
