“Great, more tests.” I sighed. “I hate this.”
She tossed me a small smile, agreeing. “Me too, but the question now is, which way do we go?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek, her foot tapping as she glanced between the arched doorways. I could see exactly where her mind drifted and felt the apprehension down our bond.
“Don’t say it,” I said.
“This wasn’t in my dream,” she said, scrunching her nose in concentration. Gods, she was so adorable, but I knew I was going to hate this plan.
I inhaled deeply before releasing it in a whoosh. “What do you mean?”
Dianna waved her hands around. “In my dreams, when we reach this part, it is the throne room. Obviously, there is no throne room here.”
“Hmm,” I said, walking to each tunnel and peering into the darkness. There seemed to be no difference, each just as gloomy and twisted as the next.
“Well, we can’t split up,” I said.
“What if this is a test?” she asked.
“I thought we agreed it was?”
“No. I mean for me.” She swallowed. “He wants me, or whoever comes searching for the chalice, to prove themselves. This may be a labyrinth, and what if it just keeps going if we are together?”
“I don’t like what you’re implying,” I said, scowling at her. There was no way I was leaving her on her own in here.
She closed the distance between us, pressing her hand to my chest. “I am saying we are safe here. No one followed us. If my dream is accurate, we should be in the throne room. We’re not, so maybe this magical place is hiding the magical glass.”
“I don’t care,” I said sternly. “I’m not leaving you.”
She raised her hand and wiggled her finger, her ring glinting in the low light. “You’re not. See, I didn’t even take it off.”
I took a deep breath, and without taking my eyes off her, I shouted, “I swear, Gathrriel, if this is a trick, I will find you in the afterlife and make you suffer.”
Her lips quirked as my voice echoed through the cavern, growing fainter the further they travelled down the tunnels. I nodded, satisfied that whoever or whatever remained here had gotten my message.
“I love you,” Dianna said, pressing against me and raising onto her toes, kissing me tenderly.
She stepped back and blew out a harsh breath, eyeing the tunnels.
“Five minutes or I’ll level the mountain to get you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t find the chalice in five minutes.”
“Four,” I said as I followed her to the mouth of the one she chose, but stopped just outside.
She snorted. “Overprotective brute.”
She stepped through, into the darkness of the tunnel. The second her hand slipped from mine, I had to fight not to run after her. Crossing my arms and planting my feet, I watched the darkness swallow her form. The moment she was out of sight, the cavern shook. I stumbled back as the three tunnels disappeared, leaving only smooth rock. I lunged toward it and ran my hands over the wall, searching for any seam or flaw.
“Fuck,” I said to the empty room and the cavern that had swallowed my wife. “She was right.”
78
DIANNA
“Sami?”I asked and was answered with an immediate flood of warmth filling my mind.
“Oh, thank fuck,”he said, his words soaked in relief. I snorted.“What happened to my doorway?”
