“It seems you, my smart, beautiful girl, were right. It’s a trick, but only for those worthy.”
“Are you all right?”I asked, just the sound of his voice in my head bringing me a sense of peace.
“As long as you are, akrai.”
Knowing he would feel my apprehension, I sent my love down the bond. He was the only being I would willingly share that vulnerability with.“I’m fine, just ready to get this over with.”
“I’ll be waiting and just scream really loudly if you need me. I have already started digging through this damn wall.”
“It hasn’t been five minutes yet.”I chuckled.
“The clock ran out as soon as the door disappeared.”
I couldn’t keep the love and laughter from our bond as I shook my head and kept moving down the long tunnel, my footsteps growing increasingly loud. Slowing, I looked down, focusing through the stygian darkness, and saw that I was walking on a layer of ancient bone, crunching them to dust beneath my boots. I stopped and wildly scanned the walls, only just realizing I was walking through a tomb.
Gods, not only did we always end up underground, but tombs had also become a background theme in our relationship. I was kind of over it, but I decided not to tell Samkiel. It wasn’t necessary for both of us to be traumatized. With a sigh, I continued on, hoping that stealth wasn’t required because my every step echoed through the tunnels. The tunnel opened into a cavern, and lo and behold, I was right where my dream usually led me.
Well, it was the same cavern, except this version was abandoned, and everything in it was a testament to the passage of time. The throne was fractured and lying on its side, the massive skulls carved into the walls disintegrating as I watched. The floors were cracked and crumbling, and the walls had deep claw marks through the stone. It looked like Gathrriel had destroyed his realm, or whatever this place was, with his own hands. The anger and grief I had felt when he possessed me seemed to linger here.
“What is it?”Samkiel asked.“You feel distressed.”
“It’s all broken,”I said.“It feels like he did it, broke everything in his grief.”
He was quiet for a moment.“I guess we will find out why soon. Did you get the chalice?”
“Almost,”I said.“Let me concentrate in case there are more traps. I’ll let you know what I find.”
“Be careful,”he said. I heard him grunt as he worked on getting through the wall, and then our connection died.
I stepped further into the cavern, my eyes scanning the shadows for threats. The silence in here was filled with a thousand screams, and the weight of them was oppressive. I was surprised to see that the dais and pedestal still stood in what remained of this room. The chalice on top called to me, and I cautiously ascended the steps. It was prettier in person, with intricate Ig’Morruthen designs engraved into the thick goblet and stem.
Slowly, I reached out, grazing my fingers along the side, expecting something to pierce my hand or maybe burn the flesh from my bones, but nothing happened. Looking around warily and hunching my shoulders, I wrapped my hand around the chalice. I lifted it just a fraction, waiting to see if some massive rock would fall and crush me. Again, nothing happened, and the lack of drama was almost anticlimactic.
“Hmph.”
I pulled it off its resting place and noticed the rune carved below it. Similar to the ones outside, and not one I could read. Perhaps it was only a seal to contain what lurked inside the chalice. Stepping off the dais, I looked down at what I held. Just as in the dream, it was filled with swirling, dark liquid. I raised it and sniffed, the scent of blood filling my nose. It was unmistakable, and I didn’t sense anything added. It was exactly what he’d said it was.
This was probably very stupid, and Samkiel would have definitely tried to talk me out of it if he were here, but I had to do this. The power was a huge draw. Gods knew I loved a good power boost, but I also needed to know what he hadn’t told us. My very being ached to learn the truth, knowing it was a final missing piece to the puzzle. I needed those answers. So I raised the chalice toward the broken throne in salute and downed the contents in a series of deep gulps.
His blood hit me like the spiciest cider, burning all the way down. I choked and coughed, letting the chalice fall to the cavern floor with a clatter. One second, I was there in the present, and the next, memories not my own were flooding my brain.
They were hazy at first before turning sharp and gray. It wasn’t like before. This was as if I were connected to both Vvive and Gathrriel. Did the soul bond run that deep? They moved past me as figments between worlds, the edges of their bodies undefined and wispy.
She does not back down as my soldiers laugh. Instead, she squares her shoulders and sets her jaw.
“They told me you were a great general, but all I have found here is a beast.”
Snarls erupted throughout the room, and numerous sets of eyes flashed red. Still, this warrior woman does not flinch, even with me bearing down on her.
“Get used to the beasts, princess, because you’re not leaving.”
Pain ripped through my mind, momentarily disrupting the vision. My head felt like it was going to split with all the new information being shoved into it. The wisps of memory bent and folded.
The room was softly lit by a crackling fire, and I stood hand in hand with her, begging for the first time in my life.
“And you promise to return?”
Her eyes were soft and warm as she leaned in close, placing a kiss on my cheek. An ember in my chest flared to life, and I wanted to own her, to have her, to … love her. No one else. Perhaps I was the beast she named me.
