MERYN
The light dyes Anassa’s fur pale blue, as if we’re sinking into a pool of moonlight. It grows brighter the deeper we get. And the farther we descend, the thicker the air. It’s stifling.
I sink my fingers into Anassa’s fur.
“I don’t like this.”A pit of anxiety grows in my gut.
“It does not matter if you like it or not,” comes Anassa’s reply.“Focus on getting through it.”
I must, so I will—once again. The motto of my life.
Bizarrely, it comforts me more than gentle words ever could.
Even though this place is obviously ancient, the spiral stairs are wide enough to fit our wolves comfortably, which is only further proof that this place is meant for the Bonded.
The stairs descend down and down, impossibly deep. We’ve been moving for an eternity—accompanied only by the sounds of our breaths and our wolves’ claws clicking against stone—when we finally reach a landing.
It reveals a wider room carved from the stone of the island, pulsing with thesame blue light. Ephyse growls quietly as he and Noemi pace toward the wall, glaring forward.
There’s a door. It’s circular and, like the door above, seems to be made of one solid chunk of stone. Instead of a poem, though, a symbol is carved into it.
The Kryptos symbol, as familiar as if it was hanging above the Kryptos common room back in Sturmfrost.
“Do we—?” I start, but almost instantly, the symbol blazes to life. It catches with heatless blue fire, which hurts a little to stare at directly.
This is another test, then. Kryptos. Will Venna have to pass it alone? Or can we all do it together?
Then comes a dampening in my mind, as if someone’s thrown a blanket over my powers and wrapped it tight.
“Stark,” I say, checking in to see if he feels it.
But I can’t reach him.I can’t reach him.
“Anassa?!”
“I’m here.”She bumps her shoulder against mine.
I swallow down a bubble of panic. “Is… anyone…”
“There’s something strange happening,” Stark confirms right away. “I wonder…” I watch as he focuses on something, fingers twitching. “No. I can’t draw on my shadebending power. I’d try impelling, too, if we weren’t somewhere deep underground where a cave-in could be lethal. But I suspect it would be the same.”
Noemi nods. “I can still reach Ephyse, but that’s it.”
Venna, meanwhile, is staring at each of us, bewildered. “I don’t feel anything different.”
I look up again at the illuminated Kryptos symbol.
“Venna…” I gesture at it. “If your powers are still intact, I wonder… maybe you’re the only one who can get us through?”
Venna and her direwolf ease forward. Skaia’s ears are pinned back with caution, but Venna has a stubborn look on her face.
The moment they step close enough, the door rumbles and rolls to the side. The cold blue fire bursts again, making the rest of us gasp and step back. Thefire streaks along the interior of the room to illuminate a large chamber before going dark again.
Strange, shadowy shapes are farther in, but as the blue light fades, I can no longer see anything but shadow.
Anassa and I move toward the door, but Venna flings an arm out to stop me. She dismounts and looks around her feet, and I watch her, unsure what she’s doing. With a yank, she twists off one of the small buttons fastening the cuff of her sleeve.
Flicking her wrist, she tosses the button into the room.
