Hands slipping across the rocks, I found a cluster of stones off to the side I could hide behind. Anyone who went past with a torch might not spot me here, but I’d be close enough to deal my damage when they did. And so, I hunkered down and waited.
Moments throbbed by. My pain intensified with every beat of my heart. Breathing felt hard, like my lungs were wrapped in taut rope. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek as the hunger rocked through me. I knew if I could see, everything would be bouncing around, shimmering and waving as dizziness claimed me.
But I didn’t need to fucking see. I just needed to hear them.
“They can’t be far,” came a voice. Female, harsh, angry, commanding. That would be Andromeda then, the God of Death. I shivered, despite the bravery I’d been carrying with me through the tunnels. Despite my hatred of them, I did fear them.
I feared her.
“There’s more blood,” a man said. He sounded more polished, more refined. That likely made him just as dangerous as Andromeda, if not more-so. Orion, then. It had to be. The other two had helped Tessa escape. According to scout reports, Perseus and Sirius were with them, but were being ordered around.
The man continued, “Shouldn’t there be more signs of them by now? There’s several thousand in their party. Men, women, and children. We should hear their voices, see their mess.”
“There is mess,” another said in a tired voice. “Blood.”
“That’s not enough, Sirius,” Orion replied. “I think we’ve followed the wrong tracks.”
“We could split up,” Sirius answered. “Perseus and I can continue down this tunnel and—”
“I smell something,” Andromeda said, cutting through the argument. “Something rotten, like eggs. I want to see what it is.”
That would be me, I was guessing. Lovely to know I’d die stinking of rotten eggs. But if it meant the gods would come closer, I would gladly embrace the stench.
Their footsteps drew near. At long last, I pulled the gemstones from my pocket. They were my father’s, the few that were left in this world. I’d found them in Balfor’s trunk. They buzzed beneath my fingers, frantic with energy. When I’d been but a boy, Oberon had taught me how to fight. He had worn me down in the dirt so I would understand what it was like to wallow in the mud on a battlefield. There were no wooden swords during our practice. He came at me with true blades, slicing my skin.
He’d thought if he fought me hard enough, it would somehow force me to find the elite power he’d believed lay dormant inside of me. But even though I was very much my father’s son, the fire had never come to me. My fingers had never danced with flames, not once in my life. I was the eldest, but I was also the weakest. According to my father, at least.
And so he taught me a hack.
It would not kill them, but it would sure as light slow them down.
The gods grew closer. With all the strength left within me, I crushed the gemstones in my fists, shattering them. Fire curled through my fingers, burning my skin. I ground my teeth and held on tight, forcing myself to wait for the perfect moment.
“Look, there’s a glow!” Orion shouted. “Someone’s there!”
Andromeda’s face appeared over the boulder. I smiled and released the fire.
Flames consumed us all. I revelled in it, even as my flesh melted off my bones.
Thirty-One
Tessa
Distant howls echoed toward us. They were distinctly human or fae. Cathal scurried into the cave and reported that the gods had taken the bait. They’d followed Ruari down the tunnels.
“And now they’ve found him,” Nellie said flatly.
“Yes, but it sounds like he’s put up a fight,” I said, though I knew my words would do little to ease her pain. I turned to Gaven, who had just returned from exploring two separate tunnels that forked from this path. Sweat beaded his brow, despite the cool wind that whistled through the caverns. “Any luck?”
“One tunnel has markings. The other doesn’t. Which way do you suggest we go?”
Druid Balfor shuffled up behind us. Nellie had told me what Ruari had said about him. It was hard to know exactly how much was true and how much was fabricated by a fractured mind. I was tempted to believe the former. Could I hinge the fate of all these innocents on a hunch?
“Balfor,” Kalen said with ease, giving nothing away. “What do you think?”
“Well, Gaven made a point earlier that I’m inclined to agree with. If there are markings here, people were, too. And where there were people, there should be an exit.”
“You didn’t want to come down here in the first place. And you warned me to ignore these markings,” I pointed out.
