Oberi yipped as he sprinted out behind me. Marcus’ breath strained as the tunnel began to squash him, but Kallie must’ve given him a push, because she groaned, and the two of them tumbled into a heap on top of us, along with Rishi.
The walls of the labyrinth we’d escaped slammed shut with aboom. I drew heavy breaths. Shit. That had been a close one. We’d nearly been squished.
“My magic works again!” Marcus exclaimed, and I heard aflickas he cast a ball of light.
I didn’t care about our magic right now. I only cared about Ava. She lay on the ground, sucking pained breaths between her teeth.
“Where’d he bite you?” I demanded. I began running my hands over her, until I felt the tear in her pants and the wet blood soaking the fabric. The snake had gotten her right in the calf.
“Charlie, stop!” she cried, but I didn’t listen.
I yanked on the fabric, and it tore. I ducked my head to begin sucking out the venom. She tried to shove me off, but I didn’t stop. Blood filled my mouth, along with searing heat from the venom. I drew back and spit the blood onto the cave floor.
“Charlie, it’s no use!” Ava protested, shoving me again. This time, she shoved so hard that she actually got me off of her.
“I’m trying to help,” I insisted. “We can suck the venom out.”
“It’s too late,” she said. “I grew up in a city filled with magical creatures. I know enough about them to know the only way to heal this is through magical means. If you keep trying to suck it out, you’ll poison yourself!”
“Like I give a damn,” I fumed.
“Oh, yeah, because dragging your heavy-ass dead body back through these caves isn’t going to slow us up,” she snapped, though her voice wavered.
“Better me than—”
“Guys, this isn’t the time to fight right now,” Kallie said, cutting us off. She sounded worried.
I whirled toward Marcus. “What do you have? Anything we can brew a potion with?”
“Just the first-aid kit,” he said in a rush.
He fumbled with a few items, and Kallie quickly stepped in. “We’ve got nothing for the venom, but this should help with the blood,” she said.
Ava sucked a breath as Kallie wrapped gauze around the wound. I ran my fingers over it to see how much it helped, but the blood was already starting to ooze through.
“This is it?” I demanded.
“That’s all I could get my hands on.” Marcus sounded bothered.
“We have to do somethingmore!” I raged.
“There’s only one thing we can do,” Ava said in a wobbly tone, and I heard her push to her feet. “We have to keep going.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ava-Marie
Charlie immediately bristled. “Are you crazy? We can’t go on if you’re hurt.”
“Fuck yeah, I’m crazy,” I snapped. “I know we’re close to another key. I can feel it.”
“I can feel youdyingthrough the bond!” Charlie cried. “That venom is working through your system quicker than you want to admit!”
“Stop being dramatic,” I said, but my head spun. The bite marks on my calf were several inches deep, and nearly an inch across. Blood oozed down my leg through the bandage. The snake had gotten me good.
The cave was illuminated by the light of the magic orb Marcus had cast. We’d all lost our headlamps while running through the tunnels. I tried to cast a fireball, but it flickered out uselessly. The venom was already sucking away all my energy. Hives crept across my skin, and my breathing became labored as my throat swelled. My chest was tight. I felt like I wanted to throw up. Curling up on the cave floor and taking a nap seemed like a great idea right now. I was so sleepy, I could barely keep my eyes open.
Worst of all was the tingling feeling in my leg, and the pang each time my heart took a beat. My very veins were filled with fire, inching up my body and coursing around my form. My muscles were tight and strained, and my thoughts were foggy. I knew this wasn’t good.
