I prevail by the skin of my teeth and take a few agonizing steps back. Arden's chest rises and falls as she stares up at me. Her eyes shine like stars. My mouth waters at the breathy note in her voice.
"Are all humans as honorable as you?"
I laugh, shaking my head as I walk forward.
"Believe me, Queenie. My thoughts are far from honorable."
A sharp gasp echoes from behind me. I whip around and take in the Queen's pale face.
All levity from our conversation is gone. Icy fear makes her muscles rigid as her round eyes stare dead ahead. I stomp over to her side, standing partially in front of her as I follow her gaze.
Between the thicket of trees, there is a dark obsidian box glimmering in the dim light.
Oily black slime slips down the side. The liquid hits the brown grass with a sickening hiss. Rancid steam curls around the base of the structure. Dark trees sprout from atop it, completely blanketing it in darkness.
The towering rock pulses. Magic radiates from it, far more ancient than Arden's tender power she used to heal me.
The creature inside me paces back and forth, baring its fangs at the abhorrent tower.
"Is that one of the Void's?" I ask.
Arden nods. The tremble in her hands makes my heart ache.
She bares her sharp teeth at the horrific structure. Its foul magic washes over us in a disgusting wave. Its oppressive nature feels like an anchor wrapping around my ankle.
The Queen's magic gathers at her palms. Like a flame in the wind, it is quickly snuffed out.
Despite its insidious appearance, there is a mesmerizing quality about the stone. It is square in shape. There are no ledges or tiers. The walls that make it up stretch high into the surrounding foliage.
The slick ooze glitters like diamonds. The rhythmic pulsing of its power lures me closer. Nearby branches curl inwards away from the tower. Their bark is pale. Leaves are in piles of dust collecting on the singed grass below.
Thedeadtreesbursting from the top sway in the cold breeze. Their leaves leak with the same oily slime that covers the tower.
I approach slowly, gripping my sword. The blunt handle sears into my palm as I stare up at the colossal stone. Dark tendrils of power reach towards me, slashing at my face.
"Be careful!" Arden calls.
I glance over my shoulder.
"You sent me here to find answers." I unsheath my blade. "What my Queen wants, she'll get."
Leveling the silver tip of my sword at the structure, I take a steadying breath.
The rhythmic pounding of the obsidian stone echoes my heartbeat. It writhes and expands. Rippling like a stream. The goo weeps from internal cracks and spears like fingers through the surface.
It is a risky assumption, but with nothing better to go on…
"Here goes nothing," I whisper.
My blade presses into the stone. The towering structure grumbles at the intrusion. I expect resistance. Expect my trusty blade to snap in half and the Queen and I to be well and truly fucked. What I don't anticipate is for the black, oily substance to splatter up the sword.
It screams as I press it further into the stone. Boiling goo falls to the ground with shrieks. The whisper of Arden's wings echoes in my ears as she floats behind me. The deeper my blade goes, the more dark sludge seeps from the tower as if it were bleeding.
This is no stone—no rock formation. This tower is alive.
And anything alive can be killed.
I sink my blade fully into the structure. With my hilt only partly visible, I stare at the quivering mass. The black goo encasing it snaps at my face and splatters onto my clothes. It hisses at me, taunting me to do more than just slice into it. The pulsing surface of the tower sparks an idea.
