“I need to get to Dommik,” I insisted, looking at a concerned Alba. “I know where he is. I know what they’re planning to do.”
“Leave him,” Cova suggested in a tone that reminded me of our father.
“It’s not just him. It’s all the loyalists to Rhazien. Anyone who supported his great matter.”
“Fine. Leavethem,” Cova amended.
I bit back, “I can’t. I?—”
The women paused and I collected myself in the space of their silence.
“No matter what we do, there’s a good chance we are caught and killed.” I purposefully avoided looking at Lydia as I spoke. “But Eryx must be stopped. The future of Atoris depends on it. We need all the help we can get.”
Especially Dommik.A truth I chose to keep to myself.
Dutiful and loyal Alba gently laid her hand on my shoulder and I had to bite my lip to keep tears from falling at the kind gesture.
“Do you at least have a plan?” Cova arched her brow.
I scoffed and stretched my sore limbs.
“You’re not going to like it.”
Alba had assured us she would take Lydia to safety. She would bring her through the secret tunnels to meet with the Day Guard.
I held a limited hope that a small faction would hold true to their oaths to Rhazien’s court. It was entirely possible that the Day Guard—who, on a normal day, would be suiting up for duty right about now—would abandon their posts. Their allegiance to coin made their loyalty to any deeper cause fickle at best. Some may even join Eryx’s faction and hope to retain employment.
Meanwhile, Cova and I needed to descend farther into the Hive.
Deep down to the dark nothingness. To the cavernous prison I’d seen in my dreams. To the writhing center of a pit filled with vengeful entities.
Down into the den of the shades.
Chapter 43
Not Him
Ropes groaned and strained as we descended down the unlit elevator shaft.
My palms slickened as echoes of my dreams falling into the shade’s den reminded me why I couldn’t spend a peaceful night alone.
I wiped my hands against my torn skirt and cleared my throat, willing my body to get on the same page as my mind…and my heart.
This is our best chance at saving him,I told myself as I exhaled slowly, steadying myself for what was to come.
Cova, who held a torch, fidgeted next to me. Being on this mission with my sister through the halls of the Hive conjured memories of our childhood. Although there was less at stake then. The worst that could happen then was our mother scolding us. The camaraderie of the act was the same, though. No, not the same. Stronger.
For the first time in over a decade, we were working together toward a common goal.
The platform met the cavern floor with a loud, reverberating thud and every muscle in my being tensed at the sound.
This was the place where darkness and silence came to rest when the sun rose and the birds sang their day songs, curled together like heavy-limbed lovers. And we’d just awoken them.
Cova and I exchanged a nervous glance before I took the first step offof the platform. Step for step, we crept in tandem beneath the light of the torch into the menacing lair.
No living thing could reside here. The trapped air was thick enough to suffocate a human who lingered too long.
Time and the elements were not on our side.
