Page 37 of Claimed By the Depths

To which Rohen only scowled.

CHAPTER 20

The Divine Archive

ROHEN

The twitch of my fingers’ eagerness for my blade did not cease as we followed the woman who had appeared in the clearing. While Kael spoke on her behalf, disclosing the conversation he had with the woman he believed he was seconds away from wedding, unease stirred. She carried a weight of unfamiliarity, but there was something that lurked beneath the surface of her essence—something that made me question if we had met before.

And I loathed it.

Weaving between the massive trees we’d run between when she demanded our departure, my suspicions only continued to grow. With nightfall encroaching, our continued venture became increasingly convoluted, directions blending. When we voiced our disquiet about the manner, she claimed she was guiding us toward the first artifact, buried beneath the earth in an underground archive, but I still questioned her credibility.

“For someone who ordered us out of these very woods, I find it ironic you are dragging us back into them.”

Syoran tried to cover his chuckle with a cough but failed miserably.

“Your apprehension is warranted,” Lorelie chimed with that godsdamned confidence that hinted at her idiotic assumption I wouldn’t butcher her where she stood. “But I am not your enemy.”

“Your silence is deafening,” I snarled at Ellira. When she refused to answer me yet again, I directed my ire at the woman who had bragged about her closeness with my mother. “Oh, my apologies, I forgot about your supposed blessing.”

The flame of my wrath ignited tenfold, threatening to devour me and set me on a course towards the destruction I craved. Tendrils of annihilation brushed the back of my mind, further heightened by the continual loop my thoughts played around Caspian. My mind had not ceased its worry, nor had I been able to pull my focus from the broody pirate who purchased me and demanded I appease his crew. If anything, the longer he remained away, the worse my anxiety became, a deep ache settling in my chest as I ruminated on the worst-case scenario.

I was supposed to loathe him. I did loathe him…

Didn’t I?

“You do not,” Ellira hummed, her sudden contribution causing me to flinch.

“Oh, so now you elect to be responsive.”

“When you doubt your bond with your Mizani, yes.”

“But not when I’m enraged with this bitch who supposedly knows you like⁠—”

“She is nothing of the sort.” The hiss that rolled down our connection sent goosebumps racing across my arms. “If you wish to be angry, certainly do not emanate it around those who have sworn their lives to me to ensure you remain safe. I will not tolerate such selfishness.”

Struggling to find my reply, I found the task even more impossible as we stepped into another clearing. The subtle glow drew me in, a stone staircase illuminated by something unseen. Like a beacon awaiting us, the towering statues of chess pieces on either side of the descending entrance glistened with mystery. Their shapes, somehow untouched by the weather, acted as both a symbol and a potential warning. Both of which I immediately questioned.

“Welcome to the Divine Archive,” Lorelie whispered, her attention transfixed on it as if mesmerized.

“If you knew of it,” I challenged, palm closing around the hilt of my blade, “why are you in awe?”

A growl rolled from Kael at my continual prodding. “Rohen.”

“Because I have only heard of it.” Turning to look at me, Lorelie’s honeydew irises glinted in a way I had seen before. “I have not had the privilege of setting foot in Jaskor’s forgotten sanctuary.”

Not allowing me another second of interrogation, she moved from where she stood. When she approached the steps, there was no pause as she ventured down them, vanishing from our line of sight before any of us could argue otherwise.

With a glance, Syoran dipped his chin and followed. Sighing, I moved to fall in step with him, but a harsh tug ripped me backward.

“What the fuck⁠—?”

“I understand your concerns, but the only thing you will do with your pestering and misdirected agitation is earn us enemies.” Seafoam gaze pulsing with lessening patience, Kael’s brows furrowed. “And in a realm pressurized by war, that is the last thing we need.”

Running my tongue along my bottom lip, I exhaled before offering a reply I knew I would regret. “Apologies for my behavior.”

His eyes slitted with the need to contest my obedience, but instead of doing so, he pivoted and followed the others. With his blonde hair serving as my guiding torch, I grumbled a few curses under my breath before I closed up the rear.