I point wildly at the tomb. “We can’t go back. Not when we’re this close to the crown.”
“She was never supposed to be this strong!” Willem hisses under his breath. “This is more than a matter of blood and lineage. I’ve never seen anything like that and neither have you. Lux was erased from the lexicon for a reason. We’re flying blind and you don’t care.”
“Of course I care. Look at the markings.” I walk over to the door and brush my hand along the carvings, watching them glow faintly as they cool beneath my touch. “They won’t open for me. Briar is the key. She’s the light the legends talk about and you know it. We can’t do this without her and turning back isn’t an option.”
“So, you’ll do it at the expense of her life?” Willem asks. “Because that’s what this could come down to. She could either kill us both like she did with the Nephilim or she could die trying to pass through the tomb. Do you want that?”
I tilt my head back and flex my fists, feeling the frustration and heartache course through me. Taking in a deep breath I walk over to Willem and lower my voice to a steady tone. “No, of course that isn’t what I want. You know that. But we all knew what was at stake when we traveled through the realm. We knew death was a possibility, but not a certainty.”
Willem steps beside me, flinching where his hand was stung by the runes. He’s unworthy. I’m better at concealing the pain the magic causes me as I work to decipher the markings, but I’m unworthy as well.
Only Briar can open the door and lead us through the tomb. “I have to tell her. I have to tell her everything about who she is and what this all means.”
Willem’s voice is shrill and angry. “What?! Before you even teach her how to control it?”
“This isn’t about control, Willem, it’s about fate.” I indicate to a symbol with my hand. “That means unleash. It’ll take a lot of power to get through this door and anything else that stands between us and the crown. Briar is that power. She can do this.”
Willem snatches my arm away from the door. “How is any of this possible?”
I shake my head. “She’s a descendent of Lux. It’s the only explanation.”
Willem releases my arm and shakes his head. “No. There’s something else. Either you don’t know or you’re not telling me, but something else is going on here. Why else would the island be affecting her like this?”
I furl my brow and step toward him. “What are you saying?”
“Let’s say Briar gets us to the crown. What’s there stopping Drogaem from awakening? We’re all but delivering the last of Lux’s bloodline right to him. These feelings that compel you to come here, to claim Drogaem’s powers for yourself, are too strong to be a coincidence. And Briar. One minute she’s a useless mortal who can barely walk on her own and then suddenly,” Willem snaps his fingers. “She turns into an explosion of light. That. Is. Not. How. Blood. Works. That’s the soul, my friend, and a powerful one.”
I think about his words but push them to the side. “Even if this is a trap or some sort of divine prophecy unfolding, it doesn’t change the fact that we are here. The crown is almost within my grasp. Having that power will shift the balance and right the wrongs that were made before our time.”
“Drogaem made promises too, Kane. Some say it was his power that drove him mad and turned him against the mortals. How are you certain the same won’t happen to you?”
“I’ve seen what comes with war,” I reply. “So have you. There’s no glory in battle, not like the lexicon would have us believe. I looked around and I saw desolation, not death. I didn’t see a mission or even a reason behind it. ‘For strength, glory, and the rise of the underworld’ is what Drogaem said we were fighting for, but it was his own reign he wished to strengthen.”
Willem lifts his brow pointing at me. “The crown might corrupt you. It could happen to anyone.”
I lean forward and grab Willem by the shirt. “Or it could serve a greater purpose than rotting away in this tomb.”
I hear a groan from where Briar rests and I make my way toward her. She reaches out for me. I kneel beside her and lift her upper body off the ground. Her eyes blink up at me in confusion.
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
She winces and touches her forehead. “The pain is still there, but not like before. What happened?”
I lick my lips and straighten her further, looking into her eyes. “Briar, we need to talk.”
Willem curses and leans up against the wall, refusing to look in our direction out of spite more than anything. But Briar needs to know. I can’t keep this from her any longer. Not when our lives depend on it. “I lied to you about what happened in the opera house. It was you, Briar, you were the one who killed the Nephilim.”
Her scowl deepens and I hurry to explain. “Lux’s mortal bloodline is directly tied to your family. You are the last descendent of the first Goddess of Light. It’s why you can heal things and why a bright, purifying light surrounds you sometimes. I don’t know what triggered the change in you, but I’m certain of this. And with time, you’ll only grow stronger.”
“That’s why only you can open the tomb,” Willem adds. “It requires unleashing the light.”
Briar nods her head slowly. A smile quirks at the corners of her mouth and she throws her head back. Laughter echoes off the scorched walls of the tomb. She doesn’t believe us.
I should have told her sooner. “Briar
