The power builds to a beautiful crescendo.
“Keep your eyes closed,” I warn.
The fire explodes from my hands, sweeping through the cavern and laying waste to every skeleton in sight. Black smoke roils towards the ceiling, looking for a way to escape but, like us, it’s trapped here. I pull the smoke, fire, and shadow into my body and drop to my knees. Briar runs over. She brushes the hair out of my eyes and checks me over for any sign of harm. I reach up, putting my hand over hers.
She smiles at me sweetly, looking at me as if we were anywhere else then the dark dank tomb of the most powerful purveyor of death that had ever lived. “You’re okay.”
Now I am.
Chapter 17
Briar
He wipes his hands against his legs and stands up. “I’m alright. My wings got a little rustled and I might have bruises in places that’ll be tender for a few weeks, but I’m not dying and that’s enough for me.”
“Kane,” I sigh.
There are hundreds of tiny cuts on his face and neck. I use my power to heal them. He laughs and thanks me when it works. It should feel like a small victory, but it doesn’t. Nothing could feel like a victory when I see how much this journey has taken from him. Kane’s face is thinner. The lack of food and blood is taking its toll on him whether he wishes to admit it or not.
I stand up and look around. “We should go.”
He scowls at me. “We can’t. We need to get the crown first.”
Kane stands on unstable legs. He stretches above his head, causing the end of his shirt to pull free from his trousers and ride up his abdomen. There is less muscle on his body and I notice the way his clothes fit loosely. Why hadn’t he come to me when his hunger was too much to bear? I am his bride. Surely, he can trust that I will offer what I have willingly no matter how angry I am with him. I realize then that I haven’t felt upset with Kane since the main entrance to the tomb opened. I watch as he flexes his wings, reminding me of his might and power. Things have changed so much between us since the castle. I do not fear him, though I probably should, and instead, I am in awe of his might and strength.
His movement forward, shakes my stare and I let out a quiet sigh. Time to look around the cavern, I suppose.
A sea of bones cover the ground. Without the mounds of skeletons blocking the eerie green glow of the sarcophagus, I can see clearly through the cavern. The floor is cobblestoned with the skulls of those who died here, laid out in a grim pattern that was obviously intentional. Everything in this room feels like an offering. Willem stands off to the side, head down as he breathes slowly. I step closer and his eyes snap up to mine.
“There are Reapers and Nephilim here,” he says. “Humans, fae, demons, and creatures I can’t even identify. I think even Beldroth might be here. Look at the insects and decaying leaves. Some of them are recent, others are older, some ancient. The things that find their way into this tomb take their last breath and their bodies rot and decay at his feet. It’s disgusting, but more, it’s a good sign we shouldn’t be here.”
I know he is heading a warning but my mind stuck on one word. “Recent?”
He points to several corpses on the ground. “Those couldn’t have been dead for more than a week. The spells here are strong, but that doesn’t mean they can preserve a body that well. And all the blood…it takes a lot to build up this much grime.”
I furl my brow, a shiver running down my spine. “Are you saying someone brought them here?”
Willem shakes his head. “I’m saying either we aren’t the only ones to get this far or these are all the creatures that never returned from the island. We didn’t see any corpses or bones on the shore. Elluine told us that anyone who travels here never comes back. I think she was right.”
I look around, my hands running down my arms. “How’d they get into the tomb?”
The Reaper shrugs. “Magic? Maybe we’ll never fully understand what really happened here. I don’t really care about the past. All I care about is getting out of here before Kane does something foolish. My skin is crawling just thinking about it.”
I step forward, pressing my fingers to my chest. “Willem, there’s something bad here. It doesn’t just feel like death and decay. I can sense someone or something that isn’t exactly dead.”
“It’s the crown,” he says dismissively. “You’re probably picking up its energies. Even I’m having a hard time staying in this room. Drogaem was many things, but he wasn’t a decorator, that’s for sure. The sooner we’re out of here the better.”
“No,” I say while shaking my head. “It’s something else. I think you were right. We shouldn’t have come here. Everything is happening too quickly and I feel like something wanted us to stay away no matter how drawn to this place we are.”
He steps closer and hisses angrily at me. “If you had done what I told you to do, what you swore to Aiden would have been done by now, we wouldn’t be in this situation. We can’t go back now unless you figure something out with the runes. Look around at the walls while I distract him.”
I grit my teeth and look him straight in the eyes. “It isn’t that simple.”
He scoffs, throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t care. Figure it out,
