My lips purse and I follow him, jabbing my finger into his chest. “In case you haven’t noticed yet, I’m not exactly trained to read ancient runes and use magic. Mortals aren’t even supposed to have magic. This little quest might have been about the crown to you and Kane, but I feel as though while you two are finding something, I’m losing myself. You have no idea what that’s like.”
Willem sighs and raises his hand to hold off my ranting. “We both failed to act, Briar. Now we have to deal with whatever happens next. The lexicon and the lore didn’t prepare us for this. This was supposed to be a quick get in and get out mission, but there have been signs all over the place. The blocked path in the forest, Kane’s reluctance to go through the mountains, the assassins, the Leviathan...none of this was supposed to happen.”
I drop my finger and step back. “You think there was someone who did all of this on purpose?”
He shrugs. “The lexicon didn’t mention any of this. It didn’t prepare us for you either.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you really think you’re able to do all of this by blood alone?” His pointed look makes me question everything. Willem might be just as corrupt as everyone else, but he sees things others tend to look past. “Look, it’s clear there are forces at work here. What they are, I can’t say. But don’t blind yourself to them the way Kane has.”
A sound snaps us out of our conversation. Willem and I turn to Kane as he moves toward the sarcophagus. Something inside of me screams for us to run away from this place and never return. The one being I never thought I’d want by my side stands at the ready. Willem’s eyes dart toward my dagger and quirks a brow. It might be our only hope if Drogaem awakens.
I race over to Kane once again, pulling his head down to meet my gaze. “Kane? Are you alright?”
He smiles, talking almost in a trance like state. “We’re here. We made it.”
“I know…” My words trail off, feeling the intensity of the evil surging through me.
“What is it?” he asks skeptically. “Why don’t you seem thrilled? We can finally do what we came here for and return home. Don’t you want to put all of this behind us?”
“Maybe we should just let Drogaem rest. Think about it for a second. None of us even expected to get this far. You said yourself you didn’t know what would happen if you put the crown on. Maybe there’s a reason no one speaks of this place.” I try to plead with him, but Kane scuffs in disbelief.
Willem moves closer, eyeing Kane carefully.
“She might be right, Kane,” the Reaper says reluctantly. “Lux killed Drogaem for a reason. Qenta knew someone would come here eventually, so she filled this place with mummies and spelled the tomb to awaken skeletons. She was protecting Drogaem. But whoever Lux’s follower was, the one that put up the doors and kept this place hidden, did it for a reason. They were strong enough to match a necromancer’s power and get this far without dying, and yet they didn’t take the crown for themselves.”
He groaned and shook his head. “What’s your point?”
“If someone that strong didn’t try to gain Drogaem’s power for themselves, there’s probably something wrong with it.”
Kane looks to Willem and then to me with betrayal in his eyes. “I’m not giving up. I’m not failing this quest because of maybes and possibilities.”
He walks away from us. I turn to stalk after him, but something strikes me as odd. I feel as though someone is watching, lying in wait until we least expect it. It’s a vile, ominous feeling that I can’t quite shake. Kane stands over the sarcophagus. I can sense his excitement almost as vividly as the fear that rushes through me. Willem and I stand on the opposite side of the macabre sight before us. Drogaem is wrapped in the same silk as the mummies. I scrunch my nose at the sunken in cheeks and leathery skin. His lips pull back into a grimace, showing off exposed teeth where the gums have rotted away.
Willem looks up at Kane and shakes his head. “Don’t do it. We can still walk away. Let Briar find a way out and we can come up with something else. There’s more than one object of power in the underworld. You know that. You don’t need the crown.”
Kane ignores him and reaches for the crown. I grab his wrist. The crown itself is horrific, fashioned from bone with fingers linked with black chains. At its center is a glowing green stone that’s far too bright to be an emerald. The scent of Nightshade chokes me a little. “Please…This feels wrong, Kane. Leave it. Let’s walk away and let him rest.”
“I can’t, Briar. I can’t turn back now.” He throws my hand away and removes the crown from its master’s head.
Kane’s eyes close. A fear unlike anything I’ve felt before courses through my veins as his gaze is revealed once more with a smile. Willem and I shift uncomfortably where we stand.
“Are you...are you alright?” The words barely leave my mouth. Nausea causes saliva to pool in my throat. I feel tainted, like someone’s hand squeezes my soul with dark magic, but...these aren’t my emotions.
Kane rolls his neck and flexes. “I’ve never felt better. I feel powerful. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s...it’s beautiful.”
“Please take it off. You have the crown now. It’ll be safer if you put it away while we travel back home,” I suggest, hoping my tone is convincing enough.
“No.” His eyes are darker than before and his voice deep and ominous.
Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong. I share a look with Willem. Perhaps Willem and Aiden were right about Kane all along. What have
