My heart drops like a stone in my chest, and I feel a wave of nausea. It was her. It was her and he gave her up for me. Just like that. Verity's eyes go wide and she inhales sharply. Solemn silence hangs over us like a heavy fog, even Sadal is quiet. My heart clenches painfully in my chest as Thal looks Verity over casually, the way he did when he first met her so many months ago.
“Are you mute?” He jokes.
“I’m Verity,” she murmurs quietly, disbelievingly. Her eyes dart towards me, filled with guilt, and then back to Thal. “A friend.”
"Verity," Thal says her name like he's tasting it. "What's a girl like you doing in the Ether on a dangerous quest like this one?"
“Do you remember why we’re here?” I ask, tentatively testing just how far the creature ate at his memories.
Thal’s face tightens. “We’re going to stop the Shades.”
“Who is?” Erzur asks.
Thal tosses her an irritated glare. “We are, I just said.”
“We need to get off the bridge,” Serus says from at our feet. “Before Presium returns.”
I urge Thal forward, but he regains his strength quickly. He elbows me as we fall behind Verity and the others. “What are we doing with a Bloodbane witch?”
My eyes rove over Verity's blood-red cloak. "She's helping us against the Shades."
“Bloodbanes are not to be trusted, Altair, you know this,” Thal chides me.
“I’ll explain later,” I murmur.
We fall into silence, draped in the dim glow of Verity’s light. I glance over my shoulder only once to see the creature, Presium, watching us from afar. Anger and guilt plague me stronger than ever. My cousin hardly spares a glance for Verity beyond the occasional distrustful stare. I see Verity wipe at her cheek more than once as she leads us across the bridge and into the Second Stratum.
Chapter 6
Verity
At the end of the bridge, another arch looms. I pass beneath it, grateful to descend the steps leading to solid ground. The darkness beyond the arch is absolute, even the light of my lamp won’t pierce it. I run my tongue over my lips fearfully. The group huddles around me, silent as we stare against the impossible wall of shadows.
“I’ll go first,” I say softly, knuckles white as I tighten my grip on the lantern.
“Don’t leave us in the dark,” Sadal whines.
I cast an irate glance towards the Dark God. He was once so fearless, but now I know that it had nothing to do with his character and everything to do with the power he’s lost. I pass the lantern to Altair, knowing he’ll want to be the last through to ensure we all make it. He accepts it with a nod of encouragement. Our eyes meet, and I know he sees my pain.
Serus leaps onto my shoulder so we can make the passage together. He’s a comfortable weight and a whisper of warmth in this cold realm. Taking a deep breath, I step into the darkness. It wraps around me like a lover’s embrace, trailing over every inch of me. My head spins in directionless circles as I fall deeper into the darkness. Serus’ claws pierce through my cloak and tunic into my skin as he holds on. Suddenly, the darkness spits us out onto dirt and long grass. I land heavily on my chest, face planting. My fingers curl into the dirt, warm from the rays of the sun overhead.
The Second Stratum.
I hear a hiss like the sound of boiling water behind me and turn in time to see Thal emerge from the darkness. He stumbles but catches himself before falling. His green eyes rake over me and I spot a hint of suspicion in his gaze. The last time he looked at me before he gave up his memories, his eyes were filled with a gentle longing. A lump rises in my throat, painful and hard. I scramble to my feet and brush off my leather trousers.
Thal’s hand strays to the sword at his hip and he studies our surroundings with a sharp gaze as the others emerge. Erzur and Sadal make the crossing together, Erzur’s hand wrapped tightly around his arm. I look at her appraisingly. The woman drives me mad with her arrogance and her territorial claims of Altair, but she’s not completely stupid. She knows well enough not to trust Sadal. She frowns at me, but it doesn’t diminish her beauty.
Altair is next, striding out of the shadows with ease. A tightness I hadn't noticed in my chest eases at the sight of him. The darkness drips off of him as he clears the portal. He takes us all in, accounting for each one of us.
“This,” he murmurs, pausing, “Is not what I expected.”
“The Second Stratum is by far the most pleasant,” Serus agrees. “It’s why the Shades settled here—it reminds them of what they desire so much in the world above.”
Sunlight, fresh air, soft grass, rolling hills and looming mountains. Bodies. They want everything we have now and won’t stop until they get it. I look at Sadal curiously, at his pursed lips. There was once a point when he sought to raze the ground and kill everything that walked across the continent. Which would have left nothing for the Shades. His black eyes flick towards me, vicious and intense. I don’t look away.
“Something you want to say, oh lover of mine?” Sadal purrs.
I narrow my eyes. “I’m trying to decide how evil you truly are.”
“There are all sorts of evil in this world, Verity.” Sadal grows serious. “Not everything is clear on the surface—you don’t know how deep the water goes.”
“Lover?” Thal cocks a brow.
“Ignore him,” Altair growls, shoving past
