Page 81 of Fated By Fire
The underground chamber feels like a tomb, its cold, damp air clinging to my skin like a shroud. The walls are jagged, carved from ancient bedrock, their surfaces pitted and uneven. Faintly glowing red symbols are cut into the stone, pulsing rhythmically, as if alive. The air is laced with the musty scent of age-old decay, mingling with a metallic tang that makes my stomach churn. It smells like blood.
My mother’s locket dangles from Malakai’s hand, the patterns on its surface catching the dim light. I can’t tear my eyes away from it—my mother wore it every day of her life. She gave it to me shortly before she left, and I’ve never taken it off. Now, it’s in the hands of the man who took her from me.
I strain against the ropes binding me to the chair, the coarse fibers digging into my wrists until I feel the warm trickle of blood. Malakai paces around me, his boots echoing ominously against the stone floor. His human form is no less terrifying thanhis dragon. His face is harsh, his cold, calculating eyes boring into me with a gaze that feels like ice against my skin.
“You look just like her,” he says, his voice low and deliberate. He stops in front of me, his shadow looming over me. “Same insolence. Same defiance.”
“Don’t talk about my mother,” I snap, my voice trembling despite my effort to sound strong. My heart races as his words confirm what I’d only suspected. She was with him before she disappeared. “You have no right.”
He chuckles, a sound that crawls down my spine like a spider. “No right? I knew Lila better than anyone. We worked together for years, planning, preparing. Until she lost her nerve.”
The casual way he says her name makes my blood boil.
“I don’t believe you,” I hiss, my voice thick with venom. “My mother was good. Special. She wouldneverwork with a sick bastard like you!”
His laugh is oily, grating against my ears. “You have no idea what your mother was capable of, girl. No idea at all.”
“Oh? Why not enlighten me then?” I glare up at him, my jaw clenched tight. I dare him to say something,anything, that could make me change my mind about her.
Malakai’s lips curl into a cruel smile as he begins to circle me again, his movements slow and deliberate.
“She shared my passion for doing what was right,” he says, his tone almost conversational. “Your mother and I planned together, Elena. We were going to remove those pretenders—Caleb and Dorian—from power.”
I shake my head, my mind reeling.
Mom, plotting with Malakai?
The idea is incomprehensible. My mother was kind, compassionate—she would never associate with someone like him. But equally unsettling is the thought that Mom might haveencountered Caleb in her lifetime. I’m reminded that Caleb is ancient, his existence spanning centuries. It feels surreal.
“I don’t believe you,” I say, though my voice wavers with uncertainty. “My mother would never put others at risk like that. Never deliberately plan to hurt anyone.”
Malakai’s expression hardens, his eyes narrowing like a hawk’s. “I don’t care what you believe. In the end, she proved too weak to follow through with what needed to be done.” He flicks his hand dismissively. “She became an unnecessary complication.”
Cold dread washes over me. “What did you do to her?” I whisper, my throat tight.
“Do?” He stops in front of me, leaning down until his face is inches from mine. His breath smells of sulfur and wood smoke, and I recoil instinctively. “I offered her everything. Power. Purpose. A chance to be part of something greater than herself. But in the end, she chose to run.” His lips curl in disgust. “Like a coward.”
“She was protecting me from you!” I struggle against the ropes, ignoring the searing pain as they cut deeper into my skin.
Oh, Mom… I’m so sorry you got caught up in this.
“Protecting you?” He stands to his full height, a dark laugh escaping his lips. “She was denying your birthright. Your destiny.” He gestures to the cavernous chamber around us, the faintly glowing symbols casting eerie shadows on the stone walls. “This is where you belong, Elena. Among your own kind.”
“My kind?” I scoff, trying to mask my fear with defiance. “I’m human.”
“Are you?” His eyes narrow, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. “Then how did you access the vault? How did you connect with the Heartstone?” He begins to pace again, his movements steady, deliberate. “You have power in your blood. Rossewynblood. The same blood that once bound dragons to their true purpose.”
My mind races, piecing together what he’s saying with what Caleb told me earlier.
“You’re talking about the witch. Lyria.”
“Finally, she begins to understand.” He stops abruptly, my mother’s locket swinging from its chain. My breath stops in my throat as he holds it up. “Your mother wore this every day. Did you never wonder why?”
I watch in stunned silence as he opens the locket, his fingertip tracing the intricate markings inside.
“These are runes,” he says, his voice soft but laced with malice. “This isn’t just a locket. It’s an amulet. Did you know that? An amulet to unlock your powers. To channel them.”
I shake my head, my mind spinning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have any powers. I’m just… just me.”
