“But this is something different.” He frowned. “Fiona would know for sure, but if I had to guess…” He frowned up at the ceiling. “Ley lines give off a primordial energy signature that sometimes manifests as crystals. The kind you find in deep, subterranean caverns.”
“Cast a flame down the corridor,” I told him softly. “Let’s see what happens.”
Eldric sent a long, controlled plume down the passageway, Blake turning with widening eyes as the fire spiraled straight toward him, extinguishing just before impact. “Assholes.” His curse echoed up to us, but…
This entire passageway was lined with a layer of glittering crystals, and they seemed to grow larger as we progressed. By the time we covered another three hundred feet, my fingers were raw from tracing the crystal-lined walls, but Evie's scent was stronger. We were gaining on her.
And then, the third trap nearly killed us all.
We’d reached another intersection when I noticed faint symbols etched into the floor—ancient runes drifted over with dust, like imperfections. Before I could shout a warning, Blake stepped onto one.
The air grew thick as runes flared to life on the walls, the entire intersection suffused with blue light.
“Don't…anybody…move,” Eldric gasped, fighting to breathe as he examined the pattern. “The runes…are linked. Step on the…wrong one…the spell intensifies and we all die.”
Blake was frozen, one foot lifted, sweat beading on his forehead. “So what's the... right one?”
Eldric crouched down, peering at the symbols intently. “There,” he pointed to a rune near the far wall. “That's the anchor. Disable it…and the spell will break.”
I picked my way around the edge of the floor, back pressed to the wall, stepping only where Eldric directed. When I reached the anchor rune, I drew my dagger and drove the blade deep into the stone. Air rushed back into the chamber, and we all doubled over, gulping greedily.
“Another few minutes,” Blake wheezed, “and we'd have suffocated.”
“Told you my book learning would come in handy,” Eldric said airily. “A simple thank you will suffice.”
“How about a big fuck you?” Blake growled.
Now that we could breathe again, Evangeline’s scent was strong, fresh, and flush with fear. She was somewhere just ahead, and that strange humming that rattled my teeth and settled into my chest was stronger.
I pulled my dagger free, cursing my trembling hands. “Ravok’s been using the labyrinth to slow us down. Which means he knows we’re coming. But we’re getting close.”
The tunnels sloped downward, taking us deeper into the heart of the mountain, the air grew colder, tinged with the scent of sulfur and old magic.
And then, suddenly, we weren't alone.
61
EVANGELINE
Ididn’t think—until this very moment—I’d ever fully accepted Ravok’s ability to see the future.
But now, being so neatly trapped, bound tight in Romulus’s shadowy magic, glimpsing the satisfied certainty on Ravok’s face, I knew he’d seen this moment play out a thousand times, only this time…
It was really happening.
Malachi’s bond yanked at me with desperate intensity, like a hook buried in my heart.Run, Evangeline. Run.
My knees had buckled at the sight of him, suspended before that gaping darkness, his arms stretched wide, bound with dark metal chains still glowing with red witch sigils. His head hung low, blond hair obscuring his face, but I saw the ragged rise and fall of his chest.
“Malachi, look at me,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
He lifted his head slowly, as if the effort required all his remaining strength. When his eyes found mine, they glistened with tears and fury and horror and I couldn’t fucking reach him, trapped in this web of Romulus’s writhing magic.
“Evie. No.” His voice was hoarse, barely audible. “You were supposed to run.”
But even if I wanted to escape, it was too late. I'd been so focused on Malachi that I'd failed to take in the rest of the chamber.
To notice Ravok’s trap.
