I sighed.
The hunt wasn’t trivial, I was aware of that. But watching that damn archway seal with Ophelia behind it—being separated from heragainwhen these trials had nearly taken all of our lives—was like a nemaxese’s claws sinking into my gut and shredding, tearing, bleeding.
“Come on,” Malakai said with a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get this over with so you can get back to her.”
“Where do we start?” Santorina asked. The crescent moon carved into the marble floor, inlaid with flawless bronze, could have been indicating any direction, depending which way you looked at it.
But it was Vale who said, “That way.” With a sure hand, she pointed down the looming tunnel all the way across the atrium.
She took off without waiting for us, her boots ringing out on the speckled floors and skirt swishing around her ankles. Malakai and I exchanged a glance, then I hurried to theStarsearcher’s side. He hung back, bringing up the rear of our group.
“How do you know?” I asked Vale as we crossed the expansive atrium.
Her eyes were trained on the tunnel as she answered, “Ever since my reading of the gods, the connection with the Fates hasn’t broken.”
“You don’t always have a connection with them?”
“I do, but typically between sessions it reduces. Like a hum instead of a full song.” Her hand pressed to her breastbone as if alleviating an ache. “Now, they haven’t quieted.”
“Without the incense?”
She nodded. “They’re rather persistent, it seems.” Her voice was melodic, the same tone as when she’d read earlier, and when she looked up, her eyes swirled like shooting stars.
If her nine Fate ties were speaking, it had to be important. “Let’s listen to them, then.” I shrugged, looking at the archway ahead. “Wait!” I gripped Vale’s wrist right as she made to step into the tunnel.
My sister was behind me, her defenses raised. “What is it?”
I nodded to the stone carving the entrance. “Endasi.” Faintly, framing the arch and barely visible in the mystlight, the Angelic script was etched into alabaster stone.
“It was above the entrance to the catacombs, too,” Santorina reminded us.
“I suppose we’re going the right way, then,” Mila said. “Can you read it, Tolek?”
I scanned the overly-intricate carving. Xenique loved ostentatious designs, it appeared. “Roughly,” I began. “Half of the seer’s treasure lies within.”
“The seer?” Malakai asked.
“Likely a way to hide Xenique’s name,” Mila guessed. “A way to refer to the power of Soulguider visions.”
Half of Xenique’s treasure. It was practically a map to the emblem itself.
“Let’s go then,” Malakai said, determined and nodding at Vale to lead the way. She tilted her head for a moment as if listening, then started down the tunnel.
Malakai, Mila, and Santorina followed first, but I hung back a step, checking the translation one more time.
“Come on, baby brother,” Lyria cooed, looping her arm through mine, and I walked along with her, hoping this time my translation was correct. Why only half of the treasure?
The tunnel was made of the same marble as the atrium, with veins of bronze that caught the mystlight flickering from sconces along the wide walls. Though not as towering as the entrance, the ceilings were high. How had a place this massive been built?
And how strong was the power that lay within to require such a cage?
Ahead of us, the others chatted quietly over the distant streams. Malakai bent low, whispering something in Mila’s ear that had a laugh bursting from her, adding some much-needed ease to this spirit-shrouded corridor. Lyria smiled at the sound ringing against the marble.
“You approve?” I nodded to Malakai and Mila up ahead.
“More than.” My sister flashed a dazzling smile, but it didn’t meet her eyes.
I put a hand on her shoulder, so slim beneath the leather. Had she always been that thin? I held her back a step. “Ria?”
