“We no longer mourn the dead,” Locke added coldly, though his expression softened as he stared at me intently.
I locked eyes with the vampire, and there was something in his gaze that told me he wasn’t sure if he believed that anymore.
“You guys coming?” Soren called out, and I turned my head to see he and Lyr had stopped before the door of a large marble-stone crypt.
We hurried over, passing rows of tombstones to get there.
“Is this the place?” Kade growled when we’d reached them.
Lyr shared a look with Soren before turning back to us. “It is. But before we enter, there’s something you should know.”
Asher folded his arms across his chest and widened his stance. “Let me guess, the king isn’t alone down there?”
Lyr shifted on her feet. “When we entombed King Adrien here in the years after the curse, we didn’t do it alone. Vasken, one of the queen’s personal guards, helped us to seal him in.”
Soren ruffled his wings before pulling them in tighter. “We trapped the king in a tomb and sealed the stone with magic.”
“But the king isn’t the issue,” Lyr went on. “Vasken was very close to the queen, and he didn’t do so well when we couldn’t find her. Vasken helped Queen Izla escape that day when she created the curse, and King Adrien captured him and tortured him mercilessly for it. After we rescued Vasken and entombed the king, Vasken became obsessed with the idea that he had to stay in the crypt and make sure King Adrien never escaped. He insisted it was his duty.”
“Wait, so you’re telling us that this guard, Vasken, has been down there all this time?” I asked in surprise.
Lyr’s expression was filled with regret. “I visited often and tried to convince him that he didn’t need to remain there, but as the years passed, he always refused to leave.”
“We haven’t entered this crypt in decades,” Soren added grimly. “Not after the last time.”
“What happened?” Kade asked.
Sadness filled Lyr’s eyes. “Vasken lost himself completely,”
Soren lifted his hand as if he was tracing an invisible scar on his jaw. “We were taken off guard when he attacked us in his shifted form. We nearly didn’t make it out of there in one piece.”
“In the years before that, Vasken had begun rambling and yelling at us to not let the king out,” Lyr replied. “I think he came to believe that anyone who goes down there is going to free the king, and he’s willing to do whatever he can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Darian eyed the crypt like he could see the creature within. “What type of shifter is he?”
Lyr looked uneasy when she replied, “He’s a chimera. One of the strongest we’ve seen.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but Asher let out a low whistle, and Kade cracked his neck like he was getting ready to shift.
“Good thing we’re not here to remove the king, then,” I said sarcastically, pretending to be chipper.
Locke stared intently at me, and I almost thought he was going to ask me to wait outside or something stupid, but he only held my gaze as he pulled out his swords.
My hand went to the hilt of my blade, but Kade drew my attention to him. “We need to know that you won’t do anything reckless, Mahare,” he said, his golden eyes flashing. “Just because you’re a dragon shifter, doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”
I freed my sword, glad to have the weapon in my hands. “And to think when you met me, you couldn’t wait to put me in dangerous situations,” I joked light-heartedly. “What happened?”
Kade stepped closer until his chest was pressed against mine. “You know what happened,” he growled, his hungry gaze fixing on my face as he lifted his hand to run his thumb across my lower lip.
Well, damn.Trust the wolf shifter to find a way to get me all hot and bothered right before a fight.
Lyr cleared her throat, and Kade stared at me for a moment longer before stepping back.
“Not that I want to break this up, but we’re burning daylight,” the tiger shifter said. “We need to get this done and transport King Adrien back to the camp. Everyone ready?”
When no one protested, she turned to the crypt door and forced it open.
~ Kade ~
