His gaze snapped to hers. “Oh, yeah? What makes you think that?”
“The hesitance in your eyes,” she purred then leaned in. “Theweakness.”
Vesper snorted. “So you have me all figured out, huh?”
Her eyes crinkled as she said, “I guess you don’t want my help.”
“Your help? Why would I wantyourhelp?”
“Because,” she drawled, “I happen to know a thing or two since my family had the oldest texts on them. And my family line hailed fromShadowhearts. Seems it’s not passed to all young through blood. But you wouldn’t know that, would you?” Kyrith flipped her hair and spun. “I want this disease gone as much as you do. But since you’re such an expert, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
She was right. He didn’t know what he was doing. And if he failed—
That wasn’t an option.
She only made it a step before Vesper caught her wrist. Her eyes snapped down to where he held her and his stomach did a spectacular flip full of nerves, something foreign, and the fear she’d castrate him right here as she glared.
“Wait,” he said softly. “What would you ask? For help. If I asked you to help me, what would you want in return?” Gods,he sounded like a bloody idiot. Her gaze seared into him and he dropped his hand.
“If it gets rid of the bloodlace,” her stare flicked to him, “I’ll sacrifice my sanity and help you. Just remember it’s purely out of pity.” She strutted away, swaying her lush hips as she went, then called back over her shoulder, “On my terms, pretty boy.”
Heart in his throat, Vesper stared after her. What did he just ask for?
Fuck, he’d just volunteered for a special kind of torture.
A hand clapped Vesper on the shoulder and he tilted his face to meet Thorrin’s smiling eyes. “Well done,” he said. “It seems the gods haven’t given up on us yet. Because here you are.”
“Right,” he muttered. Zyphirahadsent him here, so maybe the gods did want him to save these people. But he found himself staring after Kyrith and that stream of thought drifted off. “Is she always that mean?”
Thorrin’s eyes widened. “Mean?” He barked a laugh muffled by his skeletal mask. “That’s her being nice.”
Vesper swallowed hard, knowing full well if that was her kindness, he wouldn’t survive her cruel side. He shook the thought loose and focussed back on the task at hand. “So, Thorrin, what do you say? Was that display up to your grand expectations, or should I have Kaida put on a real show?”
Thorrin’s smile stole his breath. “Looks like we have a deal.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
EMMERY
As they wandered the labyrinth, Emmery’s chest tightened with each of Destonne’s ragged breaths. His hand in hers teetered on new territory, and held such fragile trust between them that, even as her fingers numbed from his firm hold, she didn’t complain. Instead, she let him borrow her strength and Brennen offered his too with each brush against the King’s pant leg.
In her other hand she cupped her fire, clinging to its light and warmth like a final drink of water before a drought. It seemed the farther they travelled into the labyrinth, the more her powersdulled and her flame dwindled. Her heart raced and palms slickened with sweat as it only worsened.
The hallways of the fortress stretched on and each twist and turn led them in a circle of doom. Only after hours of trudging through the stone corridors did the air shift and a faint waft of smoke penetrate the dampness.
Tugging Destonne along behind her, Emmery’s pace quickened. In her pursuit of that promising warmth of fire, she rounded a corner, only for her legs to freeze. Destonne nearly bowled her over but steadied her by her shoulders. They both gawked at what lay ahead.
The labyrinth opened into a high-ceilinged room, illuminated by two massive basins of fire in each corner. On the far end, a figure lounged in a ridiculously highbacked chair carved from obsidian, shiny enough for the flames to reflect off the surface. As the stranger lifted their head, Emmery’s breath snagged. For all she knew, it could have been Guardian Kaah. The only identifiable difference was this Guardian’s gray cloak shielded its face, rather than Kaah’s parchment-coloured one. This Guardian’s antlers spiked through its hood, and its body bowed in a predatory way.
As the Guardian clicked its claws together, Emmery’s skin pebbled and she became a statue purely from fear.
Thankfully Senka was nowhere to be seen.
“Welcome children of Deimos and Kahlia. I am Guardian Feylan,” it said. Its deep, smoky voice rang in Emmery’s mind as its grin of sharp canines threaded a cold chill up her spine. “Shall we begin?”
When she met the Guardian’s milky-white eyes, Emmery’s flame died out, and the unnerving stare seemed to fixate on her.
Only her.