Page 50 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

I looked at Vanth, then nodded. “Let’s find this sorceress so we can get home. Ara is going to be waiting for me.”

“She will.” He started walking. “I caught a scent over here.”

I followed him to a well-hidden path. If not for his keen wolf senses, we might have missed the minimal signs that someone had walked here. They’d been careful, but a couple of the sparse plants were broken in a way thatcouldn’t be done by the wind. And considering the lack of wildlife, it couldn’t be blamed on a rodent.

We continued along a path that got more obvious with each step. As if the person who’d traveled it dropped their guard the higher up the mountain they climbed. The path slowly became a ledge, circling the mountainside. The drop got higher with each footfall, but we continued, the signs of travel too obvious to ignore.

Finally, we could see the end of the path leading us right into a cave. Vanth and I glanced at each other, silently judging the fact that this mysterious sorceress lived in a cave on top of a mountain. It was a little unoriginal. Though, I had to give her credit for the guard we’d slayed. It would have prevented most trespassers.

We slowed as we approached the cave, taking cautious steps until we reached the opening. Slowly, I peered into the mouth of the cave, expecting to see some indication of a home.

Instead, I saw only death.

The entire ground was littered with human skulls.

19

Lagina

We were in a tiny,hidden room with recessed shelves full of ancient books. Spiderwebs filled the corners and our feet shuffled across a thick layer of dust.

“I wonder how long this has been here,” Laera said, brushing her fingertips over the spine of one of the books.

I reached for one and it crumbled in my grip, the worn leather falling apart in my fingers. I gasped, then set it down, trying not to disturb the other tombs. “They aren’t much use to anyone anymore.”

“I don’t think that matters,” Laera said. “Look at this.”

I turned and noticed that Laera’s torch was on the ground, smoke rising from the extinguished flames. Several balls of glowing light hung around her,illuminating a wall covered in paintings. “No wonder they kept everyone out.”

I joined her at the wall, my lips parting in surprise as I took in the images. While the books were decaying, the paintings were as clear as if they had been applied this morning.

The entire wall was covered. Showing the topography of Athos, the temple we were currently standing under, and the palace. There were lines that I guessed were the future streets, long before anything else in the city was built.

There were people with glowing hands around the buildings and walking around the empty city. Then, there was a very clear burst of something bright that came from this temple, forming a gold bubble around it. There were two similar symbols near the palace. One in the area, I think, was now housing the stables, and the other in the space where the orchard now grew. An arch of gold spanned from each of them, covering the entire palace in a warm light.

“The shields,” I said in awe. I had to admit, I didn’t believe it was actually possible. There was a part of me that still wondered, but I’d seen magic. I’d felt it when they freed the magic under the city. There was so much I didn’t know. Why not a shield that could protect us?

“This whole time, you’ve been sitting on so much magic.” Laera shook her head. She traced her fingers over the lines and I noticed several of them converged at eachbright point. They weren’t roads. “What are they? The lines?”

“Ley lines. Natural veins of magic that flow in the earth. There’s a lot of them in Athos.” Laera turned to face me. “I don’t know how they got those shields to work, but I can take a look. Do you think you can find these locations?”

I returned my attention to the map and guessed that the source at the temple was in the back, behind the temple itself. It was a good place to put it. Nobody went around to the back. The way the temple was designed made it so the front faced lush vegetation and the back was near a cliffside of craggy rock. Very little grew back there.

“We should go,” Laera said. “Just in case there’s anything else down here.”

I didn’t need to be asked twice. With a nod, I turned and left the chamber. As soon as we stepped past the sliding door, it rattled and began to move, sealing the room from prying eyes.

Chills ran down my spine when I realized the door could have closed at any moment while we were in there. Suddenly feeling very claustrophobic, I stepped toward the ladder, ready to leave the darkness behind.

“Are you alright? No monsters?” Sophia asked as soon as she saw me climb through the trapdoor.

“No monsters,” I assured her.

“Thank the gods.” Her shoulders slumped in relief.

“Did you find anything?” Cora asked.

“We did,” I said.

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