Page 80 of From the Myths of Kings

“Who did this to you?” Rook asked furiously.

Saoirse’s mouth went dry as she thought about Selussa’s ink-black eyes and serrated teeth mere inches from her face. She almost couldn’t bring herself to vocalize the dreadful truth of it all. The truth knotted her tongue, refusing to come out.

She felt Rook’s hand slide along her upper arm, gently massaging her aching muscles. She could’ve cried at his comforting touch, but she had already spent all of her tears. She took a deep breath, wincing at the fire that burned on the edges of her lungs. She opened her eyes and found Hasana examining her expression, a wrinkle of concern between her dark brows.

She quickly identified the cause of Saoirse’s discomfort and asserted, “Your last dose of titansblood is almost out.”

“Selussa has the third Relic.” The truth tumbled off her tongue like a bitter curse. “She has played us all for fools.”

She proceeded to tell them about how Selussa had devised her masterful plan to steal the Moonstone Shard right out from under their noses. She described how the Sea Witch had bargained with Sloane and shape-shifted into the Terradrin princess just before their arrival. How she’d developed the trials with Grivur in the hopes they would locate the Relic for her. With each new revelation, they all grew visibly appalled.

When she finally caught them up to the present, a hitch of emotion caught in her voice as she said, “Tezrus sacrificed himself to save me. To save all of us.”

Hasana raised a hand to her lips, her eyes flooding with tears at the news of his death.

Neia’s eyes darkened. “How could this have happened? First Rymir, and then this?”

“I know,” Saoirse whispered weakly. “Nothing has gone the way we planned.”

She thought of how Tezrus’s hands went limp between her own and she felt a sharp pain spear through her chest. When the war council convened in Bezhad, they’d all been so full of hope and confidence. But little by little, their painstaking plans had unraveled until only mere threads were left. Their organized rebellion had dissolved overnight, half of them chained in the bowels of a ship bound for the dungeons of Aurandel and the rest scattered throughout the Isles of Mythos for the relief efforts. More than ever, Saoirse longed to see Aurelia again. A crack had formed in her heart on the day she left Aurelia standing on that dock in the harbor. Now, the crack had grown into a gaping hole. How many threads would snap between them?

“We cannot change the past,” Hasana interjected. The rebel leader in her flared to life as she began strategizing their next move. “What’s done is done. What we do next is what matters. Grivur’s guards are likely combing through these tunnels as we speak. Once his beloved daughter chased after us through the gates with Tezus, he wouldn’t have wasted any time sending them after her. What should we do?”

Saoirse held out the obsidian vial. “We use this. Tezrus believed we could open a Blood Gate and escape the Under Kingdom once and for all.”

Hasana took the flask and turned it over in her palms, glowing magic pooling in her hands as she examined the vial with her healing magic. “This is filled with blood. But not just any blood. This doesn’t feel entirely mortal.”

Saoirse nodded. “It’s filled with Selussa’s blood. Part of it, anyway. When I made the bargain with her, we exchanged vials of blood as a testament to our agreement. I kept it all this time. According to ancient stone-singer legend, a Blood Gate can be created with the blood of a dying innocent and the blood of a god. Tezrus gave his own blood so we could free ourselves.”

“Where does a Blood Gate lead?” Rook asked.

Saoirse ran a hand through her sweat-matted hair, already dreading what came next. Pursing her lips, she answered sheepishly, “The Underworld.”

Her companions gaped at her. Even to her own ears, it sounded mad.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but I think Tezrus is right. He had a theory that Selussa was banished to the Underworld through the creation of a Blood Gate during the first war with the Titans. We don’t have time to go into the details now, but I believe his theory. Besides, we don’t have any other choice at this point. We lose nothing by trying.”

For a long moment, none of them said anything. Rook’s grasp on her shoulder tightened and his azure eyes grew resolute. “If you believe him, so do I. We will trust you.”

“We’re out of options,” Hasana agreed. “If Tezrus believed in this Blood Gate, then we must at least try. I think I saw a vein of Bloodstone not far from here. Let’s go.”

“Wait,” Saoirse said softly. “My mother. I cannot abandon her here. I promised to free her. If we leave now, we may never come back to the Under Kingdom. And we need her secrets. She is the only one alive who read the secret letters of Queen Cira. She’s the only one who knows the whole truth about what happened during the first war of the Titans, and potentially the only one who knows how to truly defeat them. The Myths of Old are a lie. She is our only source of truth.”

“You three go,” Neia ordered decisively. “I’ll find your mother. I know these tunnels better than anyone. I’ll free her.”

“No. You’ll be killed,” Hasana interrupted. “None of us are splitting up again.”

“Hasana is right, the underguards are already swarming these tunnels. If you look for Eleyera’s cell, you’ll be caught. There isn’t any time to free her and join back up with us at the Bloodstone.”

“I’m not going with you,” Neia replied soundly. “I’m going to release her from imprisonment and free her from the Under Kingdom. I’ll sneak her out while you descend into the Underworld.”

Saoirse was stunned. “Neia, no. You cannot take such a risk. The underguards will find you.”

“No, they won’t. Like I said, I know these tunnels better than anyone. I’ve patrolled every inch of the Under Kingdom. I could navigate it blindfolded. I didn’t know your mother was imprisoned in the flooded tunnels, but I can find her easily enough using your descriptions. And most importantly, they won’t be looking for me alone. They’ll be scouring the Garden of Gods for hours. They won’t consider that I escaped on my own. They’ll think I mysteriously vanished with the three of you.”

“Neia. I can’t ask you to do this. You could be killed.”

Neia’s eyes grew pleading. She clutched Saoirse’s hands and squeezed adamantly. “I need to make it up to you, Saoirse. I need to make it up to all those innocents killed during Grivur’s inquisition. Freeing your mother is the least I can to atone for all my mistakes. If I cannot bring back all those souls I took, at least I can bring Eleyera back to the land of the living. I promise I’ll get her out safely. She’ll feel the sun on her face again if it’s the last thing I do. And I need to stop Rymir. He’s taking our crew to Coarinth as we speak, and he doesn’t know the truth about his father. I need to stop him before he continues his crusade.”

---