Page 10 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

Was I angry enough to seek revenge on my own grandmother?

Hell fucking yeah.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Will you help me even if I don’t actually manage to do anything?”

He grinned wildly. “Yes, but I think there’s definitely more to you than meets the eye.”

I mulled it over. Was I really going to do this? Where did I even begin? “What do I do?”

Nox twirled in a circle, gleefully. “Pick a grave. Any grave.”

I looked around the mismatched styles of monuments in the cemetery. There were gold ones, red ones, even a bright green tree but, as I was casting my eyes around the space, something pulled my attention to a simple black headstone. There was just one letter emblazoned on it in gold: H.

“This one,” I said as I pointed to it, a hum bubbling like an overflowing brook under my skin. Something was pulling me closer, like a magnet, and I was powerless to stop my feet from moving towards it. I stretched out my hand and placed it on top of the headstone. As soon as my fingers touched the cool stone, a jolt of electricity shot through me.

“Wow,” I gasped. My skin felt electrified, buzzing with something I didn’t understand.

“I don’t think you should choose that one,” Nox shouted but his voice got lost on the wind that had started to swirl into a cacophony. I was acting on pure instinct here. I had no idea what I was doing, but whatever magic had curled up inside me when I arrived in the Underworld seemed to know exactly what it was doing.

My fingers glowed a bright, brilliant white and my hair whipped around me. I closed my eyes as the magic searched for something, but it was like swimming through sludge, pushing against a thick and gloopy substance. I was reaching out for something, but what?

A voice that was nothing more than a deep rumble called to me from the depths of the darkness.

“Closer.”

Shit. When did it get so cold?

“Closer, Raevyn.”

It knew my name. I did as the voice asked, reaching closer, stretching until I felt a hand latch on. It was hot and rough, the fingers covered in calluses.

“Pull me up, Raevyn.”

Should I? What if I was pulling up something horrifically dangerous?

I pulled my magic back towards me. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

But then it gripped my hand with a desperation I didn’t understand.

“Save me,” the voice whispered, and my heart lurched. I felt its agony, its despair, and the misery it had suffered. Tears filled my eyes. Somehow, I could feel everything this creature, whatever it was, had been through and it was agonising. I couldn’t leave it down there, wallowing in hopelessness.

So, I clutched tight, and I pulled.

There was a sharp sting as someone tapped my cheek repeatedly.

“Come on, Raevyn. Wake up.”

I groaned as life came back into my limbs and I opened my eyes. Nox’s face was hovering right above me, close enough that I could feel his breath across my lips. His thumb stroked across my cheek and his eyes were pinched with concern.

“Thank the Gods. I thought you’d died, pretty girl.”

Something warm blossomed as he used the nickname again. I barely knew the guy, but fuck, I was growing to like him. He was mischievous, crazy, and sweet. How could I not like him?

“Is it possible to die again?” I asked with a crooked grin.

“Fuck knows, but I’m glad you didn’t.” His gaze dropped to my lips, and he pulled one of his snake bites between his teeth, chewing on the piercing. My heart pounded in my chest as he leant closer. Fuck, he was going to kiss me. My eyelids fluttered closed as his lips brushed against mine.

“No!” someone roared before Nox was ripped away from me.

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