Page 68 of The Shadow Heir

A frustrated sigh escaped my lips, and I began tracing the artwork again, faster, my fingers having memorized its sweeping lines.

There.

Along one of the lines in the carved dragon wing was a hole that hadn’t been there before. My heart skipped as I traced over it again. Had I not traced it a dozen times without the stone in place, I wouldn’t have noticed the difference. But I was certain this was a new indentation. I pressed my finger into the small hole.

The entire image sank into the wall as the glowing light above my head blinked out.

I was plunged into darkness and shivered as the icy cold air washed over me.

Using my hands as a guide, I stepped forward. The stone wall swung open at my touch, and I tensed in shock as the wall gave way to a passage that smelled of snow and howled with distant wind.

On either side, rough rock walls formed a narrow tunnel that glowed with a dim light coming from up ahead. The light was so faint, however, that I could only see a jagged line where the tunnel curved to the right. I carefully hurried forward, bracing my hands on the walls, but before I’d taken two steps, Iremembered that Ariana hadn’t returned from her last visit to this place.

I backed out of the tunnel and exhaled loudly as my feet met the polished hall floor once again. Pressing one hand to my chest, I tried to calm my breathing as I stared into the darkened tunnel. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed a strange shape at the base of the tunnel wall. I assumed it was the uneven rock, but as I squinted at it, I gasped.

The faintest tint of red hair met my eyes.

“Ariana!”

She was jammed up against the base of the tunnel wall, like she’d been shoved aside to let others pass. She wasn’t moving, and her arm was limp and cold when I grabbed it.

But not as cold as a corpse would be. A faint pulse tapped against my fingers as I held her wrist. She was alive.

I tugged until she was sitting up in my arms and heaved her out of the tunnel as well as I could. She was taller than me, and her limp weight made it difficult to maneuver her out of the narrow space. As soon as we were in the hallway once again, I laid her gently on the smooth floor and stepped back, hands pressed to my head as I pondered where to go, who to tell, and how best to help her.

Only one face came to mind. I grabbed the small ruby from the carving and tucked it back in my pocket. The door quickly closed and solidified into wall once again. And as it did, the light above me glowed to life.

I told her unconscious body that I would be right back with help and raced up the stairs to find Casimiro.

28

Zara

As soon as my hand touched the cool metal knob of the heir’s private quarters, a wave of nerves raced up my arm, lifting every hair and tickling the back of my neck. I was still full of adrenaline from finding Ariana, that was all. I took a deep breath and glanced down at the stone in my hand one more time. He healed mortals. He’d given me the stone. He would help. Hewould. I had to trust that he could heal Ariana.

Before I even knocked, the door cracked open, and Cas peeked out at me. His brows lifted and he propped one elbow up on the doorframe, waiting for me to explain myself.

“I found her. She’s not dead, but she’s unconscious.”

His arm lowered and he pushed the door open wider. “Whoa, slow down, little spark.”

“Ariana. She’s been trapped in there for two weeks. I don’t know how she’s not dead, but we can’t waste any more time.”

Cas tilted his head. “You said trapped.”

“Yes, in a secret passage.”

“Which one?”

“It’s outside the library.”

He rubbed his chin, where dark stubble was growing. “The dragon’s lair.”

“The what?”

He stepped into the hall and closed his door. “You said she’sinthere?”

I nodded. “She disappeared in there two weeks ago—that’s when they said she fell ill. It took me that long to figure out how to open it. It’s all my fault.”

---