Page 191 of Bloodguard

“Luther and his wife must be dancing,” he says, smiling despite our circumstance.

“And his son and all their cousins, from the sounds of it,” I respond, feigning levity of my own. “You did a good thing, you know. Making him the castle librarian. He seems so happy now.”

“He’s suited to it,” Leith says, resuming our descent. “He’s clever and organized.”

“And the only one who can reach all the books,” I add, laughing.

It’s a forced laugh, and he knows it. We spent the last week in meetings with our new high general, Caelen, and his handpicked officers, discussing the state of Arrow and the changes we plan to institute. Discontent is brewing in every realm. Disasters, natural and political, are on the rise. In Aurora’s absence, all of Old Erth has begun to die.

“This is the right decision,” I say, and Leith nods solemnly.

His eyes, full of love and trust, meet mine, and for a fleeting moment, I wish we were not king and queen—that we were everyday people in a healthy world where we could just be together, the two of us, at leisure to remain in each other’s arms as long as we wish.

The torch closest to us flickers as a wave of heat wafts up the stairs, and we continue because we are not everyday people in a healthy world. We are the King and Queen of Arrow.

We round a curve where darkness awaits to swallow us whole. Without releasing my hand, Leith lights the next torch and five more after that.

It seems to take forever to reach the maze of bones, but when Leith pauses, his shoulders square, and the heat climbs from suffocating to torturous, I know we’ve reached Aurora’s realm.

“Shit,” he says. “Just…shit.” He looks across the vast cemetery of bones. When formulating our plans, we discussed the layout and particulars of the catacombs, but hearing about it and experiencing it firsthand are entirely different.

In silence, we walk through the stifling heat for what feels like an eternity until we finally reach the area beneath the arena.

It’s lighter down here, though not a single torch has been lit. Instead, a soft glow emanates from behind a pair of massive, golden gates. Dust rises as Leith steps onto the cavern floor, and the hem of my green-and-navy gown scatters even more.

I allow Leith to lead. I can tell he’s feeling protective, now more than ever. Perhaps it’s because, like me, he senses the souls that will forever haunt this place where their bones lie carelessly discarded. A cruelty even we cannot undo.

We begin to ascend the small hill. The very one I sprinted so long ago to stop Grandmother from killing that poor girl. Only for me to…

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks just before we reach the top.

I stop a little too abruptly, then gather my wits and motion to his arm, where the full Bloodguard insignia glows. It’s not as bright as when the mage first finished the last stroke of the crown, but just enough to remind him what it means, what extra bit of magic was infused in the ink to link our lives. “Are you sure you want to dothis?” I ask, tapping his forearm.

He pulls me to him, the love behind each brush of his lips against mine lifting the dread we’ve shared since deciding to leave our marriage celebration and descend to this morbid place. At the time, it felt like this couldn’t wait a moment longer. Now that I’m here… I’m pretty sure it could’ve waited until tomorrow.

He pulls away, his soft smile the sunshine I need in this darkness. “You’re stuck with me, my qu—” His smile widens to show me his teeth. “No,my wife.As long as you live, so shall I.”

I choke out a laugh and don’t even fight the prickling in my eyes. It’s the good kind of tears this time, ones overflowing from a heart that knows Leith will always be mine.

Human lives are so painfully short, whereas we elves are functionally immortal, unless mortally wounded. It’s something I chose not to dwell on before, back when I was more concerned about Leith living through the week than the ages. After all, I would rather spend the rest ofmyexistence missing him than fail to love Leith for even a moment of his own. It is a pain I was willing to accept for the privilege of having him now.

But the mage who placed his tattoo told me that the Bloodguard insignia could be imbued with something else. A stronger kind of magic. One borne of love and sacrifice. One that would tie his life to mine. By agreeing to this, illness and years would not kill him, but should he fall, my own existence would end.

I worried he wouldn’t agree, that I’d have to fight for the right to be vulnerable for him. But there was no hesitation. Despite his instinct to protect the ones he loves to the point of self-destruction…Leith looked into my eyes and choseus. And in that moment, I fell for him all over again. Not only as the gladiator he was but the man, the king, thehusbandhe promised to be.

We reach the top of the incline, the gold metal bars of Aurora’s cage shimmering from base to tip.

Leith stares hard at Aurora’s cage, then nods. “All right. Okay. Let’s do this.”

We ease our way forward. The mound of ash that makes up Aurora’s nest is now unnervingly enormous. As I approach the bars, Leith hooks my arm through his. I think he’s worried about me being so close to the cage, though I’ve seen that she can do plenty of damage—whether by tongue or flame—from inside of it. Eventually he motions for me to go to the left of the golden bars while he moves toward the right. I gasp, choking on the sweltering heat as I shuffle the sand at the base of the gate with my feet. There, just like Papa said, partially buried, is a locking system similar to the one Leith has just uncovered on the opposite side.

Leith and I look at each other. Papa’s ability to speak has been improving, but he is still hard to understand sometimes. What we could make out is where the mechanism was, that he’d overheard Grandmother and Vitor talking about it, and that it took two to open it. He didn’t know the particulars of how it operates because it has never been opened since Aurora’s capture and imprisonment. My attention bounces between both devices. Again, equal in appearance, save that the one on the left is affixed to the bars, and the one on the right to the base.

“It makes sense that it would require two people to open it,” Leith says as we meet in the middle so we can keep our voices low and not disturb Aurora. He swipes the sweat beading along his brow with the back of his hand and briefly glances at the bloodied, ashen floor. “It wouldn’t be right for one person to hold her captive or free her. The responsibility is too great.”

“It is.” I squeeze his hand. “Our people have benefitted from holding her at the expense of our neighbors.”

“The people of Arrow are strong,” he says, brushing my hair over my shoulder. “Resourceful and resilient. We have stores of food to last for a while if things get tough.”

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