Page 97 of The Evernight Court

And I needed to find Valentine before he awakened the dragon and doomed us both.

The beasts that had chased me up the mountain had retreated behind the large trees. I could hardly make out their red eyes as they followed me, but I didn’t bother to make sure they wouldn’t attack. If they did, there wasn’t much I could do about it, so I focused on my legs, on putting one foot in front of the other as fast as I could.

Fuck, it hurt. Everything hurt and the more I moved, the more the numbness faded to leave way for the pain. But the narrow tunnel that led into the tomb was dark and water trickled in thin streams on its floor, and if I wasn’t careful, I could slip. If I slipped, I wouldn’t be able to get up again.

So, I ignored the pain and held onto the sharp edges of the stone surrounding me, and I made my way into the tomb within a couple of minutes.

The vastness of the inside of that mountain took me off guard all over again, just as it had that first time. It was open, the ceiling as high as the mountain top, the ground uneven and full of sharp edges. Water everywhere, thin streams coming from the turquoise pool at the heart of it, the bright glow of which illuminated every inch of the tomb.

On the other side of the turquoise pool rose a big black rock about ten feet wide, atop which lay Syra, her body perfectly still, her skin almost grey. To look at her you’d be sure she was only a corpse—but she wasn’t. She was still alive.

And the white dragon that was probably taller than thismountain when he stood up on his hind legs had wrapped his talons and neck and tail all around that black rock as he slept, breathing once a minute. Whatever magic the sirens had put on him, it worked wonders. He must have been here since the very beginning, and his scales hadn’t cracked the way those of old dragons did. They hadn’t lost their color, either—his were a bright white, and his horns, his barbs and claws were intact, too. He was perfectly preserved.

Across from them, on this side of the pool, was Valentine, watching the guardian and Syra with his mouth wide open.

It was so strange to see him there—a dark figure against the bright turquoise light of the pool. I moved forward in a rush and stepped into a puddle of water, and in the absolute silence of the cave, the sound echoed all the way to the top of the mountain.

Valentine turned.

It was obvious to see that he hadn’t expected me to be here. The shock in his eyes was perfectly visible, and he didn’t bother to try to hide it.

I raised my finger to my lips to tell him to keep his mouth shut because if that dragon woke up…

Except Valentine didn’t fucking care.

“I’ll be damned,” he said in a hushed whisper, forcing me to move faster.

“Keep it down,” I hissed, my attention on the dragon behind him, still asleep.

But helaughed.

Valentine laughed as I approached him, and not because he was amused or entertained. The sound of it was bitter and so much louder than my footfall on that puddle.

“I’ll be damned, brother. You’re alive.” He shook his head, still smiling in disbelief. “This place has either made me insane already, or you’re still alive.”

“I am, but I won’t be for much longer ifthatwakes up—and neither will you.” I pointed my finger at the dragon, expecting it to move any second now.

Valentine wasn’t bothered in the least. He just looked at me like that still, like I was the most fascinating, horrendous thing he’d ever come across.

“Oh, but it’s already too late,” Valentine said.

“No, it isn’t,” I said, and had I been any stronger, I’d have grabbed him and flown out of here in a blink of an eye by now. As it was, the best I could do was reach out my hand toward him. “Valentine, let’s get out of here. We’ll talk outside.”

“Talk?” he said, and again, he laughed. Again, that sound echoed all over the cave, shaking its walls. “Why would I want to talk toyou, Grey? You’re already as good as dead. I’m not going to even bother with you.”

This goddamn prick.

“Valentine, you have no idea?—”

The ground groaning like a wild beast cut me off.

Valentine smiled. “Like I said,too late.”

The dragon guardian opened his eyes.

They were the exact same color as the water of that pool, and they, too, emitted a bit of light. His black pupils were slit, and a low growl came from deep within his throat as he slowly raised his head, then put his talons over the rock where Syra lay, caging her body between them.

“Valentine!” I shouted, reaching out to grab his arm to pull him back, but he jerked me away.

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