Page 94 of The Heir

You saw their blind spot?he asked, impressed.

Yes, only a brief opening.

Impressive—okay, I am coming.It took only a few minutes to feel Shad at my side.We still need to talk like this—just in case.His hand found my shoulder, and I could see him only a little in the light of the opening. His face buried itself into my hair, and I reached for him. He turned me to face him, and he smiled at me. His melody sang within me, along with my own. He pulled away too soon, and I breathed in slowly, and the fear and the desire was still pulsating between us.

“You, really, should not have come,”his voice came to my mind, and it seemed to ache with pain. I hated that I'd made him feel that way. I knew I was at risk and that he was trying to avoid that, but I couldn't let them all put themselves in danger for me, without me.

I have to try.

He stroked my cheek.

I understand why you are here; I just hope that whatever happens, you will stay close to me.

I nodded, unable to argue with him.

Let’s go.

Yes, okay,I replied to him through our bond. If Ryker had found the man who killed my parents, it was more about me than anyone else.Let's go save them.I pushed off from the wall.

Wait, Emma, I’ve had training in these sorts of missions as has Keil. Promise me that you will follow my lead?

I won't slow you down, I promise.

I am not worried about that. I am worried that you will get hurt—or worse—

I could see the look of pain in his eyes. I touched his hand, trying to assure him that I could, indeed, stand my ground.

Let’s go, Shad.

He nodded, took my hand in his, and we made our way through the cave.

As we wound around and through the twists and turns of the seemingly never-ending, cool, wet, and rocky passages, Shad navigated us by sensing Keil’s melody. He explained that there was a lack of melodies in the cave, which surprised him because of the number of guards that we had already slipped past—none of them had discernible melodies.

They must be Soulless,Shad said, as three guards marched past us. We slipped into a small alcove so we wouldn’t be seen. The cave seemed to channel the melodies that it held; however, from what Shad told me, it was making Keil easier to find. I only hoped that we would end up at the right place. The right place, however, was probably some sort of dungeon, which, let’s be honest, I wasn’t excited to enter.

What is a Soulless, exactly?

A Soulless is someone who had a soul’s melody, and it was stripped away.

So, how can a melody be stripped away?

I know two ways. One way is if a person guards or shields their melody for too long, and it becomes corrupt as a result. Eventually, the corruption strips away the notes of the melody, and it can never be replaced.

I shuttered. That sounded horrible.Everyone keeps using that word, what does that mean exactly: becoming corrupt?

It just means that they let the Corruptor entice them. We believe after someone loses their melody in this way, the Corruptor gains a new soul.Footsteps sounded down the tunnel, and Shad pushed me to the side of the cave, listening.

Who is this Corruptor? Like the Devil?I tried really hard not to shiver, but I was finding it extremely difficult.

No one really knows who he is. There are rumors that he came from the traitor, King Falcon–May he rot in themountain. I have heard humans here talk about this ‘devil.’ He is a dark being, yes?Shad looked at me as we finally heard the guards’ footsteps soften, and then, eventually, they fell silent.

The Devil—uh, he lives in Hell; he’s the opposite of God—the bad guy; evil,I replied through my soul as he took my hand and led me from our hiding place back into one of the main tunnels.

Yes, humans here have different names for the Ancients and the Creator, I remember. Yes, the Corruptor would be like the Devil if he was the opposite of the Ancients and the Creator—or I mean, God. Every realm calls them by different names.

The cave was pitch black, and our way of navigating without face-planting in its blackness was by feeling the jagged walls with our hands. The walls of the cave were sharp and coated with dirt and grime. My fingers were soon raw, and I left blood on everything I touched, but because it was so cold, I felt more numb the deeper we traveled into the passages. Our melodies were silent for a time as we weaved in and out of the tunnels and passageways, but dread started boiling up within me, and I needed to talk to make the situation that we were in seem less dire, even if it was just a distraction.

What is the second way?

---