Page 121 of An Inheritance of Monsters

The monster straightened up, his leathery wings flapping bits of glowing water around, and he crouched over me a moment later.

Juno. Clawed hands flipped me over, and my bones shrieked in protest.Juno, wake up.

I blinked, realizing that enough luminescent water had come through that I couldseehim. “I’m awake, Zirin. I just… hurt.”

A lot. My entrance back into the human world hadn’t been gentle, and beneath the physical pain was a sad, shameful ache.

The Dagonites had taken Jack, and I’d watched his lifeblood flow into the sea. How had he even gotten there? Had a doorway opened for him… or had the Dagonites found a way through?

The last thought made me shiver involuntarily, and Zirin carefully lifted me so I was sitting up.You will freeze, Juno. And then Rask will murder me for allowing you to die of the cold.

A tiny half-smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “I guess we can’t have that.”

Zirin sighed, one of his longer facial tentacles gently exploring my face and hair, looking for wounds.It is no joke.

“I know. He’s really concerned about me and being cold.” For Zirin’s sake, I made an effort to get to my feet, climbing out of the puddles of glowing water and clutching one of his arms.

He was no longer the size of an Elder, but he still towered over me by several feet. I leaned against him for a moment, coughing a few stray drops of water out of my lungs, and looked around.

The floor was made of stone, smooth chunks set in odd configurations that seemed to have an overarching pattern, but my eyes couldn’t make sense of it in the gloom.

The water that had come in with the sea wasn’t bright enough to illuminate the ceiling I’d fallen through, but I could make out a wall in the distance.

Zirin was at my side as I walked towards it, sloshing through the puddles until I could reach out and touch the neat brickwork.

“Well, we’re definitely in the manor.” I turned around, trying desperately to peer through the darkness. “The only question iswhere.”

Zirin sucked in a breath, and at the same time, my eyes landed on one of the glowing puddles. The luminescence was curved in a sharp L, as though the puddle had surrounded something solid.

Score. I sloshed that way, Zirin still hovering over me protectively—until he stopped.

I turned around. “Aren’t you coming?”

He crouched down, pressing his knuckles to the floor, wings folded tightly against his back.I am not permitted to come that close.

“That close to what?”

He shook his head, eyes focused on whatever was behind me.It is for your eyes alone.

I swallowed hard. “I’ll be right back, then.”

It was much less comforting to stride into the dark without a monster at my back.

My toes were aching from the pervasive chill as I drew closer to the odd shape, which my eyes were just barely able to pick out from the rest of the shadows.

It was only thanks to the luminescent water that I could see the edges of the obelisk’s form, a single large chunk of stone rising towards the unseen ceiling.

And beneath my feet, the chaos of concentric circles in the stones were growing tighter and tighter, a pattern that felt like they were drawing me in.

I paused inches from the stone, my hand raised.

Something seemed to tug at me, like a cord tied to my ribs and drawing me closer, urging me on.

Wherever we were… this was where I needed to be.

Knowing Zirin lurked in the darkness behind me made it easier to reach out and press my fingertips to the obelisk.

I almost jerked back. In defiance of the cold around us, the surface of the obelisk was as smooth as glass and warm, almost hot compared to the chill in the air.

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