Page 95 of The Sacred and the Tormented

He tried to memorize the marked points along various roads, then his eyes caught on a line running straight through the mountains. Talon’s heart sank.

He knew. Despite Conall’s beliefs, Vairik had known where the rebels were all along. Which meant he might already know they were here.

Shit.

He needed to find Arianna and get her out of here. It’d been a trap from the very beginning. He should have known better, they all should have.

Talon stepped back, ready to move when another mark grabbed his attention. A red ring surrounded one place. Whoever had circled it had done it several times while also pinning a black flag over top.

Levea.

There was only one other location marked with a black flag. Ruadhán.

His mouth went dry.

They couldn’t have. Avalon had just received messages from their capitol city before he’d left. They had Nàdair’s royal army as back up. Vairik couldn’t conquer two High Lords at once.

Could he?

No, it was circled in red. Ruadhán wasn’t, which meant it was likely just in the plans.

But why Levea? Was it revenge for Ruadhan’s fall? Did Vairik finally want to come out of hiding and stake his claim there?

Talon scanned the map again. Colors dotted the land and sea but he couldn’t make sense of them. Talon wished he had time to write it all down. They couldn’t take a map of this size with them, not with the markers remaining intact.

Talon glanced at Raevina again. “We already knew your father was working with Vairik.”

Raevina whirled on him, her eyes flashing like molten steel. “You don’t understand. Our mountain. Our jewels, the very land is sacred. It’s meant to be—” She stopped herself, her fists clenched and body shaking. “He let the Dark Fae taint the land. He’s using it as a breeding ground for those monsters. There are creaturesinside. In the sacred bowels of our mountain. No one is supposed to go down there, we have—” she stopped herself again. “I’ll kill him. I’ll kill them both.”

Talon had no idea what she was talking about. No one really knew much about Fiadh or the mysterious Shadow Weavers they kept hidden from the rest of the world. The only thing he knew about the female in from of him was her drive to restore her honor. Raevina took the failure of her ancestors very seriously.

Talon tried to get her to focus. “Did you get everything you need here?” They still had several rooms to sort through. Even with the rebel’s help, they couldn’t afford to linger.

She glared at him. “No, I still need—” The ground shuddered beneath their feet, and Talon grabbed onto the desk with one arm, wrapping his other around Raevina’s waist. She reached for him in turn, one hand clutching his bicep as they waited for the spell to pass.

“The hell was that?” he asked, voice low and tense.

“We have to go.” She rushed from his grip and Talon gave the desk a final look over before scrambling after her.

“What do you mean, what was—”

Raevina looked up and down the hall before bolting down one side, sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her.

Talon ran past an open door, half expecting to find their new companions within, but the space was empty.

He could have sworn—Talon didn’t have time to finish the thought as Raevina darted around a corner and away from his line of sight.

“Wait,” he called after her. “Where are you going?”

She didn’t stop or answer. Raevina just kept moving as if she could outrun the wind itself.

They passed another set of doors. The lighting around him shifted, turning darker, as if part of them had winked out. He blinked against the sudden shift, then drew his blade, ready to take on those likely hiding in the shadows. Even if those fromPádraigín couldn’t manipulate his mind, they could still hide their bodies, blending them with the environment.

Talon passed another open door and did a double take at the desk inside. His eyes roamed over the papers littering the floor and the broken bits of wood scattered across the lush carpet.

“Raevina,” he called in warning. She didn’t stop or acknowledge him.

Talon cursed under his breath, yanking his sleeve back, relief flooding through him at the sight of the rune still glowing faintly. The runes on his bracelet were fading though, as if too much time had passed.

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