Page 88 of Heart of the Shadow King

“Vor!”

I peer through the swirling dust. Part of the ceiling has buckled, and Faraine, still bound, hangs at an odd angle. Her face is twisted in pain.

Surging to my feet, I rush to her side. “Are you hurt?” I ask, running my hands over her limbs, searching for breaks. She shakes her head, but her teeth are gritted. Her soft human hide was not made to take such a beating. Growling, I grip the chains, determined to pull them free. Another chunk of ceiling gives way. Rock and debris shower down on our heads. But the chains won’t give. Cursing, I look down into Faraine’s eyes, shot through with terror and gleaming in the dust-filteredlorstlight. “I must find Sul.”

“No!” She shakes her head frantically.

“There’s no other way.”

“Another stirring is coming.” She shudders and twists against the manacles. “I feel it, I feel . . . her.”

“Who?”

“Arraog.”

Ice ripples through my blood. Deeper Dark devour me! Why did I not send Faraine away at once? Why did I allow Hael a few more hours of recovery? They should be far from here by now. But I was weak. Selfish. “I will find him,” I say, crushed by the sheer futility of the task. “I will find my brother, and I will free you.”

Faraine squeezes her eyes shut. Two tears escape, streaking down her face. Her face, which I had just washed with such care, filmed in dirt yet again. “You must go, Vor. You must get away. Don’t come back for me.”

“No!” I wrap her in my arms, press her to my breast. “I will return! You must believe me. I will—”

She cries out. In the same moment, something burns against my thigh. It’s so sudden, so sharp, I startle and back up a step. Frowning, I plunge a hand into my trouser pocket. My fingers close around the sharp edges of theurzulstone. It’s hot to the touch, and when I pull it out, it casts a soft sphere of pale blue light despite the darkness at its center.

“I can feel it!” Faraine yanks on her chains, momentarily forgetting they restrain her, hands reaching for that stone. “I can feel it through the lead!”

“What?”

“Quick, Vor.” Her eyes lock fast on mine. “There’s a cut on my arm. Press that stone to the blood.”

“Faraine, I—”

“Just do it!”

Still, I hesitate. She’s a witch after all. She was placed in this chamber to contain powers which have already proven devastating.

Then again, she’s already enstoned half the city. What more damage could she do?

I find the long stripe of crimson running down her arm, a wound sustained by the falling stones from the ceiling. Trying not to think about what I do, I press the crystal to her flesh, let her blood flow over it. Faraine utters a terrible groan. Closing her eyes, her head sags to her breast. “Faraine?” I cry, ready to throw the stone aside. Another rumble sounds from deep below. The room begins to shake, the walls buckling. I stagger, nearly lose my grip on theurzul. My other hand reaches for Faraine. I must shield her somehow, must protect her with my body. I must—

Her eyes flare wide. Two golden orbs burn into me through the rain of debris.

Crystals burst from her flesh. Jagged, knife-like protrusions emerge like spurs across every inch of her body. They fracture the lead shackles gripping her wrists, and the chains drop to the roiling ground. Rocks fall from the ceiling, smash into her head, her shoulders, shatter into pebbles and roll away.

I’m knocked from my feet and sprawl to the cracked and jagged floor. A large rock hits between my shoulders, driving the breath from my lungs. The walls bend, warp, and the heavy ceiling tilts wildly. Instinct makes me cover my head as more stones and dust crash around and over me. This is the end. It must be. The final, pulverizing end.

But then it stops. And I am still alive.

Dust fills my nose. I snort, cough, surprised to find there is still air to breathe. Shaking my head, I look around me. “Faraine?” Panic thrills in my veins. Surely that image was an illusion. It couldn’t have been real. I’m going to find her still caught in those chains, battered to a pulp, her skull smashed by fallen stone. “Faraine!” I choke and wave a hand before my face, struggling to make sense of the world around me.

There’s something heavy on top of me. Pinning but not crushing. A growl in my throat, I take theurzulstone still gripped in one hand and hold it up.

Faraine.

She’s here. On top of me. Crouched in a protective stance, her body covering mine. Three-foot-long crystals protrude from her shoulders, her neck, her arms, forming a sort of shield. They pulse with their own inner light.

“Faraine?” I stare, unable to believe what my eyes tell me. “Is that you?”

Her expression is strangely serene beneath those layers of crystal. It’s not unlike thedorgaragstone hide which plagues so many of my people. But this crust is gemstone and covers her completely. Protrusions of crystal emerge from her elbows and knees, line the edge of her jaw. She is terrifying—both familiar and horribly unfamiliar at once.

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