Page 44 of Heir of Illusion

“I’ll go first,” I announce.

They all go silent, their expressions shocked as they glance back and forth between me and the tunnel.

“Ivy.” Remy’s hard voice makes his opinion clear. “It’s too dangerous.”

I tell myself not to take the statement personally, but I can’t stop my eyes from narrowing at his implication. “I’m the smallest person here. It’s already going to be a tight squeeze for your soldiers, and we have no idea how much worse it could become the deeper we go.” He opens his mouth to argue, but I don’t give him the chance as I continue speaking. “Out of all of us, I’m the least likely to get stuck. And I’ll have the best chance of turning around if things get bad.”

“She has a point, Captain,” Warrick offers hesitantly.

“I said no.” Remy turns his glare on his second in command.

I take a step closer, lowering my voice as I place my hand on his arm. “You know I’m right, Remy. This is the best way.”

All the guards take a step back, their gazes shifting around the cave as they avoid glancing at the two of us. If any of them spoke to their captain the way I do, they’d be severely punished. But fortunately for Remy, I’m not under his command. My attention flickers to where Thorne stands away from the others, watching the scene play out with an unreadable expression.

Dragging my gaze back to Remy, I find him tense as he studies me. After what seems like hours, his eyes drift shut for a moment, and I know I’ve won.

“Fine,” he sighs, begrudgingly conceding to my demands. “But you don’t take any unnecessary risks. If it’s too tight or gets unstable, you turn back immediately. None of this is worth your life.”

I try to hold back my grin. “I will.”

“Are we sure this is wise?” Kipps speaks up, his eyes wide as he nervously shifts back and forth.

“Is there some reason you don’t want us going that way,” I ask him pointedly as I step around Remy to get a closer look at the young mortal.

He swallows. “It’s just… This whole section might be unstable.”

My eyes narrow. “I guess we’ll find out.”

He nods, his gaze dropping to my collar. “Yes,wraith.”

Clenching my jaw, I turn back to the others. They carry on with their preparations, passing around sunstone necklaces since it would be too difficult to try to carry a lantern while crawling on our hands and knees. As their name would suggest, the crystals gather their charge from the sun. Unfortunately they only give off enough light to illuminate a few feet ahead. Still, it’s better than nothing.

As I make my way back to the entrance, Remy steps up beside me.

“Alright, I’ll go in after?—”

“I’ll go second,” Thorne announces, cutting him off as he speaks for the first time since joining the group.

Everyone goes still, watching the reaper with varying degrees of dislike.

“Excuse me?” Remy asks, his tone dangerous.

Thorne appears completely unfazed as he saunters closer. “As Death’s representative, I go second. If you’d care to argue, you’re welcome to ask your king what he thinks. But I’m afraid he’ll side with me.”

Remy balls his fists as a muscle twitches in his jaw.

“Fine,” he grounds out between clenched teeth. “We’ll do it your way.” He takes a step toward the reaper,. “But remember that I’m going to be right behind you. And if anything happens to that girl” —he points at me— “I don’t care which God you serve; you will answer to me. Understand?”

As Thorne watches the captain, a glimmer of respect flashes behind his eyes. Instead of offering another quip, he inclines his head. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, I lower myself onto my hands and knees at the entrance. Dark worries attack my mind, forcing me to conjure the worst possible scenarios. What if we get stuck down here? What if it collapses and thousands of rocks crush me to death? What if?—

“Do you want me to go first?” Thorne’s soft voice startles me as he kneels by my side.

I try to scoff, but it sounds more like a whimper.

“And get stuck behind you?” The bravado in my tone rings false, but thankfully, he doesn’t call me on it. “No, thank you.”

---