Page 234 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

But to learn that Melody and the witch had not been killed but that Melody insteadbondedwith one of Caryan’s monsters…

The green demon told Caryan what happened.

Riven briefly closes his eyes, baring his teeth against the cold. When Caryan told them about it, Riven expected that Melody and Blair would fly west and then up to Avandal, crossing the Emerald Forest. But they must have gone north instead. The Abyss, how did they manage to tear through Caryan’s wards?

Hells, Riven never deemed it possible Melody could just break through that wall.

And what lies beyond it… the fae gap. The Black Forest. Palisandre. None of the options sound good. And now she is Abyss knows where. And he doesn’t even want to think about the murderous witch she freed. And what that meant.

His fault.All of it.

His only hope is that Blair spoke true—that with or without Melody in tow, she could not return to her coven. But Riven fears the day he learns the witches have Melody.

Or that Palisandre has her.

Or—

He doesn’t allow himself to think it—the last possibility. That they are, indeed, already dead. No, she is not, or he would feel it. She would not die. Fate would not allow that.

Riven tilts his head back and lets the rain pelt his face, the water run under his clothes as lightning cracks above, splitting the air. Black lightning, followed by thunder that threatens to crush this world. Caryan’s magic, raging.

He takes a deep breath.What has he done?

What had he been thinking when he let her go that night? But he hadn’t been thinking. All he saw were her bruised lips, her winter-white skin ashen, her feral stare. The scent of utter despair on her. An intrinsic part of Riven has just snapped at the remnants of what Caryan must have done to her.

But his hands were tied. Telling her how to escape had been the only way.

But he doomed her nonetheless.

He hasn’t spoken to Caryan since that night. He can’t withoutgoing for Caryan’s throat. He takes another long breath, massaging his temples to let the fury and tension ebb out of him. A futile endeavor. He hasn’t slept the last two nights. Hasn’t so much as touched a glass of water or food.

The witcher opens one eye, throwing him a long, knowing look.

Riven ignores him and studies the entrance of the cave before him. The halls of the grand oracle, leading right down to the chasm. Into the very core of raw magic that holds this world together.

A couple of minutes ago, Caryan walked between the two slabs of rock that mark the entrance to the most powerful oracle the fae world has ever known. And disappeared.

They are on an island, shielded from the rest of the world. Only a handful have ever made it here in the last decades. The dense fogs on and around the island are murderous, tongues whisper. Part of a territory that’s believed to belong to the dead and the kings of the underworld, their sentinels hunting all the living souls.

The remaining, lucky ones who made it here alive barely survived receiving their prophecies after that. Consulting the great oracle is dangerous, as Kalleandara is known to be moody.

But the oracle is the only way to find out whether Melody is still alive.

Riven casts Ronin another glance before he decides to walk in. The witcher has been expecting his decision, and has probably read it in him with a talent similar to Melody’s, yet he doesn’t try to stop Riven.

Hemustgo. He needs to know. And—whatever horrors await Caryan, Riven is going share them with him, too.To whatever end,Riven swore the day he accepted the blood oath. Or… maybe Caryan would just kill him for what he did. For the betrayal.

And maybe Riven deserves it.

He follows a narrow path that winds through the darkness. Stalagmites and shimmering crystals sprout out of the ground, some so tall they stretch like columns up to the top. Then the path gives way to a platform tiled with ancient, polished stone, a black abyss beckoning to his left and right.

The Chasm. Never-ending darkness, a room between worlds, between space and time. Something Caryan could step in and out of.

Riven walks on, fighting his growing unease as an unfamiliar power starts to vibrate through his bones, pushing up against his magic, as if to examine him. When he spots the raw blue column of light that flows like a waterfall from the top of the cave down to the Abyss, he stops. The platform ends right there.

A naked woman seems to float in the stream of rushing magic. Her hair is spread wide as if she is underwater. The same raw magic fills her eyes, making them blaze. In front of her stands Caryan. Riven pauses in the shadows. He can’t help but shiver at the column of light so strong that ancient tongues called it soul-eater. No one survives touching it, and Riven watches with icy horror as the woman seems to float closer to Caryan.

“Caryan,” she says. “My fallen angel. What an honor to see you again.”

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