Page 86 of The Onyx Covenant

Something shifts at the edge of my vision.

I blink, my gaze snapping back to Rachel’s body. The dirt around her is… moving. Subtle at first, like a breath rising from the ground itself. Then I see them—pale, slender roots emerging from the ground like tendrils, twitching and curling as they slither toward her limbs. One coils around her wrist, another wraps her ankle, and then more, writhing like they’re alive.

They pull her slowly downward to where the ground cracks open. Inch by inch, she’s claimed.

Blood-smudged dirt sinks beneath her weight as the roots weave over her chest and throat, sliding under her clothes and through her hair. Her fingers vanish next, then her boots, until only her face with wide-open eyes remains, staring straight through me.

And just like that, she’s gone. Swallowed whole.

I take a step back, my breath caught somewhere between a gasp and a curse.

“All right,” Kieran mutters beside me, his voice a little too loud in the silence. “That’s new. Nature’s got a real flair for drama.”

He’s trying to play it off, but I catch the way his hand tightens around his blade.

Theron’s gaze stays fixed on the spot where Rachel vanished, the dirt now smooth and undisturbed as if she were never there at all. He finally exhales, a sound low and grim.

“The maze doesn’t leave reminders.”

We stand there in silence at first, then Theron turns to the wall of thorns.

“The tree woman said, ’Follow the chains that shimmer silver, like tears of the veiled moon. They will lead to what you seek.’?”

I quickly tuck Rachel’s blade into the back of my pants as we return to the chamber with the hanging chains, which seem to glow more brightly now. One chain in particular shines brighter than the others, swaying slightly despite the still air, pointing to an entrance door across from ours.

“That one,” I say. “It wants us to follow its direction.”

As we walk away, I can’t help looking back at the passage where Rachel’s body was. My stomach twists painfully. I’ve seen too much death today.

Theron takes my hand, entwining our fingers. “We stick together,” he murmurs, glancing at me and Kieran. “We find the moonstone, we win this damn thing, and then we deal with my father. One step at a time.”

The dark moon continues to shine overhead, casting long shadows that seem to point the way forward, deeper into the heart of the maze.

Kieran walks ahead, one hand always on his blade.

“You okay?” I ask quietly, catching up to him while Theron investigates a side passage.

“Fucking fantastic,” he mutters, then sighs. “Sorry. My head’s still… not right. Like there’s a fog I can’t shake.” He rubs his temples. “And I just killed someone, so there’s that.”

The blunt admission startles me. “I’m sorry.”

His amber eyes meet mine, hard and unflinching, then he shrugs. “I’ve made my peace with it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He looks away.

Before I can respond, Theron rejoins us. “Nothing that way but more thorns,” he says. “The chain is still leading us forward.”

We continue on, the maze growing denser and disorienting. The walls seem to shift when we’re not looking directly at them, changing configuration subtly. More than once, I glance back to find that our path has disappeared, replaced by a solid wall of thorns, but the silvery chain woven into the wall remains ahead of us.

“The maze doesn’t want us going backward,” I observe after the third time this happens.

“Or someone doesn’t,” Theron replies grimly.

The chain suddenly brightens, pulsing with an urgent light. It leads to a narrow opening barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

“I don’t like this,” Kieran says, peering into the gap. “Perfect spot for an ambush.”

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