Page 93 of Of Withering Dreams
Rhaegar’s palm met mine as he silently urged me to move. We rushed, my fingers grazing the wall for guidance, our feet splashing.
A strange, resonant clicking sounded behind us. I held my breath as my heart plummeted into my belly, acid consuming it. The scuttling grew closer.
“It’s following!” I cried, my aura bursting forth. There was no use hiding any longer when the beast was already pursuing us.
“Almost there,” Breena grunted, arms pumping. Her power burned around her, mixing with Kaden’s luminosity beside her.
We fled into the other burrow; its width only big enough for us to move in single file. Its rushing water licked at our calves.
A screech, frustrated this time, chased us down the tunnel, but not the monster to which it belonged. The clicking waned as we pushed forward.
We paused, my chest heaving as I braced my hands on the tapering walls. My ember pulsed around me, its energy growing more insistent as we progressed. I looked ahead, and the tunnel continued to contract, our torsos stooping, water splashing against our thighs. My lips scrunched into my cheeks as I exhaled sharply. “We have to keep on this path.”
“What now? This tunnel is already feeling a bit cramped,” Breena groused.
“Believe me, I know. But something is calling to my ember, and I trust it.” I shrugged, wading forward.
“All right, firefly. I’ll pick drowning in this bloody tunnel with you over being eaten by whatever that thing was.”
“I’m happy to hear that our friendship is so meaningful.” Rhaegar’s head swept back and forth, his shoulders shaking.
The aqua liquid rushed against my hips, undercurrents ramming into my legs, trying to knock me off my feet. My teeth clenched—I needed a distraction. “You know, there are only so many cave-dwelling creatures in Surrelia that grow to such a large size.”
“Don’t say it. I’d like to stay in denial a bit longer,” Kaden grumbled, his chest touching the water as he bent double. He huffed, his forehead wrinkling. “Bollocks. Say it.”
A nervous laugh puffed from my mouth, warmth spreading up my spine at his droll tone. He sounded like himself. “Well, there are trolls, various hollow sprites, some species of wyrms, burrowing wyverns …”
“The children of Arachne,” Rhaegar stated, his massive frame bent and submerged to his thick neck.
“That’s right.” My smile faltered as I looked at the bleak set of his mouth. An image of the half-woman, half-spider beast crawled through my mind. It was said that a mortal weaver challenged an Ancient to a weaving contest and was punished for it when she bested them—cursed to live as a monster for eternity. “You don’t think …”
“Don’t say it,” Kaden moaned.
The Draumr nodded. “I do. I think it’s a chasm spider.”
“He said it.” Kaden’s eyelids crunched, his bulky frame stalling as water lapped at his chin.
“Uh, hate to break this up. But we have bigger problems.” Breena and I were treading water now, our limbs swishing through the nippy liquid, tiptoes skimming the floor.
For a moment, panic scratched my chest, the memory of almost drowning when I was young trying to break my concentration. I drew in a deep, slow breath as my chin tipped up. My eyes squinted, peering down into the scurrying fluid. My heart skipped a beat. “Everyone, switch off your ember.”
A dim, otherworldly glow pierced the shadowed depths ahead, fractured reflections dancing in the turquoise currents.
“Ready?” My brows rose as I looked at my friends.
“Nope.” Kaden balked. Breena splashed him in the face, and he growled.
“Let’s do this.” She snickered as acquiescence lined Rhaegar’s face.
A lungful of air inflated my chest, and I dove toward the light, my friends following in a single line. As I approached the submerged exit, my body strained against the vigorous flow. Air bubbles fled from my nostrils, burning my lungs. The sound of my heart thumped in my ears. I kicked with all my strength, my arms stretching.
With one final drive, my fingertips clamped onto the edge of the opening, the obsidian slick and jagged. I yanked myself forward, ignoring the bite of the stone along my palms. My boots pushed off the rock, and I propelled headfirst, breaking through the seemingly endless current.
Lungs screaming for air, I clawed through the liquid. Just as my body was about to surrender, spasms tugging at my ribcage, my face broke through the surface, the cool air slapping my cheeks and tumbling down my throat.
I sputtered, coughing up salty water and gulping down much-needed breaths. I rubbed my stinging eyes and then pushed some sopping, errant curls off my face.
Breena and Kaden broke the surface, doing much the same. Rhaegar popped up behind them, swiping his hands across his face and bouncing his head to the side to rid his ear of water.
