Page 110 of Of Blooming Embers
“As am I, young one. Thank you for our deliverance,” Marah murmured as she went to Endurst’s side, shaking her head free of Melina’s cobwebs.
“Disgusting dirtlings,” Balor sneered.
Kaden scoffed. “You’re as limp and useless as your cock without ember, and that must be a brutal bit of shit to swallow.”
Loathing burned in the Akridai’s glare, and I wanted nothing more than to thrust my blade into him. Watch him bleed for all the times he’d taken part in Melina’s games. For harming innocents.
The hilt of my weapon was heavy against my palm.
Forehead creasing, Seryn looked to Elder Guust as we met him outside the cell. “What alliance do you speak of?”
A soft swish distracted me, and I angled my ear toward the pit. “Did you hear that?”
Balor continued his rant, his flaccid body now propped against the wall, “Your demise is near, you filthy?—”
Kaden punched him squarely in the mouth. The crack of enamel echoed as the enforcer’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed like a corpse.
Kaden shook out his right hand, flexing the fingers and then wincing. “Bet his teeth tasted better.” Kaden chuckled and cupped his other hand over his injured knuckles. His healing ability flickered and sank into his flesh and bone within seconds.
A scrape against stone echoed again. My eyes narrowed as I moved closer to the edge of the ramp, craning my neck. “There’s movement up there.”
My attention snapped down toward the flash of amber glass levitating from the depths.
“Get on, we’ll deal with them once they make their way down,” Marah ordered, her voice calm.
As the whirring neared, Endurst’s lemon-colored halo twirled around him, and he thrust his power toward the conveyor. Wobblingin the space below, the writhing ember cradling it twitched against the Elder’s.
It stalled, but then quivered as his energy reeled it in. We mounted the circular platform, and he stretched his fingers, pushing his palms downward. Sweat gathered on his brow as we sank into the dark well.
Platinum hair flicked over the edges of the ramp above as the person rushed down the endless spiral.Melina. But we were closer to the raw amber boulder than she was to us. My mouth stretched across my teeth. The thought of us succeeding in our quest would infuriate her.
As the massive stone came into view, my blood throbbed, and warmth skittered over my now-glowing tattoo. The ember under Seryn’s branch-shaped markings surged and flickered. It was as if the coiling ebony and silver lava lapping at the amber’s edges called to me. To her. Hungered to wrap its tentacles around my spine and drag me down.
With a shiver, I leaped onto the perimeter, grabbing Seryn’s hand as she followed. A torrent of buzzing heat swept over where our skin met. Her lashes fluttered before she looked into my eyes, the whites of hers showing entirely. Lifting her hand to my lips, I set a kiss on her palm before weaving our fingers together and holding her close to my side.
While my gaze roamed over the chiseled rock and the shadowy bulk inside, I swore it trembled, tiny fissures creeping outward from the blurry figure trapped within. Whatever or whoever it was had had enough. Could probably taste its freedom.
This prophecy better not be a fucking mistake.
I craned my neck, heeding the rhythmic slap of leather against stone that spilled from the darkness above. I glanced at Elder Guust as he held the conveyor with his power. I repeated Seryn’s unanswered question from earlier. “What alliance did Melina make?”
Marah’s face scrunched, her slight lips disappearing completely. Endurst’s jaw tensed, and he took a long pull of air. “Why, wi-with the Ancient of Nightmares, of course.”
44
CORRESPONDING RIBS
SERYN
Destroy,my gift whispered urgently in my mind. But the demand wasn’t what it had once been. It wasn’t laced with malice or hunger. It was akin to the anticipation of a reunion. Of affinity.
Vaguely, I heard Gavrel’s words as he asked the question I’d posed earlier.
“Why, wi-with the Ancient of Nightmares, of course,” Elder Guust responded, as if it was obvious.
I stacked my spine, hand squeezing Gavrel’s.
“Phobetor? Are you bloody serious? Where the void has he been?” Kaden puckered his mouth and then chuckled. “I suppose in the Void.”
