Page 135 of Of Blood and Banes
I turn, scanning the room beyond our group where rows of tables with corpses lie, and the slain dragons hanging above them.
“What is it?” Marge whispers.
Two rings…two chairs. Marge said the rings were worn separately to disperse the natural flow of power. But why position the throne room here, of all places? Yes, perhaps to overlook their citizens and any out-of-town guests. But there had to be some other reason…more than just some gathering room. I look back down at the throne chair, moving my hands up the arm and over to the back as Marge watches me with mild curiosity.
Without looking up, I ask, “Cole mentioned he noticed something underneath the chapel. It may be an underground dungeon, but you mentioned hatching grounds?”
“Yes…? And?”
I drop down and touch the tile to confirm my suspicion, then smile. Something is definitely underneath this throne room. I stand, circling back to the front of the chairs—and freeze.
There, set into where the two chairs’ arms touch, is an inlay of two rings. With a shaky inhale, before I can second-guess myself, I remove my gloves and tear the Blood Ring off my finger and place it into the inlay on the left. When nothing happens, I move it to the one on the right.
The ring snaps inside of it like something magnetic, and then the humming grows louder. Loud enough everyone fighting stops and turns. Thin lines like rivers hidden in the golden frames of the throne chairs glow an iridescent blue. My breath fills my ears, and I reach forward as if I’ve done it a thousand times before and turn the ring to the right. The ground trembles beneath our feet, shaking loose dust from the ceiling and showering us in a thick cloud. After the dust settles and we wave away our coughs, the platform with the throne chairs we all stand on is sunken ten feet deeper than before. A dark staircase spirals down into the depths below the throne room.
“Well…that wasn’t weird at all,” Archie laughs, then scans our group before his face falls. “What?”
I snag the ring back from the chair and slip it onto my finger before meeting Marge’s wide gaze. It’s a silent confirmation I haven’t been sealed to the Blood Ring…yet.
“How did you know how to do that?” she whispers.
I shrug. “It was a lucky guess.”
“I believe you’re more than just lucky, Katerina. You are brilliant.”
Smiling, I walk to the edge of the platform and peek down over the side, only to find the steps shrouded in shadow, not telling me much else. Like how many stairs there are and what it leads to. But one thing is for certain.
I turn to everyone already watching me. “We have to go down.”
CHAPTER 43
DOWN BELOW
After realizing the dragons won’t fit down the winding staircase, we split up. Despite Daeja and the others’ grumbled protests; Bristol, Darian, Gavin, and Nolan stay back with A’nala, Daeja, and Nadja.
I pat Daeja’s muzzle as she curls up near the entrance to the stairs, her head flat on the stone floor looking up at me.“If they fight again…you have my permission to bite.”
She perks her head up.“Really?”
“Don’t draw blood though.”
“Well then where’s the fun in that?”She sinks back down.
Chuckling, I rub her snout a little firmer.“We’ll try to come back quickly. I’ll keep you updated if things are looking scary.”
She might as well have rolled her eyes.“You’re never scared.”
I sink to my heels to look her in the eyes.“I’m always scared when you’re not by my side.”
“Remember that next time you try to go somewhere without me.”
“You know I wouldn’t ever want to go somewhere I can’t take you. But this…”I motion to the stairs.“I have no choice. This isn’t just about me and what I want.”
“Fine…”she sighs.“Go do your chosen one thing.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t like this responsibility, but I have to live with it.”I kiss the tip of her nose.“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I better see you running up those steps when you come back! High knees and all!”
