Page 138 of Of Blood and Banes
The light fades as quick as it came, the energy and heat evaporating with it. When I open my eyes, Vue is gone. And thelingering veil of magic that hung in the air disappears, ushering in a sense of peaceful death.
“What was that?”Daeja’s voice is tight with panic.
“Vue…the sun dragon…”I stare up at the dangling hooked chains.“Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know…I felt something snap in my chest. And now I just feel…cold? Out of place?”
My shoulders sag as I recall my father’s journal entries about the sun and moon dragons.
At once, the two became the very first dyad. Bonded and inseparable. Endless as a ring, with no beginning and no end.
“He’s dead. Isn’t he?”
“I’m so sorry, Daeja…”
“It’s…it’s okay. I never met him in this life. How can I be sad about someone I’ve never met?”
“You met him in your previous lives. You’re allowed to feel sad.”
“Then I will see him in the next one. And in this one, all that will matter is you.”
“Are you okay?” Cole’s gruff voice is in my ear as he helps me to my feet.
“I-I think so…” I glance down at the spot where Vue just was, his words ringing in my head.
Secrets never die, they’re just buried in a grave.
Marge claps me on the shoulder before hobbling forward to take the lead of our group. “Well done,” she says as she passes me.
Cole brushes dust out of my hair. “That was the sun dragon, wasn’t it?” When I nod, he turns his attention to Sethan who walks across the bridge toward us. “If that was Vue, and Vue was bonded to Queen Elara…is she still alive?”
“Not likely, now. Unless she broke their bond.” Sethan whisks past us. “Let’s keep moving. We need to check what lies on the other side of this bridge.”
My heart breaks at the thought of Queen Elara severing her bond to Vue. Though if she did, I’d hope it was for a good reason. I can never imagine having to cut myself off from Daeja.
We cross the bridge and find at the other end is another archway, with a dragon-like gargoyle perched and snarling at the entrance below. A flickering warm light bleeds from the hallway on the other side, with several lit torches lining the walls.
“We aren’t the only ones here?” Archie proposes.
“No, it’s dragonfire. Dragonfire will stay lit as long as it’s contained in some form of dragonblade. And those sconces are made from it.” Marge squints at a wall, doing a double-take.
By the time Cole and I join them in the hallway, my skin is crawling. Smeared across the walls in bright red blood, glittering with specks of gold, is a paragraph in a different language.
CHAPTER 44
THE CALLING
“What does it say?” I whisper.
Sethan strolls up beside Marge, squinting in the flickering light and scanning it as she does so for the fourth time. He presumably mouths the words and drops his head, staring at the ground before he lifts his head and mouths more.
“A’nala’s fluency in the ancient language is a bit…restricted,” he answers and then pauses, lifting his head again and listening. “But…I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” he calls aloud.
“What? What is she saying?” Marge nudges him impatiently.
“The blood one is worth the blood of many.”
Archie pats a thick stone door at the end of the hallway, tracing all the intricate swirls and patterns etched into it. “I think we need to go this way.”
