Page 139 of Of Blood and Banes
“Obviously,” Sethan mutters. “But we won’t be able to get that open. There’s not even a handle. It might be an exit only. I think we should head back and call it a night. In the morning, we can check the perimeters around this area to see if there’s another way in.”
“Wait,” Marge interjects and snaps her fingers at me. “Come here. Slice open your palm.”
“What?”
“Just do it!” she barks. “We’re running out of time.”
I pull off my gloves and tuck them into my satchel before I unsheathe my sword. I cut open my palm.
“Press it to the door. Archie, stand back,” Marge commands.
Everyone shuffles away as I swoop in, blood dripping down my hand and leaving dots of red on the stone floors. I turn my hand away from me and press it to the cold door. And wait.
And…nothing.
I glance over my shoulder at Marge, my hand still pressed to the door. “How long should it take?”
Her eyebrows pinch together. “It should have been instant…” She turns her attention back to the wall, tilting her head in consideration.
The blood one is worth the blood of many…my heart sinks into my stomach. Perhaps I’m not the one from the prophecy they’ve all assumed I am. Perhaps all along it’s been a mistake.
“Would…a dragonblade taint her blood? Since it’s magic, it might counteract with whatever spell is on the door? Maybe it affects her blood from opening it?” Archie mumbles as he slides a finger across his blood-spattered dagger.
Melaina nods slowly. “Earlier when we went through the invisible wall…we used a dagger instead of her sword, didn’t we?”
Archie’s avoiding eye contact with us in the event he’s embarrassingly wrong. “Yes. We did.”
Marge straightens the longer she sits with the idea before she smiles at him.Smiles.“Brilliant, Archie!”
His cheeks redden as he dips his head, then hands me his dagger. I take it with a grin, then slice open my opposite palmbefore returning the blade back to him. I press my hand back to the stone, a few inches away from the spot I had it on before.
The stone wall beneath my palm warms comfortably, and a glowing light seeps from cracks spidering across it as the walls rumble around us. The door trembles, then begins to inch open. All of us back up as it slides heavily to the left.
Marge’s gaze connects with mine, and she gives my shoulder a quick squeeze. “I always knew it was you.”
I don’t have a chance to respond to her because my jaw drops at what’s on the other side of the engraved door. Marble columns line a pathway, the tops of which flicker with flames as tall as I am that chase away the shadows. At the end of the path are two sizable, stone rectangles lying side-by-side, both carved with a strange language across the fronts and the same curving, elegant embellishments that adorned the throne chairs.
A thick, bitter cold falls on me like a blanket of wet snow, and I shiver. The soft rippling sound of the flames is punctuated by the splatter of water against the floors. Water trickles in from random cracks spread throughout the ceiling and walls, collecting in small rippling puddles.
Sethan throws a hand out to stop Archie, and Archie almost folds over his forearm, before taking a step back as Melaina collides into the back of him.
“What?” Melaina whispers.
Sethan scans the room, then without taking his attention off our surroundings, holds an open hand back to us. “Give me something I can throw.”
“Why?” Archie asks.
“Stop asking questions, and just do it!” Sethan snaps.
Archie places the dagger I sliced my palm with in his hand, and Sethan probes the doorframe before tossing it far into the room. The blade lands a few feet in front of the two stone pieces, sliding into them.
The rest of us inch forward behind Melaina and Archie, peering over Sethan’s shoulder.
After we hold our breaths for a few still moments, Sethan looks over his shoulder at us. “Whatever you do, do not touch anything.” He drills his gaze directly into Archie. “Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.” Archie dips his head.
Sethan lowers his arm, and we slink into the room, all of us splitting up into separate directions to survey it.
