Page 41 of Oath of War
‘The damn icta—it’s affecting my magic. I’m so sorry, Ani. That’s all I can do.’
‘No matter.’ Rising to my feet, I gestured towards the structure. ‘I think that’s where we’re meant to go.’
We walked for a while before stopping in front of a smooth, dark door made of a heavy metal I didn’t recognise. It looked out of place, gleaming from the condensation covering its surface, distorting our reflections.
‘Should we knock?’ I asked quietly, but Alaric shook his head. ‘Well, then. Here’s hoping she doesn’t keep guard dogs,’ I muttered, pushing the door open.
To my surprise, it yielded easily, swinging silently inwards to reveal a corridor veiled in darkness. Only the faint glow from outside lit the entrance, fading quickly as the door shut behind us.
‘Any advice?’ I asked, summoning a soft orb of light in my palm. ‘Or ... restrictions? I don’t want to offend the Dark Mother.’
Alaric shook his head, his lips pressed into the thin line that usually meant he was in pain. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘Those who returned never spoke of it.’
‘Of course not, because why make it easier for the empress’ next unlucky victim?’ I snapped, not bothering to hide my sarcasm.
The temple felt like a place meant to draw out people’s fears. The darkness pressed in, almost tangible, swallowing everything beyond a few feet ahead of us. The light I’d created offered little comfort. It gave us no advantage, instead making us a target, but I kept it going because its faint glow made me feel less alone.
Then the voices began.
A chorus of whispers echoed through the darkness, rising and falling like a haunting tide. They pleaded for release, promised power and glory, offered me the world if I would only leave the door open long enough for them to escape.
I froze, clutching Ari’s hand. ‘I don’t like this,’ I whispered. ‘The whispers ...’
‘Don’t listen to the dead, Domina.’ Alaric turned me to face him, his hands cradling my face. ‘Don’t let them in. The dead will linger if you allow them.’
‘Is there a way to silence them?’
He shook his head, and I shuddered. ‘Fine. I can handle this. I—oh, fuck!’
Something small and furry ran over my foot, sending a jolt of panic through me. I leapt onto Ari, wrapping my legs around his waist.
‘It was a rat, my love,’ he said, his chuckle rumbling against my chest.
I shuddered again, gesturing for him to put me down. ‘Whatever it was, you won’t say a word about it to Orm or Vahin. It never happened.’
His grin softened the harsh lines of his exhaustion, though the dark circles under his eyes betrayed how much the icta was draining him, and as much as I wanted to enjoy the fleeting moment of levity, I couldn’t ignore the weight of our task pressing down on us. If the Dark Mother had sent a creature to hurry us along, I wasn’t about to wait for her to send something worse.
I took the lead, trailing my fingers over the wall while we made our way into the gloom. After what felt like hours, we encountered the first fork in our path. I felt something niggle at the back of my mind and let the feeling draw me to the right.
At the second fork, I hesitated, realising the feeling from earlier had been the voices, their whispers now louder and telling me to turn left this time. But when I glanced at Alaric to ask his opinion, I gasped. My companion was swaying, sweat pouring from his skin. I didn’t know what to do, so I took a chance, listening to the whispered advice and turned into a small chamber.
‘I think we’re lost,’ I said as Ari placed his hand on my shoulder with much more weight than I would expect from a casual touch.
‘Just keep going, Domina. We don’t have a choice,’ he replied, leaning heavily on me.
‘Ari . . .’ I whispered, touching his face. Even if I couldn’t see well in the darkness, I could feel the heat of his fever. ‘How long do we have? Can I do anything? Tell me how I can help!’
‘You can’t, my love. My time was up the moment I took the poison. It’s simply coming to an end now we’ve entered the temple,’ he said, pressing his back to the wall before sliding down to sit. I sat next to him, shivering, my penitential clothes providing little warmth.
The echo of dripping water lent the place an oddly soothing atmosphere. Fatigue from the day’s struggles flooded through me, and even though I knew we had to continue, I closed my eyes. I just needed to catch my breath before we resumed our search.
‘Wake up! You’ll die if you fall asleep ... Don’t sleep ...’The whispers battered at my mind so insistently that they jolted me awake and something crunched under my foot. I released my light, directing it upwards, and what it revealed carved itself into my mind.
Skeletons littered the floor, their flesh turned to dust long ago—though some golden and silver jewellery remained sadly draped over the bones. From the shape of the skulls, I could tell they had been fae; likely dark fae, given where we were. I blinked once, twice, before the realisation hit me.
The voices. They were their spirits.Why am I hearing ghosts?
I jumped to my feet, tugging Alaric up with me. His head lolled, and for a moment, he looked at me with glossy, unfocused eyes, but I kept jerking his arm until he stood up.
