Page 8 of The Curse of a Kingdom
“It won’t take much time for the guards to be up here when I break the gate. How long do you need to make the portal?”
His lips parted as his dark eyes studied the ceiling. “A minute or two.”
“Good.” She drew her dagger out of the sheath. Bees lifted in flight and surrounded her protectively. “You so much as move to attack me, and I’ll finish what I started last year. Don’t let my magic fool you. I intend on saving Arkimedes, whatever it takes.”
“The life debt won’t let me harm you, you know that,” he said in a low tone.
“Get ready.” She let her eyes drift to the tree and the moss. To the energy that came out of them and fed the power of her magic. The tremor became a full-on earthquake. Screams erupted from underneath, the prisoners’ and guards’ fear echoing around them.
Devon steadied himself against the wall, and the iron gate shrieked. The sound grew louder, and the wood above them contracted, the metal bending at weird angles. Heavy bolts loosened and fell to the ground; her knuckles whitened around the hilt of her blade as her stomach churned with fear, anger, and anticipation.
She felt a trace of an emotion that wasn’t hers—pride. From Ari, not far away.
The screams came louder from the floors beneath, and she took a few steps back as the gate in front of her shook and then fell with a loud bang over the wooden floor.
Devon gasped. “No shit.”
Nava’s legs shook as the tremors of the tree died down. “The portal, Devon.”
He lifted his arms, showing her the straps that prevented him from doing anything.
She swallowed and fixed her gaze on his. “Do not think about leaving without me.”
He smiled. “Don’t give me ideas, cat.”
She ran the sharp edge of her dagger through the binds, and they fell to the ground with a heavy thump. Without the rumble of the tree, she could hear the clear voices of people beneath. She studied Devon as he rolled his wrists. For a breath, they stood in absolute silence, and she waited for him to pounce on her.
He stood a whole head taller. Nava squared her shoulders and brought her dagger closer to her body, assuming a defensive stance. Her magic soared around her as bees and a yellow glow.
“Open. The. Portal,” she said.
Devon's own aura shifted, a color of indigo so dark it almost appeared black. Then his fingers shone with power. A crackling noise and the heavy scent of spice enveloped her. Peppercorn and cayenne.
A surge of wind whipped her wild hair over her face. Devon’s brows dipped in concentration as he looked at his fingers, where inky trails came together and twisted into a circle that rose between both of them. The sizzle of static raised her hair, and she struggled to see behind the traces of debris and flailing insects.
A bead of sweat trailed down his temple. “When we cross, the portal demands a payment. The first thing that comes to your mind will be what it claims,” he said. The black hole of dark magic was now the size of her whole torso.
She thought of Cameron and urged her mind to put that away, to not think of Ari or Arkimedes. “You mean the portal will claim my memory?”
“Yes, it will become his.”
“His?” Nava repeated, blinking rapidly, trying to understand the information. “Who is he? Would he hurt me?”
Devon’s black eyes flashed to her, and his lips twitched. “He is the guard and ruler of the shadow world. The portal will hurt you, but it won’t kill you.”
Nava swallowed, and her skin became clammy and cold. She hoped her mind wouldn’t give something she couldn’t live without or this would all be worthless in the end. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked, trying to distract herself.
“It will be of no use to my life debt if you wind up not remembering why we’re there in the first place, would it?”
She guessed he had a point. The portal zapped, and behind the whirlwind of inky magic, she saw the mirage of tall buildings with patina-green rooftops and warm stones. A city made of copper. Behind the carriages, stone roads, and people, a giant castle loomed in the back.
“Now?” she asked. His hand shook as he dropped it to his side. She vaguely heard steps dashing up the staircase and met his gaze as he pointed to the raging circle in front.
“Ladies first.”
“Oh, gee, thanks.” Nava’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but she stepped forward, lowering her dagger, and hesitated for a second. Then something—no, someone—shoved her in.
She staggered toward the portal. Her arms flailed for a moment, and then she couldn’t see the prison she’d been standing in before as she fell down into the nothingness. Floating in a place without gravity or scent. Not cold or warm.
