Page 172 of Wings of Ash & Flame
“Ready,” they echoed. One by one, they urged their celestials forward, disappearing into the swirling darkness.
Thirty-Nine
The world around her dissolved into a medley of sensations. She felt stretched and compressed, as if her body were being forced through a keyhole, before being spit onto a narrow stone ledge barely wide enough for their celestials.
Oppressive heat slammed into them like a physical wall.
The cavern stretched ahead, blackened stone descending into a shadowed abyss. Rivers of molten rock snaked across the floor far below, their orange glow painting the walls in hellish light.
“The wormhole’s gone,” she gasped, glancing back at the smooth stone where it had been moments before.
“Fuck,” Caius swore.
Stalactites hung from the ceiling like jagged teeth, dripping with magma that sizzled when it struck the ground. Stalagmites jutted upward from the floor.
They clustered together on the ledge—Solflara in front, then Beck, Hadrian, and Onyx—barely fitting single file. The drop on either side promised nothing but molten death.
The air reeked of brimstone and sulfur, thick enough to choke on. Each inhale scalded her throat raw.
Her lungs seized, every breath a desperate fight. She fumbled for her breathbind reliquary and took quick puffs, the acrid air like breathing through cloth soaked in acid.
Caius eyed her with sharp interest. Before he could land a cutting remark, she held up the device. If they were to function as a team, he needed to know. “It’s called a breathbind reliquary. It keeps my lungs open when the airways close up and I can’t breathe.”
For once, Caius looked almost sheepish. “I didn’t know.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
“Hold up, everyone.” Dawson dismounted at the ledge’s far edge, squinting at the cavern wall. “There’s an inscription. The letters are glowing.”
Alaire slid down Solflara’s back, carefully slipping past the celestials pressed along the ledge. One wrong step meant plunging into molten fire.
Words carved into black stone flickered with a reddish glow.
Dawson read aloud:
“In Betelgeuse’s Blaze,
Four shall enter, bound by fate,
Tethered together to navigate.
In fire’s blaze, through trial and test,
Only united can they progress.”
The moment he finished, shimmering light wrapped around each of their midsections. Silver threads snapped taut, then vanished from sight.
“What was—” Kaia stepped forward, only to be yanked toward the ledge’s edge by the unseen tether, dragging the others with her.
Alaire’s stomach lurched as she stumbled, catching herself inches from the drop. Every sudden movement from her teammates sent sharp tugs through her body.
“I don’t know,” Caius said, glaring at Dawson. “You just had to read it, didn’t you?”
“We’re tethered.” Dawson tested the bond, pushing back until it pulled the rest of them forward.
“Dear gods,” Caius groaned. “More teamwork. Because that’s workedso wellfor us in the ten minutes we’ve been doing this trial.” He dragged a hand down his face.
The bond tugged faintly as Dawson shifted his weight, nearly toppling Alaire forward. Kaia crowded close in the small space, pressing her against Dawson’s side.
