Page 22 of Kingdom of Chaos
He glances over his shoulder. I can only see his profile, but his jaw is hard, and there’s fire in his blue-gray eyes.
“Then so be it.”
Seven
I fleebefore Talon or Imogen can catch me eavesdropping, my mind whirling with everything I’ve just learned. As I drift through the halls, heading in the direction Ithinkthe kitchen is, I sift through it all. Purposefully shelving Imogen’s comments about me, I focus on what really matters: my pendant might be the key that unlocks the gates to the human world.
A bubble of hope rises in my chest. For the first time since that portal snapped shut, separating me from Becks, I feel like I can take a full breath.
When I finally pay attention to where I am, I realize I’ve wandered too far. I must have missed a turn somewhere, because rather than standing in the kitchen, in front of me is a stone staircase leading underground.
I should probably turn around and retrace my steps. Imogen will have a conniption if she finds me roaming when she expressly told us not to. But I don’t really care. I heard the prejudice in her voice when she said “human.” The dark-haired creature’s desires aren’t on my list of concerns. In fact, I start down the stairs to spite her as much as to appease my curiosity.
The air grows noticeably colder as I descend. Goosebumps rise on my arms, and I rub them, trying to bring some warmth back into my skin.
At the bottom of the stairs, my stomach drops. The tunnel ahead is lit with yellow, flame-like fae torches, reminding me of the underground passages at Nightlark. That alone gives me pause, but I shove the unsavory memories back into the corner of my mind I’d locked them in and keep going.
The tunnel twists and turns, one long corridor snaking back and forth without any doors or split paths. I try to move quietly, but each step echoes off the stone walls, loud and jarring, like I’m stomping through the silence.
At first, I try to track where I might be beneath the castle, but I lose count of the turns. More than once, I consider turning back, but a quiet compulsion urges me on. More than curiosity. It feels like I’m being called forward.
After two sharp turns, a soft rosy glow appears ahead. I quicken my pace, abandoning stealth, and rush toward it. One final curve brings me to a small, stone-walled room, no bigger than an average bedroom. At the far end is a dome of shimmering pink light I instantly recognize as a magical barrier. This one is more opaque than the one Kerrim used to block out sound during the Chaos trials.
I step closer, squinting to make out what the barrier is protecting.
Inside the dome is what looks like a sword stand, but smaller, the kind that holds a blade upright from a U-shaped bracket fixed to a gold pole about two feet tall. The pole is anchored in a base that resembles a large gold nugget, roughly the size of a bowling ball. Etchings spiral around the pole, but the haze of the barrier makes them hard to read.
I take another step and slowly reach forward, my hand lifting toward the veil of magic almost on its own. I want to touch it. I need to know if I can feel anything.
“I wouldn’t if I were you.”
Yanking my hand back, I whip around with my heart in my throat. Talon is standing with one shoulder propped against the room’s entrance. Faelight flickers in the torches behind him, casting shadows across his face and making it impossible to read his expression.
“Why didn’t I hear you coming down the tunnel behind me?” I ask, placing a hand over my heart, which is still beating furiously from the shock.
He shrugs. “I’m light on my feet.”
“Well, congratulations. If you were trying to scare me, it worked.”
He pushes off the wall and takes a few steps into the rose-drenched space. “No, I wasn’t trying to scare you. I wanted to see what you were up to.”
“I got lost,” I say, but the look Talon gives me says he knows how ridiculous that sounds, and my cheeks warm with embarrassment.
“You thought our kitchen was underground?”
I clear my throat and glance back at the magical barrier.
“Why don’t you want me touching it?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Well, I assumed you wanted to keep your fingers.”
“Excuse me?”
Talon chuckles when he sees the look on my face. “That barrier will burn away whatever passes through it.”
“But there’s nothing in the stand,” I say, my voice rising an octave as I realize how close I was to losing a few fingers, maybe even a whole hand. “It’s empty. Why is it even active right now?”
Talon’s gaze shifts past me to the empty golden stand within the magical barrier. His face turns haunted. “It’s where Shadow Striker used to be kept. Only the dagger’s wielder can pass through the barrier. Unless the wielder dies and a new champion has to be chosen. Then it’s safe.”
