Page 271 of Cursed Evermore
Gods… The spell was working.
Time stilled, waiting and watching with us. Elariya's grip around my hand tightened, and I held her just as firm.
The map showed the familiar outline of Vaelthorne, and my heart lifted when the name appeared in elegant script. That didn't happen last time. The pathway breached past the Hollow Realm into the Ether Planes, their names shimmering in the air above the parchment. It moved in sharp zigzags until it settled again, the words 'Nojavai Realm' materializing in golden letters.
Gods be good, I recognized the name from my father's books. It was on another plane of existence. At first, I wondered if that was our destination, but the pathway kept going.
The map kept flowing, hope kept growing, but then a loud boom echoed throughout the room like a door slamming in the deepest hell.
The map fizzled as it tried to keep moving, but something unseen blocked its path. It pressed forward, recoiled, tried again. And nothing.
Fuck. No. No, no, no.
The same fucking shit from last time was happening again.
Before I could take another breath, the pathway bled to nothing. The howling shadows receded. Our blood split apart into two long veins and rushed back into us.
Seething, I looked at our hands and blew out a frustrated sigh when I saw we’d been healed. There wasn’t a mark on either of us.
Elariya and I gazed at each other, crushing disappointment heavy in the space between us.
Arielle’s lips parted like she wanted to speak, but no sound came. Garrick stepped forward instead and laid a hand on myshoulder. Last time, we’d fought when he dared touch my girl. Now he was my Bloodsworn, steadying me when I was breaking.
“We need to try again, old friend,” he said.
“Yes, try again,” Alaric agreed with a determined nod.
“It’s a complex spell. We could be luckier next time,” Bastian offered with a hopeful smile.
“Let’s try again, Wolfe.” Elariya reached out her hand. Her voice wavered, but her eyes burned with determination.
I nodded, though hope had already died inside my chest. Still, I did it for her.
And the same thing happened.
The blood flowed, the parchment glowed, the map showed, only to crash against the block and collapse. Again. And again. Until nothing was left but silence.
I was ready to give up, but Elariya asked if we could try again. I did it one more time for her.
The same thing happened.
We’d failed.Ifailed.
Fuck.
My chest caved as I stared at the parchment.
I’d tried everything, yet we still failed.
What in the hells was I supposed to do now?
We’d spent so much time trying to find a solution only for this to happen.
There was a fucking block. What was it?
Was it the ring’s magic? Or something else? Something purposely stopping me, or something I needed some other fucking thing to bypass.
What the fuck was it?
