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He leans it against a wall, revealing his findings. There’s a staircase leading somewhere, and it’s our best bet for finding something.

I take off towards it, but Blaze blocks me with his thick, muscular arm. “I’ll go first.”

He doesn’t give me time to protest and just heads down in front of me. I don’t let anyone else step in, following right behind Blaze.

Blaze doesn’t make a noise on the stone steps, but I’m not as smooth. There aren’t any lights. Our path is only guided by the light shining through the door. As we continue, it gets harder and harder to see.

“Can you see?” I whisper.

The others have followed behind me, but since I’m relying on Blaze for directions, I want to check.

“Yes, my shifted eyes allow me to see in the dark. Felix’s sight is better, though, and I’m sure we will need it when we get down to the bottom.”

“Don’t worry Kitten, I can see perfectly. There won’t be any surprises popping out at us,” Felix says from right behind me.

It’s reassuring.

Finally, the ground levels out, and we reach the bottom. Felix slides past me in the small space to see what’s around us.

“Here we go,” Felix says right before the lights turn on. It takes my eyes a minute to adjust, but I see he’s standing right next to a light switch when they do.

Huh, I was kind of expecting torches and fire, but I guess it’s not a completely medieval dungeon.

There’s a corridor surrounded by stone walls ahead of us and not a lot of space. Griffyn and Aksel are still stuck on the stairs.

Blaze takes off without a thought, making his way to the end. I follow along, keeping my eyes peeled for anything of interest.

When Blaze reaches the end, he stops abruptly, causing me to run into his back.

Felix slams into me next, wrapping his arms around my waist to keep us both stable. I can feel all the muscular planes of his body against me.

“What the hell, man?” Felix asks. He doesn’t step away from me, though.

Blaze turns around, assessing all of us, especially me.

“Anna, maybe it’s best if you and Felix wait upstairs.”

What the hell? What’s in that room?

Felix starts to pull me away, but I’m not going.

“No thanks,” I say, skirting around Blaze so I can see things for myself.

I scan the room, and it’s basically empty. When I look again, I realize there’s a lump in the corner that’s slightly moving.

Is that a person?

Twenty Four

Felix

I push into the room behind Anna, wanting to see what she’s looking at.

Immediately, I sense another presence here. That’s more than a lump in the corner; it’s a person. A mage based on his signature.

I rush forward, dropping next to him. When I roll him over, I see he’s very old and clearly on his deathbed. He needs to be in a hospital, not trapped down here.

A low groan escapes his lips. He’s trembling, and it’s clear he doesn’t really see me here.

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