Page 95 of The Curse of Ophelia

She shook her head. “When they went into the volcano…I couldn’t wait up there, feeling useless. I thought there might be another way in, so I started down the switchbacks, and at the spot where we nearly fell, I noticed an inconsistency in the rocks. The side is false, and it opens into a slim tunnel. I think that’s why the pathway was so weak. I crawled through it and trusted my instincts. Prayed to your Angels and Spirits that I would survive and let their gentle hands guide me—or whatever it is you guys say.” Her tone was dismissive, but when her eyes met mine I saw pride in those dark irises.

Malakai’s voice was cracked and haunting when he said, “That’s how they came in. The Engrossians. They couldn’t go through the top of the volcano, so they built that secret passage. We need to seal it.” His words were listless, his eyes distant, but he was speaking, which lifted my battered heart slightly.

Rina responded quietly, “Yes, I assumed so. There were a number of discarded weapons in the entrance.” She gestured to a dagger sheathed on her own hip.

I embraced my bold and fierce friend, squeezing her tightly to me. She who had no responsibility to our people, yet risked everything on this journey. She who was not privy to our secret rituals, yet entered the volcano fearlessly.

Perhaps that needed to change.

“What do we do now?” Jezebel looked to me, along with Tol, Cyph, and Rina.

Swallowing my hesitation, I pushed my shoulders back and assumed every bit of authority that rightfully ran through my veins. “We’ll need to summon the rest of the Mystique Council.” I assumed Lucidius sent them away. He likely had not invited the Chancellors of the minor clans to Damenal either, in order to avoid exposing his plan. “A meeting will need to be held to discuss everything that unfolded tonight. Let’s send messages to each clan leader and host a Rapture—”

“We can forget about Kakias,” Jezebel interrupted at my mention of the official meeting.

“That wretched bitch,” Rina whispered.

“I cannot believe I didn’t kill her.” Tolek shook his head.

“No, Tol,” I said. “What you did was more than enough. Malakai and I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for you.”

He gave me one of his soft smiles, but averted his eyes quickly as Malakai squeezed his shoulder in gratitude.

“If it wasn’t for all of you.” I looked among the four people who had given so much for this mission. Without them, I would not have survived even the first few days of the journey. Hectatios’s and Glawandin’s messages from the Undertaking came back to me, and I smiled at the forgiveness and trust that forged these relationships, tying us together for every challenge ahead. “Thank you.” The words would never be enough, but I had a feeling I would be repeating them often—particularly now that they knew how much I’d hidden from them, yet they had not turned on me.

I continued, “We’ll include the Engrossians in the Rapture. Kakias likely won’t attend, but it needs to appear as her choice to the minor clans.” My friends murmured their understanding. “We’ll need to notify our own families of our safety and tell them we’ll be staying in Damenal for the foreseeable future.” Looking to my sister, I added, “Everyone who worked with Lucidius will need to be questioned in order to confirm that the corruption stopped with him.”

Her lips pulled into a line, but she nodded. I prayed to Damien that our father was innocent. But it was a problem for a later date.

My voice was quiet on the last instruction. “And we must dispose of the bodies.” We had to burn the Engrossians outside of the volcano, or their spirits would remain here for eternity. I would leave the decision of Lucidius’s fate to Malakai.

“We can take care of the Engrossians,” Cypherion said, pulling Tolek to his feet, and they nodded in agreement when Rina said she’d assist them. Jezebel offered to hike to Damenal and secure the correspondence we needed.

That left Malakai and myself.

He lifted his eyes from the patch of crimson steadily sinking into the floor and met mine. The hollowness that lingered behind that stare crushed the piece of my soul tethered to his, and the threads within me stretched at the pain.

It was everything from the past two years—the torture, the secrets, the death of his father—swallowing him whole. And in that moment, it threatened to break me, as well.

But I couldn’t let it.

There was so much that we had avoided since reuniting. Everything that drove a wedge between us, making me feel more distant from him than ever. Before anything else, we had to discuss this betrayal that was now festering in our bond, rotting more by the second.

We locked eyes, unsaid words passing between us. I nearly sank to my knees under his broken stare, but I held my ground, looked into the dim forest green of his eyes that I had missed so thoroughly, and nodded once before turning to leave the cavern.

Chapter Forty-Five

I walked down the tunnels without direction, taking countless turns until I came to a set of rooms dug into the walls of a corridor, forming a sort of abandoned barracks. We had to be deep within the mountains now. But the rooms had doors, which meant privacy.

I chose an empty one, devoid of most comforts save for battered furniture, and marched across the threshold, eyes locked on a pair of shutters set into the wall. I only turned when I heard Malakai close the door.

Looking at him nearly shattered my resolve, everything from the past weeks rushing in at once—roaring in my ears and clouding my vision. Before I even fully had him back, I felt as if I had lost him again.

He knew. He knew.

For over two years, I wandered aimlessly, a lost soul amid a sea of abandonment, holding out hope that he would come back to me. Yet Malakai had walked away from me that day knowing he would not return. Knowing that my world would shift, my heart would shatter, and he still made that choice to leave me in the dark.

Because that was what it was—a choice. One that took away my own autonomy and set rage curdling in my gut.

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