Page 41 of Song of Night

Jodin shakes his head and then strides off beneath the overhang, streaming curses behind him.

“It’s time to go,” Jaylen says, coming up and touching my arm.

I nod, and we begin to make our way down the ravine. The crowd gives us a wide berth, especially since the enormous wolf walks at my side. I try to look over at Zara, but she won’t meet my eyes. I’m afraid I’ve broken whatever fragile truce existed between us. That burns more than the bloody gash across my ribs, but maybe it’s better this way. Because nothing can change the way things are. The inevitable outcome. My brother will always hang between us, no matter how I feel when I’m lying tangled in her arms.

When we reach the tree, the wolf follows us up the narrow steps. The guards stare in awe as we pass through the hollowed trunk. On the other side, the wolf turns and gazes back through the doorway, a low whine issuing from its throat. And then it lets out an earth-shaking howl.

From far down the ravine, there are two answering howls and a crashing sound, followed by a yell. The other two wolves come tearing up the ravine, up the stairs, and through the tree. The guards stand back, eyes wide with terror.

I incline my head to the wolf as it had done to me. “You have your freedom now. One such as you belongs to no one.”

The beast bobs its head, its long fiery tongue lolling out of its mouth. Then it lets out another sky-cracking howl, and it turns and lopes off into the forest, followed by its two pack mates.

“They’re going to be talking about this for decades,” Jaylen says, shaking her head. “Come on. We need to get through the Waste before dark.”

I don’t bother asking why. I can only imagine.

“Let me look at your wound first,” Zara says, her tone stern and brokering no argument.

She doesn’t look at me as she examines it. It’s not bleeding much since the wolf’s red-hot claws cauterized the cut as it made it. But Zara sends a small bit of magic into it to close it the rest of the way up. Then, without another word, she turns and strides off into the forest. I want to call after her, but I bite my tongue. It’s better this way, I tell myself again and again.

We trek through the forest a short ways, and then Jaylen leads us down a hole beneath the tangled roots of a tree. A ladder stretches down into the tunnels. I wonder how many entrances there are into this labyrinth beneath the earth, and how long it took to map them all.

The smell of dirt and bones hits my nose when we reach the tunnel floor. Jaylen turns to face me and Zara, speaking in a low whisper. She holds the same small stone she had before, that produces just enough glow to see our immediate surroundings.

“When we traveled in the tunnels briefly before, we weren’t actually in the area below the Waste,” she says. “Now we are right at the edge of it. And within the Waste is where most of the monsters roam. Once we get beyond the next intersection—” She points into the gloomy distance— “There will be no talking. You must make as little noise as possible, and you will follow any instructions I give you, without question. Do not use magic, as that will attract the beasts.”

She pauses, looking at us each in turn. “Are you ready?”

Zara and I both nod, and Jaylen turns and begins heading down the tunnel again. We reach the intersection quickly. Jaylen looks left and right, and then heads straight across. Zara follows her, and I take up the rear.

We’ve just stepped into the far tunnel when Zara suddenly stiffens and stops walking. Her eyes seem fixed on something ahead of us, something I can’t see.

Then her legs buckle beneath her, her eyes roll back in her head, and she falls to the ground.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

ZARA

At first all I can see is a glowing violet light. Blinding me, wrapping around me, pulsating slightly.

It’s also whispering. Calling my name in melodious tones, over and over.

The glow fades slightly and now I can see that it runs in a path, flowing away from me like a river. It tugs at me, as if a strong wind is pushing me from behind, curling around my arms and leading me forward. I take one tentative step, and then another.

I know what it is, because it’s the most familiar feeling in the world. The force I see in my mind’s eye whenever I summon my power, the presence I feel within Night. The wild magic.

But it’s never actually spoken to me before.

I take another step along the moving path, but then I feel another presence behind me, a different presence. Not a soft purple glow but a dark specter, a rush of darkness and teeth and black wings.

The voices intensify, calling my name frantically, and at the same time the glowing path begins to fade. I look behind me, heart beating and clawing in my chest, and I can see something coming toward me at great speed. I can’t make out details, but I know that I do not want it to reach me. I try to run but it’s somehow sucking me toward it, and I can sense in the darkness a great tooth-lined maw, opening to devour me…

Everything around me spins and images flash through my head, too rapid for me to capture.

And then I feel my body jerk, and I am back in the tunnel, Asher holding me in his arms, Jaylen standing over me, face stricken.

“Zara!” Asher gasps as my eyelids flutter open. “What happened?”

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