Chapter 95
CHAPTER 95
Farron
I have been afraid many times in my life. So afraid, it felt as if the sun would never shine again through such darkness. Like when I hid in the alder tree as the goblins ravaged my home. Or when I looked into the eyes of the Enchantress and saw the worst parts of myself looking back at me. Or when I held my mother’s dead body and realized that every challenge I would ever face, I would face without her guidance.
But standing before the pool is a different kind of fear entirely.
Green light flickers across my body from the giant diamond-shaped crystals that adorn the room. It’s as if just being in their glow saps my body of will; I am small beneath their radiance. Their light seems to cut through my skin, leaving me a bare skeleton, my every weak thought, ripped apart and put on display.
In the middle of the stone chamber lies the reservoir: a large pool of ink-black water. Emerald stalagmites jut up from the ground, while deadly sharp stalactites jut down from the ceiling. Brilliant green energy flows from each crystal, surging through the ground toward the reservoir. When the lines of energy reach the pool, they drip into the water like liquid light, making the water appear oily and luminescent.
There’s something lingering in the darkness. Something lying in wait.
Farron, Autumn-blood. Come—
“Have you finished?” Caspian’s voice tears me from my thoughts.
I shake my head. “Yes. Everything is in place.”
At the base of each of the huge crystals, I have planted mycelium from Nori’s mushrooms. They’ll need a spell to grow into the cracks in the stone and form a connection with each other. A connection powerful enough to siphon the energy from this place.
My spell will need to do more than bring them back to life though. I need to change their power. Instead of sucking the vitality from animals or plants, I need these mushrooms to suck magic.
“All right then!” Caspian claps his hands, the sound echoing through the chamber. “What are we waiting for? Bring this place crashing down.”
My heart thunders in my chest. Have Kel and George found their way to the prison? Are they even alive?
I can show you, Farron, Autumn-blood.
I give my head another shake. We can’t linger here. I have to do this now. “I need to say the spell.”
“So, say it.” Green light flickers off Caspian’s features, making his handsome face sharp with shadows. His chest heaves with shallow breaths, and he can’t stay still, pacing around the chamber as if he’s a beast caught in a trap. He refuses to look at the pool.
When I don’t reply, Caspian squints his eyes shut. “ Say it , Farron.”
Say the word, Farron, Autumn-blood. Let me help you.
My palms are sweaty, and I wipe them on my pants before kneeling down to the earth and placing my hands on the stone floor. I shouldn’t be here. Every nerve in my body knows this place is wrong. But there’s no choice.
I’ve rewritten the spell a thousand times in my head before landing on the words that felt ancient, connected to the oldest magic of the Vale. I am High Prince of Autumn. My mate bond has awakened and thrives in my heart. My curse is broken. If anyone can create a spell, it is I.
Besides, Caspian helped me with it. He knows this place better than anyone.
“Ancient whispers and shadows deep, hear our plea, let magic seep. Draw forth its essence, let it flow, where mystic forces ebb and grow.” My voice is soft, coaxing the words to fulfill their duty.
“Louder,” Caspian growls. “This has to work.”
I clear my throat and speak with more strength: “Grown in the moon’s ashes, a hidden vale, where enchantment thrives and spirits trail. Embrace the power, let it swell, in realms unseen, where the fae may dwell.”
My words spark in the air, but there’s no magic catching, no blaze of the spell finding its mark. My throat feels too dry.
I look up at the pool. Its presence is too great. There’s too much sorrow …
Utter despair washes over me. How did we expect Kel to make it though the labyrinth? He’ll be lying dead with George beside him, the Queen left to rot in her cage forever. Stars know where Ezryn is. Probably dead too, body already white bones now. An image flashes in my mind. Dayton on his back, blood draining into the sands of the arena, body ravaged by sword and arrow.
“Say the words, Farron,” Caspian growls. “Keep going.”
But why? I can see her, screaming my name. I can’t protect her. Can’t protect my mate. Shadows erupt from the ground, wrapping around Rosalina’s arms, legs, body. Her eyes are wild as she searches for me.
There is no point for me to exist. No point left when everything we’re doing will lead to—
“Say. The. Words.” Caspian’s in front of me, his purple gaze searing. Roughly, he grabs my shirt and puts his palm flat against my heart. “Whatever strength you have left in here, find it. Do not let him in, Farron. Guard your heart with everything you have. And say the damned words.”
Stone against my palms. Green light over my skin. Caspian’s hand on my heart. His touch tethers me back to this place.
“Slumber, oh magic, in silent rest. Your essence fades, yet still, it’s blessed. Return to the depths, let the living see, and in your tranquil sleep, be free,” I utter. My words need more power, more magic. Find the strength within my heart.
I turn my gaze inward, to that place I cannot see, but only feel. There’s something within me, something precious and undiscovered …
A spark.
I gasp, then follow it further within myself. Tendrils of golden light. The bright crack of sun over the horizon, and the sparkle of a sea of stars both above and below. Something important has occurred.
Something worth fighting for.
“For magic knows no bounds, but journeys anew. A cycle unbound forever true,” I say, a new cadence to my voice. My words echo over one another. Caspian gives a shaky smile, then clutches harder against my chest.
My fingers grip into the stone. “Your reign in this world now wanes. A peaceful sap as nature gains.”
Silence haunts the chamber. Caspian and I look at each other, blinking. I stand, pulling him with me.
“Is it working?” he breathes.
The mushrooms stir, then straighten, their black domes growing in size. Dark tendrils of mycelium snake under the earth, crisscrossing the emerald rivers that flow into the pool.
The ground begins to shake, and I clutch Caspian closer to steady myself. Rocks fall from the ceiling, and the crystals tremble. Their glowing light flickers. I hold my breath.
With a deafening roar, the crystals shatter into a myriad of sparkling shards. They scatter across the floor, falling like poison rain. We duck down, sheltering our heads from the blows. A cacophony of screams fills the chamber, the sound of a woman crying over and over again.
The chamber falls into complete darkness.
“W-we did it,” Caspian whispers. “We did it!”
But I can’t respond. I can only stare into the darkness.
There’s something coming out of the pool.
Someone.
“Welcome, Farron, Autumn-blood,” the entity says, a choir of whispers and screams forged into one voice. “I have been looking forward to meeting you.”