Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
MANU
ELLNESARI, PRESENT DAY
A drian’s house in the Valley of Lost Souls is a cozy chalet made of logs.
It smells of pine and cedar, with a hint of something sweet I can’t quite figure out.
The large windows are framed by heavy wool curtains in a deep shade of red.
None of the furniture and fixings are modern, though.
It seems as if I’ve traveled back in time to when I met Karl.
If this place holds significance to Adrian, then it’s logical to conclude he’s been stuck here for centuries and somehow his body stopped aging.
It does make me wonder what will happen to him if he leaves the Valley of Lost Souls.
Will he decompose rapidly before our eyes like the Nazi asshole from the Indiana Jones movie?
I push that gruesome visual to the back of my mind and continue to explore the cabin. The fireplace is dormant, and in front of it, there’s a dark brown fur rug. Perhaps the pelt of a bear. Everything I see is rustic and straight from medieval times.
“Is this where you used to live before you were imprisoned here?” Karl asks.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
I spot a bookshelf with a few old tomes and investigate. I pull a book out, but Adrian says, “Don’t bother. The pages are blank.”
“All of them?” I arch a brow.
“It seems knowledge of the outside world isn’t available to me.” He clutches a gold medallion hanging around his neck. Funny, I didn’t notice he was wearing any jewelry before.
“Thanks for inviting us over, but we can’t stay long. We must locate the Magna Vis, and then hopefully, you can help us find the way out.”
“It’d be helpful if we had a description of the object and what it does,” he says.
Both Adrian and Karl turn to me, expecting me to know.
“Like I said before, King Ruel didn’t give me a description. Apparently, the Magna Vis can change shape—at least, that was Castiel’s theory.”
Karl throws his hands in the air. “How did they expect you to locate it, then?”
“They believed I’d be able to sense the Magna Vis, or at least be drawn to its power.”
Adrian frowns, then walks to the window and stares into the distance. He remains silent for a bit.
“What’s on your mind?” Karl finally asks him.
Adrian releases a sigh, then looks over his shoulder. “It’s nothing.”
My gaze drops to his neck, and the medallion is gone. “What happened to your necklace?”
He blinks fast. “What necklace?”
“The one you were wearing a second ago. You clutched it.”
“I did?” He presses a hand against his sternum but finds only naked skin.
“Manu, are you sure you saw it?” Karl asks.
Taken aback, I glance at him. “I swear it. When Adrian stated that knowledge of the outside world wasn’t available to him, he grabbed the gold medallion.”
Karl keeps staring at me as if I’m talking nonsense.
“I know what I saw!”
He winces. “I’m sorry. My question came out wrong. This place messes with our heads. It’s not a matter of not believing you… but it could have been an illusion meant only for you.”
I lower my chin and stare at the floor. Could it be? But why would I see Adrian wearing a necklace? It makes no sense.
“What if the necklace you saw is the Magna Vis you seek?” Adrian asks.
I whip my face to him, bewildered that I didn’t come to that logical conclusion. “Of course. That must be it.”
Karl places a hand on my arm and watches me with renewed motivation. “Can you describe the necklace?”
“It was a gold medallion hanging from a thin gold chain. I think there was a pattern designed on it, but I only got a glimpse before Adrian covered it with his hand.”
“And did you sense any power coming from it?” Adrian moves closer, more animated than before.
“Not really.” The truth deflates me a bit. “What if it was only a memory from your past and unrelated to the Magna Vis?”
Karl pulls me into a side hug. “Don’t lose hope now, my love. Why would you see something from Adrian’s memory if it wasn’t linked to what you seek?”
I rest my head against his shoulder, basking in the comfort only Karl can provide. “I don’t know. But you’re right, I can’t lose hope now.”
“Where do you think we should start our search?” Karl asks Adrian.
He sits on the chair next to the window and looks outward again. He seems to like the view. “I’m not sure, but you can’t search for it now. We have to wait until the opening reappears.”
My chest tightens. “And how long will that take?”
“A few hours. Perhaps you should rest. You can use my bedroom.”
The last thing I want is rest. I’m not tired. But I could use more time alone with Karl.
“All right. Thanks.” Karl laces his fingers with mine, and I sense the change in him as well. We’re on the same boat—a very filthy one.
KARL
Despite not being tired when we accepted Adrian’s offer to use his bedroom, Manu and I did fall asleep eventually. I suppose all the lovemaking took a toll on our bodies even in this strange place.
She’s in my arms, tucked snugly against my chest, when a bloodcurdling scream jars me fully awake. Manu lifts her head and stares at me. Her eyes are round and frightened. “What the hell was that?”
The scream comes again, and I recognize his voice. “It’s Adrian.”
We both jump out of bed and rush into the living room.
The sky is dark outside, and the fire in the fireplace rages on, bathing the room in a warm orange glow.
Adrian is lying on the floor in front of the fireplace, curled in a fetal position.
His eyes are closed, and he’s holding something in his hand close to his throat.
“He’s having a nightmare,” Manu says.
I run to his side and shake him. “Adrian, wake up.”
“Ophelia… no, please, no,” he whimpers.
A loud explosion shakes the entire room, as if we’ve been hit by an earthquake. Hell! We need to get out of here.
I shake him harder. “Adrian! Wake up, damn it!”
His blue eyes finally fly open, but his pupils are fully dilated and his gaze is unfocused. “Ophelia,” he mumbles, and then his expression falls as he closes his eyes again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“You had a nightmare, Adrian. Whatever happened, it’s long in the past,” Manu tells him.
Another explosion rocks our world. It’s much closer now. “Adrian, danger is coming. We can’t stay here.”
He releases his hold on the object around his throat, and I see the gold medallion Manu described earlier.
“Are you seeing this?” she asks.
“Yes.”
Adrian pulls on the medallion, stretching the gold chain so he can look at what’s in his hand. “I’ve never seen this before.”
A loud whoosh rips through the silence, and then an entire wall explodes inward in a deafening boom , sending us flying backward. I hit the far wall hard, banging my head. Smoke and dust fill the room, and the ringing in my ears seems to go on forever. I’m dizzy and seeing double.
“Karl?” Manu’s voice sounds far away. “Are you all right?”
I blink fast, trying to clear my sight.
She appears in front of me, eyes startled and frantic. “Can you move?”
“I… I think so,” I rasp, and a coughing fit hits me. “Where’s Adrian?”
“I’m right here.” He helps me up, and then I notice the huge gap where the wall used to be, and the flames that are already eating that part of the chalet. “Come on. We need to go before the fire turns into an inferno.”
We run in the opposite direction, flying through the front door only to step into another nightmare. Flames as tall as buildings circle us like a towering furnace. There’s no escape.
“What the hell is this? I thought this place was supposed to be one of your happy memories, Adrian,” Manu blurts out.
He doesn’t offer a reply. He’s frozen, staring in horror at the ring of fire.
“We’re obviously trapped in one of his bad memories,” I say. “He needs to snap out of it.”
Manu stands in front of Adrian and slaps his face hard. Okay, that’s one way to do it.
Touching his cheek, he looks at her. “What did you do that for?”
“You were in a trance of sorts.”
He shakes his head. “I wasn’t…” He looks over her shoulder, but she grabs him by the chin and forces him to face her.
“Eyes on me. This is one of your memories, a bad one. We need you to focus on something good.”
His Adam’s apple bobs up and down. “I’ll try.”
He closes his eyes and scrunches his brows together, but the fire grows hotter and wilder.
Whatever he’s doing isn’t working. I glance at the medallion that’s still in plain sight.
He was clutching it before. Maybe that’s the key.
If this is the Magna Vis King Ruel is looking for, it should open a portal out of here.
“Use the medallion,” I tell him. “Focus on your last memory before you ended up here.”
“I… I don’t remember.”
I grab him by the shoulders. “The memory is there, Adrian. I trust you. You can do it.”
He stares at me as if I sprouted a second head. “How do you know I can? We’ve just met.”
“You’ve survived in this godforsaken place for centuries without completely losing yourself. I believe you can do it.”
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes again, still clutching the medallion.
“Manu, quickly, hold his arm.”
I do the same in case the magic of the medallion works in a similar way as walking the wind does.
Seconds tick by, and nothing happens. The blaze is so close now that it’s stinging my skin. I fear we have only a minute before the fire consumes us.
“Karl,” Manu whimpers.
I take her hand, lacing my fingers with hers. “I love you, Manu.”
No sooner do I say those words than a cool breeze envelops us, gaining momentum with each breath I take.
It spins and spins, and then we’re levitating above the ground and soaring high, putting distance between us and the fire raging below.
My pulse is racing. We’re at the mercy of a foreign magic and an unstable user.
But I don’t want to say anything to break Adrian’s concentration.
After a moment, the fire disappears as if it was never there.
All I see around us is a starry sky. It’s like we’re floating in space.
Then comes the drop, so sudden, I can’t even scream. Manu’s hand slips from mine, and she disappears from view. No! I lose sight of Adrian too.
The sensation that I’m falling out of the sky doesn’t last long, but those few seconds are the most terrifying of my life. When I reach solid ground, it’s just like when I wake up in bed with a jerk. There isn’t any pain, but my heart is beating a hundred miles per hour.
“Son of a bitch!” Manu blurts out to my right. “Take your paws off me!”
“Get off me first!” Selor shouts back.
Shit, I forgot about the male. But if he’s here, then we’ve escaped the Valley of Lost Souls.
I jump to my feet and look for them, ready to celebrate.
It’s nighttime, and a moonless sky to boot, so everything is shrouded in darkness.
Eventually, my eyes adjust to the gloom, and I spot Manu and Selor a few yards from me.
They’re facing each other, but while Manu is glowering at him, Selor is busy dusting off his clothes.
A groan to my left reminds me that Adrian came with us. He’s closer to me, trying to get up.
“Are you okay?” I offer him a hand, and he stares at it for a couple of beats before accepting the help.
“My head feels like it’s going to split in two. Where are we?”
“I’m not sure, but we’re not in the Valley of Lost Souls anymore.”
His eyes seem to grow larger. “We’ve escaped?”
I nod, but before I can elaborate, Selor walks over. “Did you get it? Did you find the Magna Vis?”
My gaze drops to Adrian’s throat, but I see nothing but skin. My stomach bottoms out.
“No,” Manu cries out. “Did we lose it on the way here?”
“What do you mean, lose it?” Selor shouts.
“I don’t know.” Her voice cracks while she searches the ground, and her desperation mirrors my own.
Without it, King Ruel can’t lift Manu’s curse. We’ll never be able to be together. I begin searching too, frantically. “It must be here somewhere.”
Suddenly, a lick of dread sends goose bumps down my back. I stop in my tracks, sensing we’re no longer alone.
“So, you aren’t dead after all, Selor,” Queen Maewe says as she appears before us, followed by at least twenty soldiers. She’s wearing a long coat the color of spun silver, pants, and boots. Her hair is secured in a braid. She’s dressed for traveling—no… for battle.
Her shrewd eyes narrow on Manu, and then she switches her attention to Adrian. “ You … I never thought you’d find your way out.”
Adrian takes a step forward. “Who are you?”
Queen Maewe laughs. “Oh dear… you don’t remember me? I know it’s been centuries, but I confess I’m a little offended.”
“He’s lucky he doesn’t remember you,” Manu grits out.
The queen cocks her head, grinning. “Oh, he will, and what a delight it will be when he does.”
Fuck. What did she do to Adrian that she can’t wait for him to remember? Nothing good, I’m sure. She thrives on inflicting pain.
Before we can do anything, silvery vines fly through the air and wrap around my body so tight I can barely breathe. From the corner of my eye, I see the same thing happen to Manu, Adrian, and Selor.
“Let me go, you bitch!” Manu shrieks.
Queen Maewe ignores her and walks slowly toward Selor.
“My queen.” He bows his head, the only part of his body he can still move.
“Tell me, Selor. How did you manage to return from the dead?”
“I… I don’t know. The last thing I remember is getting zapped by that bitch from Cygnus.”
Queen Maewe pinches his chin and lifts his face. “I’d believe you if you weren’t trapped by a different vow than the one you made with me.”
“I was forced into it by that fool.” Selor indicates me with a tilt of his head.
Throw me under the bus, why don’t you?
Queen Maewe approaches me, and every fiber in my body is repulsed by her proximity.
“Ah yes, the wolf shifter familiar.” She runs her long nails over my cheek, sending unpleasant chills through my body.
“You look as impressive as I remember. It’s too bad things didn’t work out between you and my daughter. You’d make a cute couple.”
The fucking bitch. She knows very well that Vivi and I were never romantically involved.
“Stay away from Karl!” Manu shouts.
The vines surrounding Manu tighten, making her scream.
“No! Please, don’t hurt her,” I beg.
“After all this time, you still come to her defense. That’s admirable. Loyalty is so hard to come by.” She looks pointedly at Selor.
“I’ve been loyal to you through millennia, even when you banished me to the mortal lands to spy on your offspring,” he retorts.
“And yet, at the first opportunity, you conspired against me and joined forces with my husband.”
Selor’s eyes widen. “I did no such thing!”
“Silence!” The queen motions with her hand, and the vines cover Selor’s mouth. “I’ll get to the bottom of things once we’re back in Aquila. One of you will crack. Let’s see who does first.”