Chapter 48 #2
I glance to Elyistria, confusion etched across my face.
She knew something I didn’t, something that meant Daisy needed to be taken into one of the most sacred places ever created.
I didn’t have time to question her; Daisy’s heartbeat was still stuttering, like a candle in the wind.
I lift her tightly into my arms, rising as her hair falls like golden threads against my forearms. Her head lolls against my shoulder, and I don’t speak to anyone as I move.
I can’t. My throat is constricted, bone dry with fear.
Bits of stone crumble under my boots and fall into the vast crater below. The deeper we go, the heavier the air surrounding us gets, the scent of sulphur so strong my nose stings.
The chamber comes into view as I descend.
The vast space is circular, carved into the blackened roots of the earth itself.
Sconces spark to life as we move further inside, fuelled by magic so old it has the hairs on the back of my neck prickling, my wings trembling.
A stone altar awaits in the centre, looking eerily like the one she was just laid upon in Noxthrallia.
Images of her lying screaming and writhing flash through my head, making me stumble a step as the pain of it all crashes through me all over again.
Faded runes flicker to life the moment I step into the circle with her. A shiver runs down my spine that feels like a welcoming caress from the ancient magic that coats the atmosphere.
Elyistria halts beside the altar. “Lay her down.”
I hesitate. My arms won’t let her go. Not when the last time they did, she screamed, she—
“Korithax,” Elyistria says gently. “You must. This place… it was once hers. She must return to it to survive.”
I stare at her. “What do you mean, this was hers?”
She says nothing. She just places her hand onto mine, giving me a reassuring look. I inhale deeply, giving her a tight nod before lowering Daisy onto the stone, cradling the back of her head as I place her down, the runes flashing as her body connects with the altar.
I look down at her almost lifeless body, her radiance gone.
Another flash of light pulses through the runes, and the presence in the room shifts entirely.
The air grows still, humming with a power I’ve never felt before.
Elyistria shudders, stepping back as the runes around the altar burn brighter, and I follow suit, stepping out of the circle.
A low, ancient chant begins to echo around the chamber, speaking in a tongue I don’t understand. I glance at Elyistria and Aran, but they either don’t hear the chants or they don’t care enough about them as their eyes stay glued to Daisy.
The runes continue to pulse, low and slow, like an ancient heartbeat.
They cast a glow across Daisy’s skin, making her look even paler than she had moments ago.
Still, she doesn’t stir. I take a step forward—every inch of me screaming to pull her back into the safety of my arms—but Aran shifts in front of me, his palm braced against my chest.
“Don’t,” he says quietly, but I don’t miss the firmness in his tone. “She needs to do this, Korithax. She’s okay.”
My jaw clenches. “She doesn’t look okay.”
“She is in between,” Elyistria whispers, her eyes unblinking, trained on my queen. “Between what was, and what will be. You must not interfere.”
I want to ignore them both. Gods, I want to.
But something in Aran’s eyes, something unshakable, roots me to the spot.
So I stand there, and I watch as I feel my heart slowly break.
The longer we stand there, the heavier the air grows around us.
I can feel magic weaving through the chamber, slithering across the runes, coiling around Daisy like a serpent.
Her chest suddenly jerks as she sucks in a sharp, loud breath.
Then again, faster this time. Her entire body tenses as her chest rapidly rises and falls.
Her eyes are still closed, but her lids flutter rapidly like she’s having a nightmare.
Her breaths grow more ragged, causing panic to bloom in me like wildfire.
I can see the pain in her face, see her eyes dancing beneath the lids like she’s reliving every horror she’s ever known.
I instinctively step forward again, but Aran yet again blocks me with nothing more than a stern look.
“She’s remembering.”
Those two words from Elyistria have me pausing in my stride.
Remembering what? Because it looks like she’s remembering every painful thing she’s ever endured.
My fists tighten at my sides. I’ve laid her on two altars in one fucking day, and both times I’ve been utterly powerless in stopping her pain.
Daisy lets out another gasp, choked and uneven. Her head twitches to the side, her lips parting in a silent cry. Tears slip from her closed eyes, trailing down her temples and disappearing into the runes.
“Please,” I whisper, the word torn from me before I can stop it.
It felt like my soul was begging for her to be okay, begging for her to pull through this.
Because without her, I was nothing. Not anymore.
I watch as she suddenly goes still, the runes dimming and the entire chamber slamming into a silence so potent I can hear my own heartbeat.
“Daisy?” I rasp, stumbling forward.
She doesn’t move. I can’t see her breathing. I can’t see any sign of life inside of her. I search desperately with my heightened senses for any sign of life, but I come up short. Even the soul bond seems muted.
“No—no, no no…” I’m already in the circle, dropping to my knees beside her, my hands shaking as I gather her face in my palms. “Please. Not like this. Don’t go. Don’t fucking leave me. I haven’t had enough time.”
I look up desperately to Aran and Elyistria. Both of them stare at her lifeless body with an expression I can only decipher as… grief.