Chapter 48
Chapter
Forty-Eight
Selene
Sable is winning.
Could I fall to my knees and beg? Sure.
It would do no good.
Could I ball my fists and fight? Absolutely, but it would be short-lived.
Instead, I wear the shoes Titus has had to endure. I watch his fate dangle on a rope, in the hands of others. Effortless to stop it.
Down here, Sable and Hector hold the power. I must wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Watching Titus grind his teeth, mentally bend a knee so I’m not hurt. It guts me, scars so deep I’ll never walk the same. I deserve it. I asked him to bear this pain when I denied the bond, after all.
Sweat beads down my spine, causing the silk of my shirt to cling like an itchy rash. It’s poetic that we’re now trapped in a tunnel, forced not to run away. This is the end of the journey, and endings create new beginnings.
One person will walk out of here with the Vitalis.
I must make sure it’s Titus.
My eyes roam over his broad shoulders as he leads the way deeper and deeper into Caldara. He’s always been a guiding light, even when he’s mere embers and smoke. A born leader who will make Everett proud.
I glance at Sable as she hisses and grunts, biting her tongue as she follows silently. I feel Sofia’s eyes on my back, as well as Hector’s.
“Elderan,” I whisper in desperation. Nothing happens. He said I’d never see him again.
Setbacks are not failures; they give you a different perspective. Everyone says sink or swim, but what if we do both? What if, when we desperately swim, we accidentally swallow too much water, allowing the weight of our mistakes to pull us down?
What then?
Why is it sink or swim? Why not both? Why can’t I sink, but then choose to swim, to kick and scream out all that water and fight, swim again, and again?
Death can’t stop me. It didn’t stop my brother.
That’s what it’s going to take. Failure to succeed. Sacrifices, as Everett always alluded to.
Hector’s exhale signals relief. His steps heighten to eager stomps. “Hurry up!” he shouts at Titus.
“Are we close?” Sofia whispers. She’s brave. I believe Hector would cut out all of our tongues.
“I sense the metal… it’s different,” he mutters more to himself. A mage light floats out like a buoy into the darkness, bobbing in the stale air. “More light, Sofia!”
Sofia throws out half a dozen more mage lights that sink into the larger room. A few gemstones on her necklace lose their sparkle as she uses the magic she stored in them.
Titus looks over his shoulder at me, masking his worry with a warrior’s stare. I force a smile, one I wish he’d grab and own. I’m fine; please believe me. I’ll get you out of this mess. I will myself to believe it, as well.
His feet halt, and Sable runs into his back. It’s like an IV has been infused into us all. A jolt runs down my spine. Magic is ahead, but it’s different.
Titus holds up his hand, warning Hector to stop. Hector does because what we hear makes us all pause.
Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum!
The sound is as deep as thunder and static-like lightning. Pulsing in warning. Repetitive, scarring yet calming because we all know that sound, for it resides within all of us.
“That’s a heartbeat,” I whisper through hesitant lips.
The mage lights that entered the room pulse from each loud thump. Light travels, showing us a glimpse of the room ahead: carved stone hollows out a large cavern. Directly across the space is another tunnel entrance, the slope leading up, but the roof has caved in.
Does that lead to Caldera’s castle?
I peer over my shoulder at our exit, which must lead outside. No one but Torin used this passage, and now us.
“Why is there a beating heart?” Sofia bends down, picks up the ends of her dress, and steps back.
Metal flashes in front of me. Hector comes to my side, his sword raised high. He’s the only one with a weapon. Glaring down, I look at my outfit. All silk. I look at Titus. Buckles. Can Hector fashion them into deadly weapons?
Then there’s Sofia, but she’s scared. She’s used to running through her portals rather than fighting. I can take her down. Hector and Sable are the biggest threats.
It’s okay. I’ll think of something. If I can get Hector away from his sword, we might have a fighting chance.
“My twin is going to betray you,” I whisper to Hector. Our eyes clash, and I widen my stance.
Is that a smile or a snarl?
Sweat drips down his temple, over his tattooed skin. So many runes… where did he find them?
“You helped the wrong person,” I add.
He leans closer. “Sable helped me,” he hisses.
Why did he admit that?
He pulls away with a grin that stretches wider than the known lands. “Enter,” Hector orders Titus.
Titus holds up his hands. The mage cuffs slide down an inch. “Take these off. I give you my word I will not attack.”
If the Vitalis is in that room, it means I’m about to lose all aspects of my brother truly. His magic will flee soon. This is not the final farewell I wanted.
Hector’s finger twitches, and Titus’s chest recoils as a buckle starts to melt. “Enter. Now.” Hector warns him. “If not, I will sink this into your heart, and your mate can watch you die.”
Titus and I share a lover's panicked glance. If Everett’s magic vanishes, we lose the shock of a surprise. Fate cannot be that cruel—my brother can’t. Everett’s magic will wait until Titus has the book in hand, surely.
“I’ll,” I try to offer myself, but Titus steps forward, chest wide, ready to be my shield.
I follow his steps, but Hector grabs me, “Not so fast.”
The heartbeat quickens, and the room glows with a grayish-blue light that exhales over Titus, illuminating him. Titus’s eyes widen, his jaw slackens, and his chest caves in as a father’s does when he cradles something precious.
I sense his wonder, relief, and worry. I know what he sees before anyone else does.
The book Everett gave his life for. The Vitalis.
“You were right,” Titus’s whisper echoes into the tunnel. Memories of my brother pull tears from my eyes. We did it! We found it! But what cruelty has been bestowed upon us, to see, yet not touch.
Titus starts to turn his head, searching for my eyes.
“Titus!” I scream when his back arches. He yells in pain, falling forward, knees and palms smacking against the hard stone, the mage cuffs digging into his wrists.
Sable and Sofia scramble back. I dive forward, hands reaching like ropes, feet springing forward—an undying insect that fears nothing, no human boot squashing me, no lethal poison sprayed upon me, only the loss of her mate.
Hector jerks me back, curving his body over me… shielding me. Why is he doing that?
I twist around his torso and spot my mate. Titus’s black hair hangs wet over his forehead; his nails dig into the stone. His lungs hammer louder than the eerie heartbeat. Light bursts from his spine, jumping out like a predator, but instead of attacking us, it disintegrates.
I’m a deadweight, watching as Everett’s magic tears itself free from my mate, just as Everett ordered it to do. The air smells like a floral candle has been blown out.
Drip, drip, drip. A few lone tears fall from Titus’s eyes. He peers at me, on his hands and knees; he resembles fire that was smothered by water. Smoking, hissing, exhausted. He flattens his palms awkwardly with the cuffs binding him, preparing to stand.
“I’m fine,” he gasps out lies.
“Is there a creature?” Hector pushes me into the wall, covering my back. He swings his sword out, blocking Sofia and Sable from venturing further.
“No,” Titus replies truthfully. No creature inside hurt him. He stumbled because Everett’s promise had come true. Time-weaving departs when Titus finds the Vitalis.
Why, Everett? Why not allow him time-weaving forever? What future is so terrible that you did not give foresight to Titus? What tragedy is so horrendous that it would have made Titus stop his search, allowing Sable to get the Vitalis?
“What is the cause of the heartbeat?” Hector hisses, and Sable shoves closer, her eyes sour at Hector’s hold of me.
“Come and see for yourself.” Titus stands, locking his knees so he doesn’t sway.
“I’ll go,” Sable replies. She glances at Hector, and he doesn’t stop her. That pains Sable. She pushes his sword down and enters the room, stepping a few feet above Titus.
“What do you see?” Hector shouts.
Sable covers her smile with her hand, speechless for the first time. Her eyes widen in wonder; her black hair taking on the same grayish-blue shine that covers the room. “Marvelous. It’s… real.” She waves her hand. “Hector! Come!” She giggles.
He looks at Sofia before pressing his sword to my back, steering me into the room first.
Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.
My chin enters first. The sight makes me stumble into Titus’s side. Hector is so awestruck that he strides ahead with Sable. He doesn’t see what’s happened—that I’ve touched my mate. Titus slowly grabs my wrist, guiding it to his fangs.
Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum!
Is that my heart or the one the room possesses?
Drink! Hurry! Titus is our only hope of surviving. He needs his fire! His gaze shifts to the tunnel, where Sofia stands, too scared to enter, her eyes fixed on us. Shit!
Instead of dropping my wrist, he kisses it. He was born a lover, forced to be a fighter. Sharp fangs cut me. I gasp with pleasure, but Hector and Sable think I’m still awestruck.
Sofia watches as Titus swallows gulp after gulp, fueling his fire. Why isn’t she saying anything? Her pretty face, which seduced Galen, turns apologetic. All the jewels on her neck look more like weights.
Ba-dum! Titus pulls another mouthful. Ba-dum! He gulps it down. Ba-dum! He’s about to stop, more worried about my current state. I press my wrist deeper into his fangs. Another swallow, he licks the wound, stopping the bleeding before the others see. He kisses my fingertips, then lowers my hand.
“I’ve never seen anything so stunning,” Sable coos.
Titus looks me dead in the eyes and whispers, “Neither have I.”