Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
LYRA
Ahot, sulfur-scented breeze wafted over me as we perched along the rim of Mount Dorthus. Deep within the volcano lay the Dark Palace, hovering above the pool of molten lava like a foreboding island.
The last time we’d been here, Adriel had leveled the upper stories of an entire wing with his earth-wielding abilities, though the rest of the fortress remained intact.
Demons flew in low circles around the palace, guarding the entrance and swooping up every so often to patrol the barren landscape surrounding the volcano.
“Do you think he took the bait?” Adriel asked in a low tone.
“Yes,” I said, though my answer was born out of desperation more than anything. “I’m the one he wants.”
In truth, it didn’t matter if Semphrys had believed the vision I’d sent Kaden through the bond. I would infiltrate the palace with or without my friends’ help. I would cut down whatever demons stood between me and Kaden and face his father if I must.
I wasn’t leaving here without my mate.
“We can’t fly in,” Adriel said with a quick glance at Sorsha. “I can’t carry both of you, and we’d be seen. We’ll have to go in from below.”
My stomach churned at the prospect of traveling through the earth with Adriel.
My body still remembered that horrible feeling of being buried alive, not to mention that the strain of the journey had made Adriel violently ill.
But with the demons guarding the palace and the bubbling lava below, I could see no alternative.
Reluctantly, I edged closer to the royal guard, and he hooked an arm around my waist. His other hand twined around Sorsha’s waist as the rim of the volcano shuddered.
Layers of black rock crumbled as a chasm appeared beneath our feet. My knees wobbled and then gave way as Adriel’s magic drew us into Mount Dorthus itself.
Darkness swallowed me whole, and my lungs seized with panic as the sulfuric scent of volcanic gases and ash filled my airways.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Small fragments of rock tore at my skin, and a crushing pressure heaved against me from all sides. My bones groaned and creaked, and still that unstoppable force continued to draw me deeper beneath the earth’s surface.
Panic formed a vise around my chest. My lungs screamed for air, but there was none. I felt as if I would suffocate buried under this wretched volcano as Kaden died a slow death somewhere above me.
But then the pressure on my skull abated, though it took me a moment to realize we’d broken the surface. I gasped in a lungful of dusty, fetid air, whipping my head from side to side to identify where we were.
There was only darkness.
My legs shook as I climbed out of the rocky tunnel Adriel had dragged us through. I could sense him and Sorsha moving nearby, though I couldn’t see them.
A tiny ball of faelight winked into existence, casting a warm glow over the space where we’d landed. We were standing in a stone chamber that seemed to have been carved out of the volcano itself. It was stiflingly hot, and I realized we were below the chamber of lava.
Did Semphrys’s fortress truly go this deep?
Brushing dirt from my clothes, I drew my witchwood blade and checked my bandolier to be sure I hadn’t lost the Death Bringer’s hands. They were still swathed in the crude canvas sack Sorsha had fashioned, though the bag looked a bit worse for the wear.
“Are you all right?” I asked Adriel, studying him in the dim glow of Sorsha’s faelight. He’d magicked away his wings for the journey through the volcano, and for a moment, he looked almost human.
“I’ll survive,” he croaked, pushing off the wall and shoving the hair out of his eyes. “We didn’t travel very far. Just a few miles underground.”
“A few miles?” I repeated. I hadn’t realized we’d gone that deep below the surface.
Adriel nodded. “These tunnels shouldn’t be habitable, but Semphrys’s power makes them so.”
I swallowed, trying not to think what it would be like to be trapped down here.
Praying Adriel hadn’t inadvertently earth-wielded us into a locked cell, I tried the door handle.
It was a relief when it swung open and we emerged into a narrow stone tunnel. The black rock that made up the walls was pitted where air bubbles had formed in the lava, and the entire corridor smelled like sulfur.
The heat was oppressive, and claustrophobia swamped me as sweat slicked my skin. We were miles below the base of Mount Dorthus with an entire demon army swarming above us. I didn’t want to think about how we would escape this place once we found Kaden.
We made our way down the passageway, checking every chamber we passed. Each time we opened a door, I braced myself for a horde of demons to come spilling out. But we must have been traipsing through a seldom-used part of the fortress because we encountered no one.
Finally, we reached a locked cell with a small grate at the top of the door.
My heart raced as I peered inside and saw a dark figure slumped against the wall. Reaching out with my senses, I tried to feel for the hum of the connection between us, but I knew before Sorsha sent her ball of faelight inside that the prisoner wasn’t Kaden.
We pressed on, Adriel taking the lead. The tunnels formed a complicated maze, but the royal guard seemed to know exactly where he was going.
I supposed he’d walked these passages before, though I couldn’t imagine he’d memorized all the corridors that split off from the main tunnel, leading into even narrower passageways.
A sinking feeling gnawed at the pit of my stomach. The tunnels seemed to stretch for miles, and I felt it had to be a small miracle that we hadn’t encountered a single demon.
How would we ever find him?
Going inward, I searched my mind for the golden thread of our connection, but I could no longer sense Kaden through the mating bond.
Grief yawned like a pit inside of me, threatening to swallow me whole. I returned my attention to the tunnels, trying not to let my thoughts spiral.
We didn’t even know for certain that Kaden was down here. What if Semphrys was keeping him somewhere else? How could we possibly search the entire palace without being discovered?
But then I felt it — a light prickle along the back of my neck.
It was faint at first, but it was definitely there. The dark hum of magic that was as familiar as my own.
“This way,” I murmured, shoving past Adriel and leading the way down the tunnel.
Once I’d grown attuned to it, the tingling sensation became more pronounced. I broke into a run as I followed that deep sense of knowing, reaching out occasionally to feel for Kaden.
I skidded to a halt outside a heavy wooden door with the same style of grate at the top. Emotion clogged my throat as I peered through the slats and laid eyes on the dark form within.
Kaden hung suspended from the stone wall, his head drooping against his chest. Damp locks of black hair fell into his face, but there was no mistaking the fine set of his jaw or the ominous power that buzzed against my skin.
“It’s him,” I whispered, tugging on the handle. Of course, this door was locked.
“Probably warded,” Adriel muttered.
Not warded. Sealed with runes that formed an impenetrable magical barrier.
Squinting through the dark once more, my chest clenched with worry. Kaden hadn’t stirred at the sound of our voices, which meant he was either asleep or . . .
No. I couldn’t think like that. I wouldn’t have been able to sense him if he were dead.
Feeling desperate, I concentrated all my might on unraveling the runes that denied us entry. I’d inadvertently dismantled a locking rune sealing a drawer in Caladwynn’s study, but this rune was unfamiliar and stubbornly resisted my efforts to unlock it.
Cursing softly, I racked my brain for any unlocking runes I’d glimpsed in Mankara’s text. But I’d barely had a chance to skim the book, and my memories of it were fuzzy.
“Stand aside,” Adriel growled, elbowing me out of the way.
He placed a hand over the stone holding the door in place, and I staggered as a powerful tremor shook the ground beneath my feet.
Rock crumbled around the door frame, creating a hole large enough to slip through.
“Hurry,” he said. “Someone will have felt that.”
But I was already clambering through the gap, tripping across the uneven stone floor to where Kaden hung limp against the wall.
At first, I thought it might be magic holding him in place, but as my eyes adjusted to the near total darkness, I realized his wings were nailed to the stone.
Sharp rowan stakes tipped with iron were driven through the rock. Dark blood dripped from the puncture marks, the wounds red and angry looking.
Fury unlike I’d ever known coursed through me at the sight. Rowan wood was toxic to demons and obstructed their natural healing capabilities. While his injuries wouldn’t kill him, he had to be in unbearable pain.
“Kaden,” I whispered, reaching out to brush my fingers along his jaw, which was shadowed in a thick scruff.
He jerked awake, his hand shooting out to capture my wrist in an iron grip.
I winced. It wasn’t gentle. But that wasn’t what made my chest seize with panic. It was his eyes.
Gone were the stormy gray irises that I’d come to adore. His eyes were pure, glistening black, like two drops of oil.
Demon eyes.
“Come back for more?” he rasped, his voice low and menacing.
His fingers clenched my arm so hard I thought he might break my wrist.
“Kaden. It’s me,” I choked, gritting my teeth against the pain.
“Get out of my head,” he snarled, his other hand striking out to capture my throat.
The move was so fast, so unexpected, that I had no time to react.
His fingers pressed in hard, cutting off my air supply and causing my head to swim. I dug my fingernails into his hand, trying to pry him off my throat. But even injured, Kaden’s strength was immense.
Then Adriel’s fist swung out, knocking Kaden’s head to the side. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and the change in position revealed a mottled yellow pattern of bruises that had begun to fade.