55. Lina
Lina
M y feet are quieter as I finish my trek across the den toward the drakai pit.
I hear no signs of guards this time and pray that means I got lucky and snuck by while they were distracted.
What I do hear is—well, I don’t think hear is the right word. I feel the drakai.
Dark power thrumming.
It’s terrifying.
I remember the cold darkness of the pit before. The feeling of the messages ricocheting through my skull.
Is it a warning? Are they waiting for me? Did the priestesses know what I’d planned after all and are just waiting for me to arrive so they can torture me before they end my existence?
Maybe. Yet, my feet continue moving. Even toward the unnerving warning.
The tremble of stone beneath my feet. The soft hum of a predator eager for a meal.
I hope I taste good.
“You will,” a voice purrs.
I suck in a breath and freeze. Was that… aloud? My heart hammers in my chest. Something responded to my thoughts out loud. What in heaven’s name?
“I am here,” a rumbling inhuman voice says.
My stomach churns. Inhuman. Which means… that was the drakai speaking to me?
“I am here when you are ready,” I whisper the words, playing them through. Was that drakai, or was that Astella? “Or am I just literally fucking insane?”
I take in a long breath. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change my next steps.
If there is a trap ahead, I am still going. If the drakai are attempting to lure me into their den so they can munch on my bones, so be it.
I have to try.
I grab the closest torch and sink into the darkness at the edge of the tunnel.
The last time I crossed the walkway, I did so in darkness but it was not preferable by a long shot.
My steps are slow and careful but not fearful.
I move with grace I didn’t even know I was capable of. So far, no priestesses.
But the strange goading voices float up, tickling my mind in the strangest of ways.
You’ll be so much tastier now that you’ve put a bit of meat on your bones.
The beautiful ones are always the most delicious.
Who will take the first bite?
I ignore each one and follow the path I know will take me to the girl. My toes sink into the thick muck. The glow from my flickering torchlight reveals the iron bars.
There is a tiny feminine form leaning against the bars, head full of stringy brown hair. My stomach twists. For one moment, I think it’s Astella. I feel both regret and relief when she turns to reveal the long nose and green eyes of the dungeon girl.
“You came,” she says, voice so weak and broken I fear I’m too late to save her. She’ll die here before long.
“Of course I did,” I say softly.
“Shhhh,” she says. “The guards have been on extra alert tonight.”
I swallow. Does that mean it could still be a trap? They weren’t on alert in the halls. Why? Again, I wish I had Astella’s intuition. Tell me what’s right. Tell me what to do.
But I have no firm answers here. Only questions.
Only uncertain choices that will paint the strokes of the rest of my life, however short it may be.
“Does that mean you?—”
“I didn’t bring you food, I’m sorry. I?—”
She forces a smile, but her eyes are so dim, so sunken. The light almost gone entirely. “That’s okay. Did you… did you do it, then?”
“Do…”
She shifts against the bars, like she’s unable to even hold her chest up. “Did you kill him?”
I blink. “Oh! Oh, um, no I couldn’t find the key.”
Her expression falls, all energy seeping from her. “Okay,” she whispers. Her eyes flutter closed.
“Wait.” I reach through the bars to touch her hand, to wake her, to ensure she remembers her hope. Don’t die yet , I want to tell her.
Her eyes fly open.
Then, her hand whips out and grabs me by the wrist. She moved so fast. Her grip is so strong. How?—
I panic and try pulling my hand back, but she traps it in her death grip, her wide eyes reflecting the torchlight. I barely hold back a scream.
“Don’t leave yet,” she says, her voice calm, despite holding me captive. “We can still do this.”
She swallows and slowly shifts her eyes to my wrist in her grip.
“Let me go,” I beg, voice shaking. Pathetic.
Her lips spread into a full smile. I cannot comprehend what’s happening.
“How?” I say quickly. She wants something from me. If she thinks she’ll get it, maybe she’ll let me go. “How do we still do this? How can I get you out of here?”
She releases her grip and I let out a shaky breath.
“You have to kill him,” she says through gritted teeth. Her eyes wide, looking over my shoulder. “Kill hi?—”
Before I even know what’s happening, a blade slides past my chest and slices straight into her neck with a sickening squelch.