Chapter 69
Sixty-Nine
Moldavite
I stumble into a dim hallway, steadying my feet beneath me to lurch off of the stairs. Something soft and furry tumbles into me, pushing me forward. No—not just something; Soren.
The dreadwolf shakes his fur out as he steps around me, blinking—looking just as confused as me.
“What the fuck was that?” I mutter.
Soren’s ears suddenly pin back, a growl vibrating in his chest.
He leaps away from me, darting down the hallway.
Lu.
I race after him, my confusion turning into a desperate need to find her. Something was keeping us from her—trapping us in that staircase so we couldn’t get to her.
“Lu,” I shout into her mind. “Hold on, we’re coming.”
Nothing but silence answers me.
I don’t feel her, either. It’s different from how she felt after she rescued me from the Vale. This feels…broken. Like our connection is severed entirely.
I curse, picking up my pace as Soren and I race through the castle.
The creature is far quicker than me—even my fae speed is nothing compared to a dreadwolf.
Soren disappears around corner after corner, me only catching a glimpse of a hind leg or tail as he gains speed. Soon, I realize where we’re headed.
The library—where Lu was headed with Adrian.
Soren hauls ass across the room, his white fur bright against the moonlight. I don’t break stride as I follow him to the other side, where a door hangs open.
I slide to a halt at the entrance, the scene before me causing me to pause.
My gaze finds two figures splayed out on the ground first, blood surrounding their still bodies. Panic slices through me, but then I realize they’re both male.
I release an exhale, but only for a moment when I see who they are.
Moros and Adrian.
I look around the rest of the room, my eyes adjusting to the darkness as I frantically search for Lunaria.
Her back is to me, but she’s alive.
The panic racing through me quiets enough for me to relax a little. Moros is dead. Lunaria is alive. That’s all that matters.
Soren is already at Lunaria’s side, his hackles raised and teeth bared.
I follow his line of sight, finding Opal standing across from them both.
“What the fuck happened here?” I growl, coming up on Lunaria’s other side.
She twists toward me, her eyes wide.
Something isn’t right.
“What’s going on?” I send into her mind.
But she doesn’t answer, doesn’t even seem to have heard me.
“Graylen, there you are,” Opal says sweetly, as if we’re old friends, though I’ve only met her once or twice.
My attention turns to her, alert and ready to fight.
I may not know what happened, but judging by Lu’s face and Soren hunched back on his hind legs in preparation to attack, I know it has something to do with Opal.
Opal grins and whispers, “Orior.”
My spine straightens, snapping back of its own accord. A hissing begins to fill my ears, overwhelming my senses until all I can do is squeeze my eyes shut.
But they don’t close—despite me desperately wanting them to.
I can hear Lunaria’s voice shouting, but it sounds so far away—drowned out by the hissing and the numbness sweeping throughout my body.
Something smooth glides across my shoulder, tickling my neck. It runs across my back and lands along my other shoulder.
I can’t seem to look away from Opal, my vision zeroing in on her.
A sweet and serene grin spreads across her face.
“Now, Graylen darling,” Opal murmurs. “Be a good boy and come over here with me.”
Against my will, my legs instantly follow her command until I’m settled at Opal’s side and not Lu’s.
Opal holds out a perfectly manicured hand just beside my face, and a massive snake slides past me, resting its head in her hand.
“A beautiful creature,” Opal murmurs.
I thrash against my own body, but it doesn’t move.
The snake remains wound around my shoulders and upper back, the weight surprisingly light and the hissing quieting.
I beg my body to move—to shake this thing off of me and take Lu so we can get the fuck out of here—only my limbs don’t listen.
My feet stay in place, my arms dangling at my sides, even as disgust rolls through me—both at the creature on my back that is clearly more than just a regular reptile and the way Opal is looking at me.
She watches me with intrigue, the same hand that was petting the snake now wrapping around my bicep, her pointed nails digging into my forearm. But I can’t jerk away—can’t even flinch at her touch.
My gaze meets Lunaria’s, finding pure terror displayed across her beautiful face. I can’t go to her, can’t seem to make my body do anything. As if I’m trapped within my own mind, a bystander as I watch myself listen to Opal instead of me.
Vidaris did something to me in the Vale, and I have no way of telling Lunaria.