Chapter 87
The voice echoed through the chamber before either of us could react.
"How in the hell did you two end up here?"
I spun around so quickly I nearly gave myself a neck injury.
Two men stood at the entrance of the hidden laboratory, wearing dark robes embroidered with faint purple markings.
Their eyes swept across the room-the scattered documents, the broken barrier, the open secret chamber-and finally landed on us.
One of them let out a slow breath. His gaze settled on Rhaevan, and recognition flashed across his face.
"...Oh."
That was not the kind of oh I liked hearing.
"The Archmage's hound."
Beside me, Rhaevan's entire posture changed. His shoulders straightened. The warmth I'd seen only moments ago vanished completely, replaced by an unreadable, freezing expression.
The second wizard smiled-not pleasantly, but in the manner of someone who had gone his entire life without experiencing consequences. "Master will be pleased."
Rhaevan's voice was calm, cutting, and entirely devoid of fear. "You won't be delivering any messages today."
The wizard's smile disappeared.
The room exploded into motion. Dark magic burst from both mages simultaneously, sending two jagged bolts across the laboratory.
Rhaevan reacted instantly. A brilliant barrier materialised before us, absorbing the attack with enough force to shake the entire chamber. Glass shattered and scrolls flew into the air, but the barrier held.
I immediately backed away from the fighting. Which was unfortunate, because I suddenly realised: I was completely useless.
The two enemy wizards clearly knew what they were doing. Rhaevan definitely knew what he was doing. I... did not.
I grabbed the nearest broken stool, looked at it, looked at the battle, and quietly put it back down. There were limits to optimism.
Magic continued exploding through the laboratory. Dark bolts carved trenches through the stone floor, while Rhaevan answered each attack with precise, controlled spells, forcing the men apart while shielding both me and him.
One wizard was forced backward by a wave of his magic. The second immediately seized the opening, his body dissolving into black smoke.
My stomach dropped. I knew exactly what that meant. "Rhaevan!"
The smoke reformed behind him. A dagger of condensed dark mana appeared in the wizard's hand, and he drove it forward.
Everything happened too quickly. I didn't think or plan. I simply reached beside me without looking, grabbed the first solid metal object my hand found, swung around, and pointed it directly at the wizard.
"STOP!"
Silence. Complete silence.
The attacking wizard froze. The second wizard froze. Rhaevan froze.
Slowly... all three men raised their hands. Even Rhaevan. Which was honestly a little insulting.
Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. The laboratory became eerily quiet.
Muffin took one look at what I was holding, flattened his ears instantly, and let out a frightened whine before retreating behind an overturned workbench, peeking around it with only his enormous silver head visible. Coward. Understandable coward, but still, coward.
I blinked, looked at everyone else, and then looked down at my own hands. "...Oh."
Right. That explained everything.
Instead of grabbing a harmless iron rod ... I'd somehow picked up the Solithium weapon.
I stared at it. It stared back.
Well... this was unfortunate. I'd tried so hard not to accidentally blast Rhaevan with my own magic that I'd instinctively reached for the nearest object instead.
Apparently fate had interpreted that as a personal challenge.
Honestly, I was beginning to suspect the universe found my suffering entertaining.
The weapon emitted a low, unsettling hum. Both wizards visibly paled. Excellent. Fear was useful.
"Everyone..." I cleared my throat. "Stay exactly where you are."
Nobody argued.
"We're leaving."
Still nobody argued.
I pointed the weapon toward the doorway. "We are leaving," I repeated, trying very hard to sound like someone who knew how to operate terrifying magical superweapons.
Rhaevan's eyes met mine. For a brief moment, neither of us spoke. Then he gave one slow nod. Very carefully, he stepped sideways until he stood beside me, never once taking his eyes off the weapon. Good. Someone in this room had common sense.
I gestured toward the exit. "Let's go."
Together, we began backing toward the doorway. Slowly. Carefully. The two wizards remained frozen. Neither dared cast another spell, and neither even blinked.
For one glorious moment... I genuinely believed this ridiculous plan was going to work.
Then, because the universe and I apparently had a personal grudge against me, my heel caught against a loose stone.
"No-"
My balance vanished. The weapon slipped in my hands, and I instinctively tightened my grip. Unfortunately, my finger found what was very obviously a trigger.
Click.
"...Oh no."
A brilliant violet beam erupted from the weapon, tearing across the laboratory and striking the far wall with a deafening explosion. The entire mountain lurched beneath us.
The weapon screamed. Not metaphorically. Actually screamed. A high-pitched metallic shriek echoed through the chamber, sharp enough to make my ears ring.
Every Solithium crystal embedded throughout the cave answered.
Purple light flared through the walls. The floor shook violently. Thin cracks raced across the ceiling as dust and fragments of stone rained down around us.
The two wizards stared at the weapon, then at the glowing walls. Their confidence disappeared.
"Run."
Dark smoke swallowed them before they vanished.
I looked down at the weapon still clutched in my hands and tried to let go, but my fingers refused to open.
"Rhaevan?"
He was beside me almost immediately. "Drop the weapon, Cassie!!"
"I'm trying!! I'm trying to get it off my hand! It.... my hand.. it's ..... stuck!!!"
He caught hold of the weapon and tried to wrench it free, but the moment his fingers touched it, violet energy surged across its surface. He released it at once, his expression tightening as he examined the mechanism.
"There's a locking mechanism."
"Wonderful. Can you unlock it?"
"I'm trying."
Magic gathered around his fingers as he worked, but the moment his spell touched the weapon, the Solithium swallowed it.
"Of course it does," I muttered.
Another tremor shook the chamber, throwing me sideways. Rhaevan caught me by the shoulder and steadied me before turning his attention back to the weapon.
"Cassiane, hold still."
"I'm trying."
The weapon pulsed again. Pain shot through my hand, and I instinctively jerked backward. Something inside the weapon gave a sharp metallic click, and suddenly my fingers sprang open.
The weapon dropped heavily onto the stone floor.
Rhaevan stared at it for half a second before grabbing my hand. "Run!!"
We didn't need to be told twice. We sprinted toward the entrance as the mountain shook around us. Rocks crashed from the ceiling, forcing us to dodge and weave through the collapsing passage.
We were almost there when a massive section of stone came down ahead of us. I stopped so abruptly Rhaevan nearly collided with me.
The entrance was gone.
"That's bad.....Very."
Rhaevan stepped forward and raised his hand. His teleportation magic gathered around him. "I'll teleport us."
The spell circle began to form beneath our feet. Then it flickered. And disappeared.
Rhaevan tried the spell again, but nothing happened. His jaw tightened as he lowered his hand. "The Solithium is draining the surrounding mana. I can't teleport both of us."
I stared at him. "Then teleport yourself."
His eyes snapped to mine. "No."
"Rhaevan, you can still get out."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You don't understand." My voice shook as I grabbed his arm. "You have to go."
"I understand perfectly."
Another tremor ripped through the mountain, sending stone crashing somewhere behind us.
The weapon's hum had risen to a deafening roar.
"Please," I whispered.
He looked down at my hand clutching his sleeve before meeting my eyes again. "Cassiane."
"If you stay, you'll die."
His expression softened, but his answer came without hesitation. "Then I'll stay."
My throat tightened. "Why?"
For a moment, he said nothing. Then he stepped closer, his gaze never leaving mine. "Because you're here."
The words hit harder than the explosion waiting behind us.
I shook my head, fighting the tears burning my eyes. "That's not a reason to die."
"No," he said quietly. "It's a reason to stay."
The mountain shook again, and a crack tore across the ceiling above us. Rhaevan pulled me closer, keeping me against him as debris fell around us. "We're facing this together."
Before I could answer, the weapon screamed. The entire mountain shook. A brilliant violet glow flooded the tunnel behind us. The machine was about to explode.
I closed my eyes. Please.
I didn't know what I was asking for anymore. I only knew I didn't want to die here. And I didn't want him to die with me.
Something warm stirred inside my chest. It spread through me, gentle at first, then suddenly powerful enough to take my breath away.
Silver light burst from beneath my skin.
Rhaevan stared at me. "Cassiane..."
I didn't know what was happening. The silver light rushed toward the collapsed entrance. The stone walls trembled. Then the rocks began to move.
One after another, they lifted from the ground and were thrown aside, revealing a narrow opening to the outside.
Rhaevan looked at the opening. Then at me. "We're going."
He grabbed my hand. The mountain roared. We ran.
We had barely reached the opening when the weapon detonated. A wall of violet light and heat erupted behind us. Rhaevan pulled me against him and jumped.
We cleared the entrance just as the explosion tore through the mountain. The force struck us from behind. Rhaevan wrapped both arms around me, turning his body to shield mine as we were thrown through the air. His barrier formed around us.
We hit the ground hard.
For a few seconds, I couldn't hear anything except the ringing in my ears. Then I realised I was lying beneath Rhaevan.
One of his arms was still wrapped around my shoulders, while his other hand was braced beside my head. The barrier shimmered faintly around us before dissolving into glowing particles.
"Cassiane." His voice was quiet. "Are you hurt?"
I blinked up at him. "...No. I think I'm alright."
The tension in his face disappeared. He let out a long breath, as though he'd only just realised he'd been holding it. "Thank the heavens."
I glanced toward the smoking mountain. "I don't think they're going to be using that mine anymore."
For a moment, Rhaevan simply stared at me. Then he laughed. It was quiet at first, almost disbelieving, but soon I found myself laughing too.
We had nearly died. The mountain had exploded. I had accidentally fired a mysterious weapon, managed to let out some terrifying magic myself, and somehow survived. At this point, laughing seemed like the only reasonable response.
"Next time we're handling dangerous magical weapons," I said between breaths, "you hold it."
Rhaevan smiled. "Agreed."
Our laughter slowly faded. Neither of us moved. Only then did I become painfully aware of how close we were.
I could feel the warmth of his breath against my face. I could see every tiny brown fleck in his eyes. His gaze lingered on mine before slowly dropping to my lips.
My heart stumbled.
When his eyes lifted again, something had changed in them.
Neither of us spoke.
Slowly, Rhaevan leaned closer.