CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
EMMERY
Emmery was blind. Her hold on Destonne’s hand ripped away as the frigid waters stole the air from her chest. Without him, only an endless expanse of nothingness stretched on forever.
Fear consumed her like white light cut through shadow, and even when she swept her arms out, she found neither Brennen nor Destonne.
Shit. Well, she was on her own now.
She had lost all sense of direction, and the water became a disorienting maze. To get her bearings, Emmery released a spurt of air from her lungs and watched the bubbles rise. Without hesitation, she descended the opposite way.
The obsidian water invaded her nose and mouth and her eyes burned as she tried to peer through the nothingness. Panic accompanied the constriction in her lungs, but she clamped a lid over it.
She couldn’t afford it. Not now.
No life existed in this water, be that fish, plants, or even a current. Only the bubbles disrupted the blackness.
A shiver worked its way up Emmery’s spine, but not due to the chill. A creeping suspicion prodded her that, in spite of the barrenness, something watched her, hunted her, salivated over her—
But it couldn’t be possible. What could live in this lifeless pool of shadows?
The water stirred and a current formed around her, ensnared her in a tidepool. Her stomach dropped as she spotted a strange blur in the water cutting through with inhumane speed. She turned—
But too late.
It slammed into her and sent her spinning backward.
Its claws circled her ankle and wrenched her toward it.
She barely caught a glimpse of its jagged teeth before it tugged her down.
She flailed her arms as it dragged her to gods only knew where, and she futilely fought, even as her feet connected with some part of it.
The impact wasn’t enough to loosen its grip.
Her heel struck it again, but its hold only tightened.
She inhaled a mouthful of putrid water, and the second the liquid hit her lungs, she knew she was in trouble.
The thing swiped at her arm and claws skimmed her skin. A bloom of blood seeped from the shallow slice to speckle the water.
Emmery struck again, with more force this time and panic-fueled limbs. The thing spun and she got her first good look.
Wholly black eyes like sullen charcoal locked on hers.
Emmery tried to flail away but its grip on her tightened and all the air thrust from her lungs as a deep needling fright stole all the oxygen inside her.
She could barely think, barely feel her body as she met that depthless gaze.
That inhuman sinister expression on a skeletal face of sharp bones and skin stretched too tight.
So tight it threatened to crack. Its body was a slimy mass of black with scales like chipped paint.
And this creature had long, jagged nails sharp enough to peel her flesh like flakey cheese.
The thing flashed her a grin bloated with wicked intentions and the jaws and layered teeth of a shark. Its mouth split open, cutting its face in half. The thing reared forward and left only a fraction of space between their faces. And it screeched an otherworldly sound.
Emmery hadn’t been sure before, but now she couldn’t be more certain as it began to sing.
This was a siren.
She recognized the song’s first few notes. The melody wrapped around her heart like a fist, a rope around her wrists, a force like no other that sapped the agency from her bones.
It was the same lullaby Vesper always hummed, the one etched into her subconscious, though she couldn’t place it. The song saturated her with memories, engorged her mind until it choked, flooded her with betrayal and heartache and so much rage she saw red.
She struck. Her sluggish, yet effective, fist met the creature’s jaw and knocked it hard enough to kill its song.
Emmery sank her fingers into the slimy flesh of its cheek. Dug her nails in. Hot black blood rose to meet her fingertips.
And Emmery erupted.
In a golden plume, she released her khaos flame, urging it to consume the creature.
To light it up like a star in an endless night sky.
Her body ignited into a living torch, and she fed all that fire into the creature.
Its body bowed under the sheer force. It shrieked and writhed as the water boiled around them.
How her flame could exist beneath water, she did not know.
All she knew was rage.
A slow smile crept onto Emmery’s lips as the creature’s life fled its body.
And again, like it had the day she’d saved Destonne from the Hollowhounds, that shadow edged her peripherals, and crept across her vision.
Emmery tried to blink it away, but it blinded her and shoved her back like she no longer owned her body.
What the fuck?
She withdrew her magic, staunched her khaos flame like it had burned her, and her anger retreated. The shadow disappeared with it.
The creature's shriveled flesh sloughed off its body in charcoaled sheets. Emmery released the siren, and it sank into the depths. Disoriented, she searched the blackness for direction, some light or indication of where she needed to go.
But there was nothing. No guide or pull, and panic gripped her as she spun, unsure which way to turn, her lungs empty of air and the burn of them swelled, engulfing her. Her chest convulsed, and, utterly desperate, she raked her nails down her throat.
It was a feeling she knew well—the one that meant the end loomed near. How could she have come so far only to fail?
The edges of her vision blurred, and though she fought for consciousness, her mind became waterlogged. She drifted in the dark, letting it take her away.
A hand caught her wrist and she jerked away in fear another creature came to seek revenge. But it tugged her through the water. Her heart leapt, and she kicked with her little remaining strength.
Until she realized who held her and she calmed.
Destonne barely looked at her as he yanked her downward.
Though she couldn’t see further than an arm’s reach away, a pinch of worry tightened her chest when she didn’t see Brennen.
Destonne guided her further down, and relief sang through her when their glorious exit appeared. The misshapen oval cave stretched only a little taller than Destonne, but at least three times as wide. A faint light emitted from its shadowy entrance. It drew them like a moth to a flame.
When they finally reached the cave, he spun, gripped her arms, and slung them over his shoulders in an unspoken, hold onto me.
Emmery locked her arms around his neck and he gripped her around the waist, moulded her body to his, and kicked off the ledge.
She didn’t have time to think or feel or do anything before they fell, leaving her stomach behind at the cave mouth.
They sailed through the air for what felt like an eternity and gravity seemed to fail as they floated through the shadows.
Emmery held him like a lifeline, like maybe, if she didn’t let go of him, whatever waited at the bottom of this cavern couldn’t possibly harm her. Because he wouldn’t allow it to.
She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face into his neck to smother the scream climbing her throat.
Destonne turned to brace her fall, and the air thrust from him as his back struck the stone beneath. He released a long, slow groan.
As the air flooded back into her lungs, water rattled in her chest. A cough wrenched from deep within her and she braced her hands on either side of his head. She leaned over. Her stomach roiled. She gagged and gagged.
When it finally stopped, she hung her head and glanced at Destonne’s profile. His eyes were squeezed shut, maybe in pain.
Their chests brushed against one another as they both battled for oxygen.
When Emmery finally composed herself, she pulled back, her face still too close to his. “Are you alright?”
“Never better,” he said, strained, rough. Then she realized his hands rested on her hips and she straddled him. Utterly mortified, she pushed off his chest, and scrambled away, as her face burned.
A smirk tugged at his lips. “Why the rush? I quite enjoyed the view.”
She wanted to slap the smugness off his face, but her stinging shoulder and the torn fabric of her tunic occupied her. She glanced up to see Brennen dripping wet and an unimpressed scrunch to his face, but safe nonetheless.
“Settle down, Dez,” Brennen scolded. He shook out his thick fur coat, sending water droplets cascading into the air.
Emmery pursed her lips and adjusted her clothes while she attempted to summon some shred of dignity before she turned back to Destonne. “Did you enjoy the sound of me retching in your ear, as well? Because keep that up and there will be an abundance of it.”
The corners of Destonne’s lips twitched. “I should clarify the pleasure wasn’t ambient.” He sat up and winced. He must have hit the ground hard, especially with her weight atop him. But his brows pulled together as he surveyed the scratch on her shoulder. “What happened?”
“Something grabbed me.” Emmery shuddered.
She could still feel the phantom slice of those claws.
“I think it was a siren. But it was some sort of shadow?” It reminded her of her trial for her magic; the strange beast that had appeared with her face, until it bled away and revealed the monster beneath.
Clearly unbothered, Destonne said, “Sirens. Hmmm.”
Brennen was too busy searching the cavern to pay the two of them any attention. Stalactites, the colour of fresh blood, hung from the ceiling. The crimson liquid dripped on the cavern floor in an unnerving staccato.
Destonne squinted into the dark and thrust himself to his feet. Navigating the thorns, he tugged a hand through his hair to smooth back the stretched curls. He caught a red drop as it fell from the ceiling, brought it to his nose and inhaled. His face scrunched.
“Blood,” he said, his voice low, before he shook the drop free.
Emmery’s stomach roiled. The blood had to be coming from somewhere. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to discover the source.
The three of them marched onward, Destonne at the lead and Brennen at her side. Her waterlogged boots made an audible squishing sound, and warm water squelched between her toes with each step, testing her already strung out nerves. What she wouldn't give to be dry again.
The sinister stillness surrounding them seemed fragile, like at any moment a blood-curdling scream would shatter it. Emmery’s breath echoed in her ears as they walked the winding stretch and waited for some terrible fate to leap into their path.
Then a sliver of light severed the darkness ahead.
A doorway.
The cave transformed from a rocky narrow tube to a large ethereal void that resembled the Divide. A door, outlined by light, floated suspended in the midnight black.
As Brennen approached, it creaked open. The hinges groaned in the stillness of the cavern, and seized something inside Emmery, calling to a force within her, and sang, welcome, come forward.
Destonne’s breath hitched. “Do you feel that?”
“Like it’s drawing us forward,” Emmery affirmed.
Brennen glanced between the two of them. “I’ll go first.”
The wolf offered Emmery a wink before he sank into the vast darkness. She stared after him, waiting for some sign of distress or howl or any indicator that Brennen had stumbled into trouble. But only silence remained.
She glanced to her side and found Destonne watching her. “Ladies first,” he offered with a sweep of his hand.
“If you’re afraid, you could just say so,” Emmery teased as she stepped toward the door.
“I’m not afraid of anything. I simply want to make sure you don’t run screaming back the way we came.”
She shot him a scowl over her shoulder, which brought a deviant glimmer to his eyes. Gods help her. How long would they be stuck together?
She held her breath like whatever realm lay on the other side was submerged underwater, then took a long stride toward the door and—
Promptly collided with a solid wall that knocked her back. Her face throbbed, and she spat a curse under her breath.
She was sure the door was open. Brennen had just strolled through it. As Emmery scanned the darkness and pressed her hand against it, her palm met the resistance of a barrier. But when she shut her eyes, she realized it wasn’t one she could feel in her mind. Wasn’t one she could burn. How strange.
She glanced over her shoulder to find Destonne fixated on the text carved into the doorframe. Before she could ask, he answered, “It says, You shall arrive how you came.”
“What in the world does that mean?” Emmery smoothed her damp hair in an attempt to tame her braid.
Destonne’s lips twitched. “I believe it means we need to disrobe.”
Her stomach knotted as she glanced between him and the doorway. “You can’t be serious.”
He shucked off his shirt and tossed it aside before he reached for the buckle on his trousers. A sheen leftover from the black water accentuated every line, dip, and flex of his shoulders, biceps, and—
Emmery turned away before his trousers and shorts hit the floor.
This was nonsense. Not only was she already chilled from the black water, but now she had to shed her clothes to get through? Was he messing with her? But Reize had said they had to leave weapons and other belongings behind. She didn’t think that included the damn shirts off their backs.
“I’m not undressing to cross that thing,” she said, her face burning vermillion. She wasn’t insecure, this was just ridiculous. But if he was wrong, she would roar with laughter when he struck the barrier completely nude.
“It doesn’t appear we have a choice.” Amusement danced in his tone. “Come now, angel. It’s only skin.” His warmth brushed against her as she stepped aside to let him pass. She kept her eyes trained on the cavern floor.
Don’t look. Don’t look. For the love of the gods, don’t look.
She squeezed them shut for good measure.
Destonne chuckled. “I hate to say I told you so, but I was right.”
Emmery slivered an eyelid to see only his head floating in the doorway.
“I’ll tell Brennen to behave himself.”
The shadows swallowed him and left her standing there. Alone.
Her cheeks flamed and a series of vulgar swears fell from her tongue, but still she yanked off her saturated clothes and boots and tossed them aside.
She released her hair from her braid, desperate for some extra coverage, and banded her arm around her chest. Her other hand hid the space between her legs.
This was truly humiliating. She was sure Deimos had a good laugh over this. The gods really were cruel.
The darkness blanketed her in an icy chill as she neared this portal, or whatever it was. Gooseflesh covered her skin, her heart constricted, wheezing a warning, but she ignored her every instinct, and stepped through the door.