Chapter 4 #2
“There are shackles on her wrist,” Mathilda mutters, pointing at the iron manacles chaining her to the amethyst slab. “And ankles.”
A shiver wracks my body, and I cross my arms over my chest. How long was she down here? We can’t even remember the last time any of us saw her. Did she turn on them?
The deep rhythmic sound of her breathing doesn’t shift at all as we stand right beside her. Closer now, I can see a rune drawn on her brow in black. A bowl of crushed onyx-colored stones rests beside her head, as if someone had used it to write the rune and then carelessly abandoned it.
“What does that rune mean?” I ask Mathilda and Mina, gesturing to the elongated X encircled by a rounded one.
Mathilda shakes her head, the long ends of her ponytail sliding over her shoulder. But Mina’s face pales and the freckles on her nose stand out against the ivory skin.
“What does it mean, Mina?” I ask again.
“I don’t know that specific rune, but that line there,” she points to the round one, “usually means sleep.”
“So they put her in a deep sleep?” My nose scrunches in confusion. “Why would they do that?”
I walk around the amethyst looking for any clues, but find nothing. The slab looks like an altar of some kind.
“Maybe they meant to use her as a sacrifice?” Mathilda’s words have me flinching. The implications of a human sacrifice make my skin crawl.
“Do you think they would do that?” My voice quivers as my jaw clenches. Yes, they would do that.
Mathilda shrugs. “I do not know what practices they do in places like Jotnar or Sutr.”
Footsteps echo down an opening on the other side of the cavernous room.
My breath whooshes from my chest as relief floods through me.
Lachlan breaches the room, flanked by Tane and Evander.
Their weapons are drawn. My relief is short-lived, however, when he levels his murderous glare at me.
The green of his eyes is shadowed by his scowl.
“Dinna I tell ye to stay put?” His words rumble like thunder across the large space.
My blood simultaneously heats and cools as I level him with my own look.
“I can kind of do whatever I want.” Crossing my arms over my chest, the unease of the situation vanishes as we face off.
Mina and Mathilda share a look before giggling.
Lachlan merely shakes his head before striding over to us. Evander is right behind him, but Tane whistles, his head tilted up, taking in the entirety of the space.
“This is a crazy find,” his loud voice echoes around us.
My attention slides sideways to see Mathilda beaming at him.
Lachlan and Evander come to a halt on the opposite side of Luna, and they sheath their swords.
“We saw the corpse of something outside and expected the worst. But it was nae this …” Lachlan trails off.
“How long has she been down here, though?” Evander asks, studying her bindings.
I shrug. “The real question is—why?”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Lachlan shoots me a wink and, ever so gently, wipes the rune off her forehead.
My mouth drops open. “Is it really that easy?”
“I dinna think so, but it was worth a shot.” He shrugs, peering down at a still sleeping Luna.
I roll my eyes at his cavalier attitude.
But Luna’s eyes flash open, and a heartbeat later, we’re all jumping away from her as she lurches upright. A blood-curdling scream tears from her lips that has my ears ringing and blood running cold.
Evander takes a step towards her, stroking a comforting hand down her arm, trying to calm her. “Luna!” He shouts over her scream. “It’s alright, it’s just us!”
But her scream isn’t one of terror; it’s more like a bellow of rage.
Veins push against her moon-white skin and red rims, her gray-green eyes.
She rips at the shackles, her nails tearing at her skin.
Ruby red blood wells up and spills down across her pale skin.
Evander tries to stop her, his hands grappling for hold against her clawing.
“Help me!”
Tane and Lachlan jump into action and work as fast as possible to restrain her. But even with the two of them helping him, they still can’t seem to keep her still as she fights like a wildcat, tearing at the chains.
Mathilda and Mina are both frozen in shock. Staring at Luna with wide eyes and open mouths. I take a few steps, positioning myself at the foot of the slab, away from her hands but clearly in her line of sight.
With all the authority I can muster, I shout her name.
Her wild eyes flick to mine.
And then she just stops.
Her face crumples, and her entire body seems to shrink in on itself as she goes slack.
“Bryn?” Her voice rasps out between her dry, cracked lips.
That name will never cease to slice through me.
My brows furrow, though, as she genuinely looks like she’s seeing a ghost. But she’s met me before. Why doesn’t she remember?
“I’m Bryn’s daughter, Lena, remember?”
Luna’s head shakes side to side, her unbound white hair rippling with the movement. Like a cloud crossing the moon. A look of wrathful vengeance flashes across her eyes, darkening the gloom of her face.
“I don’t know you. I only know your mother.”
Lachlan and Tane stare at her with carefully blank expressions, slowly removing their hands from her body as she turns her terrifying gaze onto them.
Evander breaks the silence. “Luna, what is the last thing you remember?” His voice is intentionally soft as he tries not to seem like he’s interrogating her.
Luna’s attention settles onto his face, her eyes narrowing into slits before recognition sparks in them.
“I remember arguing with Odessa about shutting down the training grounds…and then nothing but blackness and—pain.”
Her words have Mathilda blanching. “Gods,” she whispers, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “That was years ago.”