41. Chapter Forty-One
Chapter 41
“O ne thousand and three fucking steps.”
Rieka hated stairs with an intensity she didn’t think she had in her. Whoever had built the staircase was a masochist. It must have been an hour since they started their descent into what she could only describe as hell. She was covered in a cold sweat. Dante had been there the entire time, catching her every time she had almost tripped. The pounding in her head continued to grow louder, but at least it drowned out the pain in her arm.
Every so often, Dante would look at her. Bless his icy Atlantean heart—he hadn’t outright asked her about it. This way, she didn’t have to lie.
The air was stale, with a hint of a metallic aftertaste. She scrunched her nose; the smell of damp earth was overwhelming. The pale blue lights had transitioned into a pale-yellow glow as they had descended.
At the landing, there was an open, dimly lit empty room. Disappointment flared through her for a moment until she realized that the room was in fact a large corridor.
“Finally.” It took all her energy to not kiss the ground she was walking on.
Dante waited patiently for her. He looked unbothered, as if he had just gone for a stroll. Not spent the last hour navigating a staircase that belonged in a haunted house.
A large silver web glistened under the yellow light. Rieka let out an involuntary shiver. At least there was no sign of the long-legged monsters she knew would go with the webs. The shifting stairs and the light must have forced them to retreat into the darkness. “How are you so calm and collected?”
Dante raised an eyebrow. “Practice. Atlanteans attack any form of weakness. Perception is a powerful tool.” Dante walked over to where Rieka stood, towering over her. “You did well, Wildfire.”
Uh-huh. If Dante was trying to distract her, he was doing a damn good job. All thoughts of anything but Dante fled her mind.
“I can sense your desire.” Dante lowered his mouth until she could feel the warmth of his breath. His fingers grazed her hips. “Don’t tempt me.”
It should have mortified her. Instead, it sent a thrill through her as she clenched her legs together. Rieka sighed as she forced herself to walk away from Dante. They were here for a reason. “They must have built the Arx on the foundation of an older building.”
She wandered farther down the corridor. Dante’s gaze continued to burn into her as he watched her. It added an extra bounce to her step.
The cavern walls were unnaturally smooth. No hint of how it was built. The crystals continued to flicker, oscillating between pale blue and gold. The stone was ice cold under her fingers. “Do you think they booby-trapped the area?” Rieka didn’t know exactly who they were, and if she was being honest with herself, she didn’t really want to find out. A glimpse of the serpopards had been enough to last a lifetime.
“Most likely.” Dante walked to her side. “I would have.”
A slight hum thrummed through the air. More of a vibration than a sound. “Do you feel that?”
Dante looked down at Rieka. “No.”
Rieka grimaced. “Maybe it’s my overactive imagination.”
He reached out to touch Rieka’s arm, gently pulling away her sleeve until he could see the pulsating bracelet. “Or it could be linked to what you are wearing. Were you going to tell me it restarted?”
She wanted to snatch her arm back. “Eventually. It’s gotten more insistent since we started walking down the stairs from hell.”
Dante raised an eyebrow.
“Would you have tried to make me go back?”
“There would not have been any trying,” Dante sighed. “Talik and Khalida would have made their way down here. They may still be on their way.”
They had no way of knowing. Their tech seemed to have stopped working as soon as they’d gone in the vault. A coincidence that Rieka would not look too far into. Just like the temple in Turkey, but this time, she wasn’t alone.
“No. I need to be down here. I know the tomb is here. What my mom and your father were looking for.” Had she gone too far? Bringing in his father—no.
“If the tempo increases, we return to the surface,” Dante ordered in a tone that would not broach any arguments. “No ifs or buts.”
Rieka nodded. It wasn’t just the bracelet that had seemed to come to life. Her pendant thrummed against her chest in time with it. She glanced up at Dante. He wore a blank expression, but the small tick on his jaw was doing double time. She started walking, but she didn’t need to wait long. Dante was not far behind. She was quickly getting used to having an Atlantean shadow.
They continued to follow the wall in silence as it curved around the corner. The crystals had now changed color to a muted red, casting the hallway in a ghastly light. While the blue and gold had added an almost magical glow, the red made it appear as if they were the unwilling stars of a twentieth century horror film.
“I will lead.”
Rieka opened her mouth to argue.
But Dante interjected before she could form the words. “I am far more likely to survive an ambush than you. And unless I’m mistaken, your eyesight hasn’t improved, unlike your other senses.”
Two very valid points. “After you.”
The path became narrower and narrower. At one point, Rieka held out her arms and her fingers grazed either side of her, at this rate they would be crawling soon.
Dante stopped suddenly, stooping slightly, blocking what was in front. She pushed past him and stared at the skinny black door that looked out of place down there. The red light seemed to disappear into it as if it was absorbing its brightness. It reminded her of a black hole or Dante’s uniform. The door didn’t appear to be smooth. Long, disjointed lines were carved into the solid mass.
Dante moved closer. “It has an inscription.” He reached out, tracing the images with his hand. His eyes grew wider.
Rieka let out a slow breath. Tingles rushed through her as she stared at the door. “What does it say?”
“Come read it for yourself. It’s in an early Atlantean dialect that you should be familiar with.”
She didn’t need to be asked twice. She stood next to Dante as she traced the images, and their fingers brushed up against each other.
Rieka looked at Dante. She retraced the words. She couldn’t quite believe it. “Here lies what remains of House Atlas.”
She closed her eyes and slowly opened them. The image of two serpopards and their entwined necks stared back at her, taunting her.
“Oh my,” Rieka said, her voice raspy.
She reached out again, tracing the ancient Atlantean dialect just to make sure she hadn’t imagined it. She pricked her finger. Annoyance flooded through her as she glared at the offending digit. The engraving was a lot sharper than she had thought.
The world around them vibrated. Strong hands pulled her back into the darkness as bright light flooded through the growing gap. Her heart fluttered at the touch. It made her want so much more; it made the secrets of the tomb fade into the background. Rieka swallowed as she allowed herself to lean against Dante.
The surrounding crystals, scattered along the wall, flickered to life, growing brighter than she had ever seen them. The white light was blinding. Dante cursed next to her as he covered his eyes.
“Oh.”
Nothing had prepared her for the sight before her.