by Meg Anne
Lucian gave Kael a look like there was never any question who his plus one would be.
Chuckling, Kael faced his group. “Move in tight. From what I remember of Caederan, those cliffs are narrow. We don’t want anyone plummeting to their death upon arrival.”
Kieran shot Lucian and Effie a dark look as he placed his hand on Kael’s shoulder. Ronan had his hand on Reyna’s waist. She, in turn, was touching Kael’s wrist. Once Kael checked everyone was connected, he gave Lucian a nod and the group vanished from sight.
“Did the Triumvirate tell you what to expect when we get there?” Effie asked, taking a step closer to Lucian.
Lucian’s dark eyes were unreadable as he replied, “Sounded like more of the same, except they had survivors.”
“Oh,” she breathed, a sense of foreboding turning her blood to ice.
Nothing about that sounded like a good thing.
Lucian held his hand out to her, palm up.
Without hesitation, Effie placed her hand in his, trying to ignore the burn of his skin where it pressed against hers.
“Thank you,” she said, before he could use the stone and transport them.
“As much as I prefer your thanks to your insults, what exactly did I do?” he asked, one side of his mouth lifting in an amused smile. A mouth that was no longer obscured by his beard, she noticed.
Lucian had found time to shave, and Effie couldn’t stop staring at his full lips.
“Standing guard last night,” she mumbled, more than a little distracted.
His eyes widened ever so slightly. “I have to say, I expected a bit of push back from you on that. Especially after how hard you fought against having a guard in the first place.”
Effie shrugged, biting the inside of her cheek as she thought of how to respond. “It wasn’t you I was fighting against as much as circumstances being so outside of my control. Everything is changing so fast, and some days I can’t make heads or tails of what my power is trying to tell me. The visions are bad enough, but now these random premonitions . . .” she trailed off as Lucian scowled.
“What premonitions?” he snapped.
Effie was taken aback by the censure in his voice. “Like I told you before . . . the feeling that you shouldn’t go into the jungle alone. That I needed to be with you. And just now,” she admitted before he could grill her, “when you mentioned the survivors.”
“That’s why you fought me so hard?” he asked, his voice a little softer than before.
Effie nodded. “I just didn’t realize what was happening at the time. I still don’t,” she admitted. “Not really.”
“What are these premonitions like?”
“It feels like the start of a vision, but not as intense. Sometimes, like just now when you mentioned the survivors, it’s a buzzing under my skin. Almost as if it’s a call to pay attention to whatever’s happening around me. More often though, like all those times I fought against you going into the jungle alone, it starts as tension in my neck and shoulders. If I ignore the warning, the pressure grows until it feels like a weight burying itself in my lungs, making it nearly impossible to breathe.”
“Hmm,” Lucian murmured, his eyes scanning her face. “And you had this feeling now?”
Effie nodded.
“Just the buzzing? None of the pressure?” he asked, looking thoughtful.
“Yes,” she confirmed, wondering where he was going with this.
Lucian gave a short nod. “We’ll be on guard, then. There’s something about these survivors that your power wants you to pay attention to.”
“What would you have said if I told you I had felt the pressure?”
“That I was taking you back to the citadel immediately.”
“What? Why?”
“From the distinctions you made, and the times you’ve mentioned these feelings, the pressure seems to sense danger. I’d gladly risk your wrath to keep you safe.”
Warmth expanded in her chest at his confession. “What if I fought you? Insisted I should be there?”
Lucian surprised her by smiling. “You mean like every other time I try to do something in your best interest that you disagree with?”
“Exactly.” She laughed because that’s exactly how things had been between them from the start.
“It depends.”
“On?”
“How compelling your argument was.”
“I must not make very compelling arguments,” she muttered, thinking of all the times he’d gotten his way.
Lucian brushed his thumb along the back of her hand, squeezing it gently. “You’d be surprised how often I give in to you. It’s not in my nature to yield once I set a path.”
“So why do you?” she whispered, her chest tight as she waited for his answer.
“Because you ask me to.”
The simplicity of his answer stunned her, but there was nothing simple about the way he was looking at her. The bronze flecks in his eyes were glowing with the intensity of his gaze. Effie’s mouth went dry.
“Oh,” she said, because she couldn’t think of what else to say.
“No one else dares to defy me the way you do.” As if sensing her confusion, Lucian leaned down until his lips brushed against her ear. “I think I like it.”
Effie gasped when he activated the Kaelpas stone, robbing her of the ability to reply. Or breathe.
Chapter 7
Effie’s knees buckled and she threw an arm out to keep herself from falling, Kael’s warning about toppling over the edge of a cliff still ringing loudly in her ears.
Please don’t let me fall. Don’t let me fall.
Her hand slammed into something hard, before fingers closed around her arm in a bruising grip.
Looking up, her eyes found Lucian’s. His lips barely moved so she didn’t realize he was speaking until the words reached her ears.
“I’ve got you.”
Heart somersaulting in her chest, Effie straightened.
“There you are! What took you so long?” Ronan boomed.
Effie risked a glance at the others, expecting to be met with a combination of dark stares and knowing smiles. As for the first, Kieran had his back to her so she couldn’t tell what he thought of their delay. Reyna’s face was a mask, the Night Stalker wholly focused on their reason for being here. Kael had a slight smile on his face, but that wasn’t unusual for him. He almost always looked like he was laughing at some secret joke the rest of them weren’t in on.
“The heir returned to ask me one last question before we left,” Lucian lied smoothly.
Ronan’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t comment. He glanced at Effie, as if personally assuring himself of her safety, before nodding.
Realizing her hand was still pressed against Lucian’s chest, Effie slowly lowered it.
Lucian’s lips twitched in a smile that was gone just as quickly as it appeared.
Steady now, she was able to take in their surroundings. Where Sylverlands was rolling hills and glittering lakes, Caederan was sweeping vistas overlooking a sunken valley to the south and cloud-shrouded mountains to the north.
Their group had arrived on a cliff—much more spacious than Kael led them to believe—on the southern side of Caederan’s lone mountain. Despite being placed at the base of a vast mountain range, only one of the mountains fell within the boundaries of their land. The Caederans’ main town was situated on the mountain itself, while the rest of its inhabitants were scattered in the valley below.
Northeast of Tigaera—the capital of Elysia and home to the Kiri and her Circle—Caederan was all that separated the rest of the Chosen from the closed realm of Talyria, the land that belonged to the massive winged felines known as Talyrians.
For centuries, none that ventured into the mountainous territory returned. It was rumored the Talyrian queen destroyed all interlopers. While the exact method of her execution—teeth or fire—had long been under debate, all agreed it was done to protect the land . . . and their secret. The Talyria
ns had been thought extinct.
Until one returned.
“All here?” a voice boomed as the top of a dark head appeared out of a nearby cave.
“Khouman,” Ronan greeted, extending his hand.
The top of Khouman’s head barely reached the bottom of Effie’s rib cage as he strode past her to shake Ronan’s hand. For such a small man, he had a powerful voice and build. A barrel-like chest and heavily muscled arms were covered in visible scars that he wore with pride. His long, braided beard hung half-way to his chest and had a few tinkling bells woven into its length. He wore the deep orange and reds of his people, colors that were selected to mimic the fiery sunsets unique to their realm.
“Welcome to Caederan,” he intoned, dark eyes sweeping over them as if searching for someone.
“Helena is away at the moment. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me in her stead,” Ronan said, answering the unspoken question.
“Then you will have to do,” Khouman replied with something that resembled a smile. It was a little too close to a grimace for the joke to land true. “Since this is not a friendly visit, would you mind if we skipped the formalities and I take you to the site directly? Our people are terrified and would appreciate some answers.”
“Not at all,” Lucian said, speaking for the first time.
The little man eyed him skeptically before giving him his back and staring expectantly at Ronan.
Kieran didn’t bother to disguise his snicker.
For her part, Effie had to bite down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. No one showed Lucian outright disrespect. Ever.
Well, except for her.
She could feel Lucian go still beside her, his pride demanding he address the insult. They weren’t going to get any answers if Lucian accidentally murdered their guide, so she shifted her weight. The move allowing the side of her body to brush against his.
Answering tingles raced along the rest of her as he shifted his focus to her. A silent question burned in his eyes.
Effie gave him a small smile and whispered, “You said you liked it.”
There was a sharp intake of breath and the bronze flecks in Lucian’s eyes blazed as he stared at her for an endless moment. Effie watched as Lucian forced himself to relax. His fists uncurled and tension around his mouth softened. The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched as he released the breath he’d been holding.
Finally, the expression in his eyes shifted, the bronze fading.
Feeling like she’d just tamed a wild animal, Effie couldn’t stop the smile from stretching across her face. Realizing the others had already started walking away while they’d been distracted, she started moving.
Lucian’s voice stopped her dead.
“When it’s you.”
She twisted, looking back at him over her shoulder, not sure she’d heard him correctly.
“Only you.”
Those words from his lips, in context or not, were beyond potent. Especially when he was looking at her with that banked heat in his eyes.
An answering heat gathered between her legs. A disinterested Lucian had been distracting enough, but one that said things like that while looking like he was about to devour her?
Mother’s tits, I’m in trouble.
“You coming?” Kael called, breaking the moment.
“Yeah,” Lucian answered, his eyes never moving from her. With a nod, he gestured for her to walk ahead of him.
Remembering what he’d said the other day, Effie added a little more roll to her hips than usual as she walked away.
Lucian let out a strangled groan.
Effie chuckled the entire way down the path. At least she wasn’t the only one suffering.
Khouman led them to a different cave about a thirty-minute walk from where they’d arrived.
The view below was spectacular, the land coming to life as the sun rose higher in the sky, and the path they walked was wide enough for five of them to walk shoulder to shoulder if they wished.
Carved into the mountains were several caves. From what she remembered of the handful of history lessons she’d been allowed to attend, the Caederans had discovered a way to access the water trapped within their mountain. She’d yet to see anything that hinted at how.
“Where’s the town?” Effie asked.
Khouman spared her a glance but did not slow. “Most of these caves are connected by a series of tunnels. Follow any tunnel long enough it will spit you out in the heart of the mountain.”
Frowning, Effie tried to make sense of the answer.
“Their town was built inside the mountain itself,” Kael explained in a soft voice.
Understanding dawned and Effie’s curiosity bloomed. What a sight that must be; an entire city hidden within the heart of a mountain.
Just ahead of her, Khouman came to a stop. Shoulders stiff, he waved a hand at the cave entrance beside him. “No use trying to explain it,” he muttered. “You’ll see for yourselves soon enough.”
Lucian took the lead, stepping into the dim cavern closely followed by Ronan and Kael. Effie and Reyna followed with Kieran bringing up the rear.
With each step, the now familiar buzz built beneath Effie’s skin. Her gift was warning her.
Torches blazed along the dark walls leading them deeper into the cave. It was impossible to tell where they were going, the path winding and narrowing at times so that only one of them could pass through.
Effie shivered as her fingertips skimmed the damp surface. It was entirely too similar to her recent visions of a cave of blood filled with floating corpses. Swallowing back a wave of nausea, she prayed that’s not what was waiting for them below.
The path dipped down, growing darker despite the flickering lights. Effie tried not to let her imagination run wild. Whatever had happened here, it couldn’t be any worse than what they’d found in Sylverlands.
It didn’t take long for the smell of wet earth to be replaced with rot and decay. We must be close now. The thought was proven true when Effie followed Reyna into a large empty expanse. The space was awash in torchlight, but almost more eerie with the shadows flickering along the back wall.
Something about the wall seemed odd, like it was further away than it should have been, given where the reddish-brown floor stopped. Moving closer, Effie noticed that the platform they stood on overlooked another space below.
She knew without even seeing it, that whatever they were here for waited down there.
Lucian stood at the edge of their platform, his hands on his hips and his gaze fixed on something beneath him. Beside him, Ronan reached for his weapon, but his hands were frozen just above it, as if he wasn’t entirely aware of the instinctual response to a perceived threat.
Whatever they were seeing couldn’t be good if it caused two such strong men to react that way.
The buzzing was almost painful in its intensity as Effie moved to Kael’s side. The Guardian’s expression was grim as he studied the area beneath them.
Sucking in a deep breath, Effie looked. The harsh buzz was now a roar in her ears. She had been wrong. It was worse than Sylverlands.
So much worse.
Shiny black vines covered with dripping thorns twisted up the sides of the cavern and crisscrossed along the floor. Noxious liquid spilled from the jagged stems, leaving pale silver tracks snaking down stalks as thick as her leg. The trails glittered in the torchlight. It should have been beautiful. Perhaps it would have been, if not for the bodies trapped within them.
Everywhere Effie looked, she found more tormented Caederans.
Mouths frozen open in soundless screams.
Bloody holes in place of eyes.
Fingers grasping vines where they were wrapped around broken necks, worn to the bone from a failed attempt to get free.
She didn’t realize she was trembling until Kael’s warm hand wrapped around hers.
How was this possible? How could the land devolve so quickly? Especially here, where it was tucked so fa
r away.
“They tried to stop it,” Effie whispered, her voice echoing down the cave.
“They were dead as soon as they set foot down there,” Khouman said, his voice hollow. “At first, it was just a few random growths along the wall. My people thought to cut them down, but as soon as they touched ’em, the vines began to triple in size, thrashing and splashing that foul liquid all about. Their screams . . .” he trailed off, gulping. “Their screams echoed so loud we could hear it in town.”
“If you were in town, how do you know what happened?” Ronan asked.
“They weren’t all dead when we got here.”
Bile burned in the back of her throat as she imagined how horrific it must be to see the twitching bodies of her friends and family trapped by the vines.
“The liquid . . . I’ve never seen anything like it. It paralyzed them only long enough to trap them. But when it wore off . . . it’s like the cursed things feed off the screams. The more they struggled, the faster they grew.”
“How long ago did this happen?” Lucian asked, body rigid with tension.
“We don’t know when exactly it started. The growth could have been lying in wait for weeks for all we know, maybe longer. We don’t come down here that often. It’s one of the few caverns without any access to a well so there’s no point.”
Ronan’s eyes sharpened on his face. “You think it could have been a trap?”
Khouman shrugged. “I don’t know what to think.”
“So when did you discover it?” Lucian pressed.
“The screams began weeks ago. We’ve lost over thirty men and women down here. We removed the ladders and forbid anyone from going down there. It was a death sentence and only seemed to make matters worse. Some—” his voice caught, and he shot them a look so filled with pain it gutted her.
“Khouman?” Effie prompted, when he didn’t finish the sentence.
Clearing his throat, Khouman forced himself to continue. “Some folks have formed additional scouting parties since the war. We thought things were starting to return to normal, but now . . .”