My mind whirled, searching for answers. I tuned out Hazel, tuned out Tanit’s crying. I did my best to tune out Kur’s rampage, vaguely aware that he’d moved away from us, that he was ripping things from the ground—the iron, the spikes, glass breaking, tearing through the garden like a furious god.
I stared down at Adonis, tracing my fingers over his chest again. A faint spark of hope lit in my mind. This death wasn’t the result of dragons or fire. Adonis’s death came from magic. And magic could always be undone, right?
If this was supposed to be a gift from the Old Gods, it was a gift I wanted to return.
I wanted to know exactly what Adonis had known. I wanted to know everything about the Stones of Zahar and the Bringer of Light.
I wiped the back of my hand across my face to clear away the rain and tears.
Nearby, Kur was ripping human bones from the garden.
“Kur!” I shouted. “I need your help!”
“With what?” he snarled, flashing a hint of sharp teeth.
“Can you read Phoenician?”
Stark pain shone from his dark eyes. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”
“I need you to help me learn everything that Adonis knew about the Bringer of Light. About the Old Gods,” I shouted. “This isn’t where his story ends. I’m sure of it.”
Chapter 36
I slammed through the door into the bedroom where we’d been staying. Behind me, Kur carried Adonis’s body into the room. Hazel sauntered in behind the two demons. At our arrival, Drakon yelped, fluttering his wings frantically.
My heart thundered against my ribs as I scrambled to find the book—tucked under the mattress, just where Adonis had left it. I pulled it out, and Kur laid Adonis’s body on the bed. Panicking, Drakon crawled over to his master, curling up on his body, wings fluttering.
Kur sat down on the edge of the bed, ignoring the chaos behind him. I handed the book to him, and he began paging through it, muttering to himself in an ancient language. “And Adonis read this?”
“He’s had it with him this whole time. He said he had it memorized. It’s the same one that Kratos keeps in his war room. He only told me part of it—he left out the bit about how the stones would kill the horsemen. He said he wanted to rule the celestial realm. Same thing he told you.” I shivered, my teeth chattering. I’d wanted to rid the earth of archangels, but this didn’t feel like a victory.
Kur gripped the book hard. “This book explains that the Bringer of Light can harness the magic of the Old Gods to repel archangels from the earth. And her magic will kill all the living horsemen of the apocalypse.”
Cold dread slid through my bones. Adonis had wanted me to act as his executioner. All along I’d thought he could lure me to my death through seduction, but I had it wrong. He’d been drawn to me precisely because he knew I could kill him.
Tanit tugged at her hair. “Of course he didn’t tell us this. We would have stopped him.”
There was a lot he hadn’t told them. He hadn’t mentioned how he kept the seal from opening. I’d been so sure that Adonis was only looking out for himself, that I’d failed to see the truth—Adonis had found a way to keep himself from slaughtering, to beat his curse.
There was still so much he hadn’t told me, too.
“His story isn’t finished,” I said again, more forcefully. Adrenaline and wild desperation surged. “I’m sure of it.”
Hazel leaned against the wall, her arms folded. “I told you we should have left things as they were.”
Fury bloomed in my chest. “Shut up, Hazel. I’m trying to think.” As it was, I could hardly hear my own thoughts over Tanit’s sobbing.
“What did he mean his soul was going to the underworld? Is it…is it the one he told me about? Where he was born?”
Kur nodded slowly. “The Old Gods have claimed the souls of the horsemen. This book is written by one of their followers, lauding the defeat of the horsemen. Praising the work of the Bringer of Light.” Contempt dripped from his words. “As you might imagine, there are no instructions on how to fix it.”
I closed my eyes, wracking my brain for everything I’d learned about the Old Gods. The poisonous herbs that grew where horsemen tread, the power I’d felt surging through the silver bough, so raw and overwhelming it had almost driven me insane. The Stones of Zahar, mined from the grotto where Adonis had been born. The entrance to the underworld...
“Afeka,” I whispered. “The stones want to be returned to Afeka.”
Kur looked up from the book. “What?”
I stared at him. “His soul is in the underworld, where the stones come from, right? And I could feel the stones’ desire to return there. They want to go back to Afeka.” As soon as I said the word, the stones pulsed in my hand, as if affirming what I was saying. “Any idea where it is, exactly?”
“Lebenon,” said Kur.
I nodded. “The Old Gods reside there. Maybe I can make a trade.”
Hazel’s expression was bleak. “Didn’t Adonis warn you that every god wants a sacrifice? I don’t think they’re into making trades.”
I glanced at Adonis, at his pendant that stood out like blood droplets against his tan skin. “The Old Gods want their magic rocks back. I can feel it, even now. Maybe they’ll give us just one soul in return.”
Hazel’s expression was dark. “Or maybe they’ll just kill you and take the stones.”
Tanit pointed at Adonis, tears streaking her cheeks. “You need to fix this.” Her voice was low, cold. “He thinks it was his job to sacrifice himself. It’s why he stayed with the feral fae so long.”
“I don’t understand.”
Fury seemed to ripple off Kur’s powerful body. “Only the fae could keep his powers in check. Before he could control them himself, his emotions could spread waves of death around him—plagues, earthquakes, a frost on the crops. Just by feeling intensely—by growing angry or loving another person—death rippled off of him. Only the fae knew how to contain it, with their close connection to the Old Gods.”
I felt the bone-deep chill of his words. He’d never wanted to kill, but death simply coiled out of him uncontrolled. I could hardly imagine the guilt, the stark isolation that must have plagued him all those years.
“Over time,” Kur continued, “Adonis learned to control it better. He grew into his powers, the way a fae learns to control her hunger. He wanted to keep the world from his destruction.” Sharp whorls of magic spilled from Kur’s golden body. “Same reason he carved himself up every time the seal started to break open.”
“You knew about that?” I asked.
“Of course I knew. I’ve known for centuries. Adonis always thought he needed to suffer in silence.”
I wrung my hands. “He and Kratos both said the same thing. Sacrifice the few to save the many. That was their angelic sense of morality.” I choked back the tears that threatened to rush out. I had to keep my thoughts clear. “I guess the horsemen were the sacrifices here. But I’m not going to let it end this way.”
Kur met my gaze, his eyes suddenly piercing, body tense. “Do everything you can to fix this. Do you understand, Bringer of Light?”
I met his gaze evenly. “I understand. I am the Bringer of Light. And I’m giving back the gift the gods have granted me.”
In Aereus’s garden of death, I stared up at Uthyr’s cold, reptilian eyes. His dragon form made my entire body tense. For just a moment, my mind flashed with the image of the dragon attack, the sharp teeth piercing bone, flames searing flesh. This thing was a ruthless monster.
I swallowed hard. At least, I thought he was a ruthless monster. Maybe I wasn’t always the best at figuring out who the monsters were.
I closed my eyes, mastering my fears. Dragon or not, I had to get to Afeka.
With a noise in his throat like a deep rattle, Uthyr lowered his chin to the muddy earth. I looped my leg over the dragon’s scaly neck, half terrified by the power in this creature’s muscled back. Then I slid over his
body until I found a spot on his spine where I could get a good grip on his scales.
Hazel climbed on in front of me, looking at ease on her perch. The creature’s blood pumped below me, his muscles twitching.
What I hadn’t expected was for Kur to climb on behind me, sliding over the dragon’s hide like it was second nature to him. And given Kur’s scales, maybe it was.
I turned to look at him. “You’re coming?”
“I’m going to make sure you two fae don’t fuck this up. Besides. It’s a long way back to Afeka, and you’ll both freeze to death without me. Probably fall asleep and slide off the damn dragon.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence.”
My stomach lurched as Uthyr lifted off, his powerful wings thumping in the air to keep us a few feet above ground.
From the garden, Tanit lifted Adonis’s body, like a supplicant offering up a sacrifice. Uthyr grabbed Adonis in his talons.
As we took flight into the stormy sky, I gripped hard to Uthyr’s scales, using my thighs to hold tightly to the beast. The rain hammered against my skin, and Uthyr’s wings stirred the air around us.
I tried to peer beyond Hazel, then beyond Uthyr’s enormous haunches to catch a glimpse of Adonis, but it was no use from my vantage point.
Kur’s powerful arms curved around me, keeping me in place. With the rain pounding in my face, I could hardly see where we were going, but the speed of flight thrilled me all the same.
I’d actually done what I’d first set out to do—I’d defeated the horsemen. I’d slain them all, driven the archangels from the earth. A shimmering, blue sphere still glimmered around the earth’s surface, protecting us from the archangels’ onslaught.
The Great Nightmare was over. Right?
It didn’t feel like a victory. I couldn’t let it end this way, not without trying to save Adonis, too. If his soul remained in the underworld of the Old Gods, I had to imagine he was trapped in some sort of hell.
The freezing rain made my teeth chatter. I slumped back into Kur, and he steadied me on the dragon’s back.
“You two fae will get tired fast,” he said. “We have a long way to go.”
“Do you know where we’re going?” I asked.
“Afeka is my home, too. It will take us almost a full day to get there.”
Thank the gods Kur had come with us, because he wasn’t wrong when he said we’d probably fall off this thing. If there was one lesson I’d learned from riding Nuckelavee, it was that about three or four hours in, my thighs would be on fire.
Hazel’s dark hair whipped into my face as we flew through the air.
“I don’t suppose you have any of that magic that Adonis had? The kind that stops your muscles from hurting?”
“I have my own magic,” said Kur. “I’m a demon of the night, and I’m going to put you to sleep.”
I clutched tighter to Uthyr’s scales. “Not sure that’s a great idea, Kur. I’m kind of holding on for my life here.”
“I’m not going to let you fall.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a soothing, starlight-tinged calm swept over me, curling around my sister. Her slim body slumped into me, and Kur’s muscled arms wrapped around me, holding me in place.
I sank deeply into a dreamless sleep.
I woke to the sun’s rays warming my skin. When I opened my eyes, we were soaring over a rocky terrain, the land tinged with stunning shades of blue and green. A turquoise river carved through the land below. Despite everything that had happened, hope stirred within me.
“We’re here,” Kur said quietly.
I prodded Hazel in the ribs, and she jolted awake with a snort. “What?”
I leaned in closer. “Tell your dragon to bring us down. This is Afeka.”
Hazel bent toward Uthyr’s ear, whispering something to him. Uthyr’s glimmering, membranous wings shot out, and he arced lower over the rushing river.
The wind whipped through my hair as Uthyr took us down to the river’s bank. Around us, red anemones bloomed in tall grasses, and I breathed in the humid air of Adonis’s birthplace. The dragon circled a few times above the grotto, where water rushed from a cave mouth over a rocky cliff face. It pooled below, a cerulean blue in the bright sun.
Uthyr swooped lower, aiming for a rocky cliffside above the river. Before he reached the ground, he hovered near the earth, his heavy wings pounding the air.
“What’s he doing?” I asked.
“He’s setting down Adonis,” said Hazel.
At least he was being careful. A moment later, Uthyr gracefully landed on the path next to Adonis. Kur slid off the beast first, then helped us down. Fatigue ate at my muscles as I slipped off Uthyr’s scales. If Kur’s magic hadn’t been here to soothe my body, I’d be lying on the ground right now, or possibly dead.
I crossed to Adonis, his body peaceful and perfect, his dark lashes stark against his golden skin. I crouched down, touching the smooth skin of his cheek.
“Do you know what you’re doing here?” asked Hazel.
I shook my head. “No idea. I only know I’m taking these stones into the underworld, and I’m going to try to make a trade for Adonis’s soul.”
I rose, and the Stones of Zahar thrummed faintly through the leather satchel on my back, already urging me onward. I felt their power driving me, compelling me to move past the rows of myrrh trees. Here, everything smelled like Adonis.
Kur crouched down, lifting Adonis’s body off the rocky earth. “We’re both going to find him. I’m coming in there with you.”
I squinted in the sunlight. “I’m not sure the Old Gods want demons in their realm.”
“I’m coming,” he said with growl.
A vernal breeze whispered over me as my footsteps crunched over the path. The grotto was the entrance to the underworld, but I felt life pulsing from it.
Kur trod behind me. As I walked along the cliff’s edge, the turquoise water in the gorge below seemed to shift in color. I swallowed hard, watching it redden to the deep crimson of blood. A shiver rippled up my spine.
I wasn’t entirely sure what that was about, but I wouldn’t say the blood river seemed like a good omen.
As we walked on to the cave’s mouth, distant cries skimmed past us—agonized cries. A woman weeping, a man’s tormented screams.
Again—not a particularly welcoming omen in my book. I glanced at Kur, but he hadn’t seemed to notice any of it.
At the cave’s mouth, I paused, running my fingers over the arched, rocky wall by my side. I cast a nervous glance at the river of blood, dread pooling in my gut.
Awfully dark in there. So far, everything I’d seen of the Old Gods had been beautiful and full of life. The herbs growing in the forest, the gleaming silver bough, the scent of spring. Here, at the mouth of the underworld, I faced uncharted territory. Depths I really didn’t want to plumb.
Pushing aside my fears, I reached into the leather satchel and pulled out the Stones of Zahar. I’d brought them back to their original home. My forehead tingled at the sight of them, and again I fought the overwhelming impulse to press them against my head.
They glowed in my hand, casting a dull blue light over the cave’s interior.
Would the gods accept this as an exchange for Adonis’s soul? I had no idea. Bartering with the gods for souls was, frankly, completely unfamiliar terrain.
I’d think of it as a sacrifice. That was what Adonis would say. All gods required sacrifices, and that was what I’d come to offer.
Distantly, those faint, agonized cries floated on the mountain wind. The cries didn’t sound fully present, exactly. More like an echo, a memory of something from long ago.
My footsteps echoed off the cave walls. Fear began raking its talons through my chest, raising the hair on the back of my neck.
Something from my past flashed in my mind— blood running down a pale arm, streaming onto the pavement. Teeth piercing the flesh... A woman screaming, a look of horror… Something I didn’t want to think about.
Why did that memory keep haunting me? The dragon attack, maybe, of Marcus. No, it was something else, something with a woman. Whatever it was, the memory was a piercing staccato hammering at the inside of my skull, hot and crimson.
I slammed down the iron door. Not now.
As I moved deeper into the cave, Aereus’s words began whispering around me. There, you’d have to face the real monster.
The light from the Stones of Zahar began to dim, now a faint glow. They cast a dull light over the glistening rocks around me, and icy water began running over my feet, growing higher and higher with every step. I tried not to think about the fact that it had looked bright red, or that I might be bathing in the blood of the undead. Where were the Old Gods in here? How far did I have to go?
I whirled around, alarmed to find that Kur was nowhere around me. My throat went dry.
“Kur?” My voice echoed off the stone walls. “Kur?” I called out more urgently.
No response.
Shadows smothered the stone’s light completely. Darkness. Darkness all around me.
Icy fear raked its claws through my heart as slick, tight vines began snaking around my limbs, rooting me in place. Like a python, they climbed around me, threatening to suffocate me.
They dragged me under the water’s surface.
Chapter 37
As the vines pulled me under, I managed to cling to the stones.
Holding my breath, I clutched them to my chest. My lungs burned. After a few moments, the waters receded again, the vines loosening on my limbs. I kicked until my head rose above the water, and I sucked in a ragged breath.
What the fuck is going on?
I scrambled for a foothold to stop the rushing river from carrying me with it, kicking and bucking until my tiptoes skimmed over the river bottom.
Stable ground. Thank the gods.
I gripped the stones tightly in my palm as the water rushed over my body. Music pulsed around me—a low, rumbling bass noise that trembled along my bones. Darkness closed in, and all I could see was the thick glistening of the rocks overhead.
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