by Alexia Purdy
Dark Prism
The Glass Sky Book 2
Alexia Purdy
Dark Prism
(The Glass Sky Book 2)
©June 2021 by Alexia Purdy
Cover Design ©AV Fantasy Book Covers Art & Design
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The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious and any similarity to a real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Book 2 of The Glass Sky series, a brand-new fairytale retelling fantasy series from award winning author Alexia Purdy for those who love dystopian futuristic fantasy and magical tales.
Betrayal. Loss. Heartbreak.
I feel all those things after escaping Farlan’s demented prison. But I’m determined to move forward with my new life in the Glass Sky City. Newfound friends and an unlikely romance keep me busy, but the deviant past is never far behind.
Assigned to a new mission as the rebellion threatens to fail, my team disturbs old grievances with unworldly creatures far beneath the surface. It brings dangers to affront, threatening mayhem and destruction. There are far more players in Farlan’s intricate games than I could’ve ever imagined. It’s not long before I’m facing down horrifying monsters of all kinds and getting tangled up in absurd magical bargains. Only one person can help me but how do I reach them in time?
Chapter One
Star
There are terrible things roaming the dark, but none more treacherous than those lacking all morality.
I stumbled, following Everlee as we made our way through the underground labyrinths filled with a darkness which sucked the life out of the soul. Soft pillows of dark green moss lined the tunnel walls where water threatened to burst from the cracks, and the feeling of being watched never ceased. Traversing the delicate ridges at the edge of the ravines could shake anyone to the core. Still, we hadn’t seen anything to prove that any sentient beings existed there other than Commander Everlee and me, Star Rickton, the unluckiest girl in the world.
Even so, something told me I was going to find out exactly what the terrible things were.
The floor fell from beneath my feet, followed by a downpour of rocks pelting me. Everlee caught my arm as my legs dangled over the edge. I lost my flashlight in the process. Gasping in surprise, I glanced down—a huge mistake—and watched the light flash across the rocks before it disappeared into the abyss below.
“Everlee! Pull me up!” I clawed desperately at his arm, afraid he’d let me go. He winced but didn’t complain.
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a magnet for trouble?” Everlee grunted, tugging me back up onto the narrow ledge of the cliff we were navigating. He dragged me a few inches in so I wouldn’t slip off the edge again. He threw me a warning look to tell me to watch where I was stepping. My cheeks burned from both embarrassment and fear.
“Well, if you would’ve told me we were going to attempt a life-threatening hike through hell itself, I’d have been more physically and mentally prepared.” I scowled, pulling away from his iron grip. He hadn’t let go even when I was firmly back on the ledge. His eyes moved to my arm as I rubbed it furiously.
“I don’t think either one of us planned this week to turn out like this.” He turned and continued on, one hand gliding along the wall of the stone to steady himself. I copied his movements, afraid to fall into the black pit of nothingness below us. I avoided looking down again at all costs. There was no way I was going to die by falling off some vast fissure in the earth where no one would ever find my body. The thought sent a shudder through me.
The path wound with sharp curves, thinning at some points and widening at others. The terrain was rocky and uneven, as though it wasn’t traversed often. It had been long neglected, with loose rocks littering the way. Everlee constantly had to shove stones out of the way, kicking them to the side to disappear into oblivion. One such time, it was his turn to slip, and I reached out for him, grabbing at his elbow as he lost his balance. Luckily, he regained his footing faster than I had and slipped just one boot over the edge. He straightened and turned my way, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Um, thanks,” he muttered, but I could feel his heart beating madly beneath his chest, which was now so close to mine that I could feel the warmth of his body near me. The frigid air of the wide ravine made me shiver, and he reached out and rubbed my arms.
“Here.” He undid his dark jacket and draped it over my shoulders, helping me to slip my arms through it. It was too big for me, but the warmth within flooded my frozen limbs like sunshine on a winter’s day. I sighed blissfully but cleared my throat almost immediately.
“No, you need it. It’s freezing here.”
“Actually, I’m not really cold at all,” he answered. He’d already turned to continue down the path, probably to avoid looking embarrassed that I’d saved him this time around. I frowned. This guy was a puzzle to solve. His moods were abrupt and unpredictable. He hadn’t acted creepy at all like he had before on our ride to Farlan’s mansion. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I could believe he wasn’t Everlee at all, but instead some complete stranger or a hidden twin of his.
“How much farther?” I asked, relieved when the path widened as we approached another tunnel in the wall of the ravine. My stomach dropped. The complete darkness of the caves was oppressive and filled me with dread. I wasn’t sure how much more of this endless maze I could take.
“How about instead of asking me that every five minutes, I’ll let you know when we’re getting close. It’s not a long way, but the terrain is not a straight shot.”
Everlee kept walking. He didn’t offer any more information, which frustrated me to no end.
I didn’t really know this man. He was a mystery full of twists and secrets I couldn’t decipher. I hoped trusting him was the right thing to do. He had saved me from Farlan’s grip, but at what cost? Was he now labeled as a defector? As a spy of the rebellion, could I truly trust him? His Insurgent persona had been incredibly convincing; I’d been fooled into thinking he was the worst of humanity, a trash human being without any care about who he hurt or what havoc he caused.
Now, following closely behind him as he led me back to the Glass Sky City, I doubted everything I’d known. And not just about him. I’d been wrong about so many things, so why not add one more to the list? At least Everlee was a lot more pleasant after shedding his soldier personality. I could only hope that it wouldn’t return.
“Commander?” I asked, my voice echoing in the massive cavern, startling myself with how loud it sounded. I shivered, the warmth of his jacket already fading. The fabric smelled like him, but I ignored it even though it wasn’t unpleasant.
“What is it?” he asked, not truly paying attention as we reached a massive boulder sitting quite inconveniently in the middle of the path. He shoved at it, grunting and sweating, to no avail. It wouldn’t budge to save the moon. There wasn’t even enough of a strip of the ledge to shimmy around it. It was also too smooth and too high to climb over. The feeling of dread grew in my middle. I always talked way too much when I was nervous, frustrated, or agitated. It wasn’t my most endearing quality. I cl
eared my throat, remembering what I was going to ask him.
“What did you mean when you said there were terrible things roaming the dark?”
He pushed himself off the rock he’d been attempting to shove out of the way. Completely out of breath, he propped his hands on his thighs, closed his eyes, and shook his head. His dark hair dangled over his forehead where it’d been kept longer after he’d chopped off his locks. He breathed hard as though he’d given it his all to move the stone. Once he caught his breath, he slid to the ground, leaning his back and head on the rock and looking far more tired than he had before. Dark, bruise-like circles and bags shadowed his eyes from the lack of sleep. I, at least, had the benefit of being unconscious for a bit to recover. Not by choice, might I add, but from the shot Clyde had sedated me with.
I subconsciously rubbed my arm, the memory of his traitorous act tasting bitter on my tongue. I slid down to sit next to Everlee, knowing huddling together would keep us both warm, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to get too close to him.
He remained with his head back against the boulder, his eyes closed as his breathing slowed. His fatigue made him look far more human than before. As far as I could tell, he needed to rest. If our path was blocked, it was the end of the road anyway.
“Well,” he breathed out, “you know about the legends of the deep caverns, right?” He turned to look at me, his dark irises black in the dim light.
I nodded. “The stories told to children to keep them from wandering into the tunnels?”
He laughed. “Yeah.”
“Yes, my friend Megan told me several.”
“Yeah, well, those stories are based on real things, real events.”
I listened to the vast silence of the cavern and the ravine, wondering if we were truly alone.
“Have you ever seen these creatures they talk about?” I asked.
He rubbed his face and stretched his legs out, blowing out a long sigh. “Yes.”
My eyes widened as I turned toward him. “You have?”
He nodded, sliding down to lie flat on the ground, about two feet from the edge of the cliff, placing his hands behind his head. He yawned widely, groaning with the stretch.
“I’ll tell you about it later. The route we’re taking should take us far enough away from their territories; we’ll be fine.”
“But the way is blocked.”
“We’ll be taking another way later.”
“What if those things find us? Would they kill us?”
He shrugged, unconcerned. “You got that totem I gave you?”
I nodded, which I was sure he couldn’t see since his eyes were closed now.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Then we’ll be fine. Trust me.” He yawned again.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key pendant, which he called a totem. I turned it over in my fingers. It didn’t seem that special. It was old and tarnished, with spots of rust clinging to the metal. It was strung through a leather tie and looked as harmless as the tiny stones of gravel beneath us. Why would this protect us? What did it open?
“What does it—” I began but stopped as I heard soft breathing next to me. Looking over at a sleeping Everlee, I knew we weren’t going anywhere for now. I was sort of relieved, even though the cold was creeping into my bones. I was wearing two jackets, but the cold continued to feel as though it was penetrating through them both.
How was Everlee sleeping soundly in this frigid place? I slid down next to him, feeling a bit of warmth emanating from his body. I reached out to touch his arm; it felt cool. He was cold too, but too tired to care. I couldn’t have him dying of hypothermia on me. I’d never get out of there alive.
I sighed. “I never thought I’d be pinning all my hopes on you.”
I blinked back tears. If only it were Clyde leading me through this labyrinth of stone and cold, maybe I’d feel safer. Happier even. Maybe I wouldn’t. I’d never know now. Clyde had found a safe harbor in President Farlan’s daughter’s arms. Gigi was a fine young lady, beautiful, prestigious, and powerful. It’d give him the boost he needed to get closer to Farlan, just like he’d intended this whole time. The perfect disguise. All it had cost was my heart.
I looked again at Everlee and decided to stop thinking about things I couldn’t change. The negativity would do me no good. I’d cried enough. I shook off his jacket as I inched closer to him. We had to conserve body heat, and cuddling up to him was the only way. I draped the jacket over us both and tried my best to huddle next to him. It helped warm me up immensely, and I knew he would feel better as well. I laid my head on his chest, the rocky ground too hard against my cheek. I wasn’t sure how he could bear it.
Closing my eyes, fatigue quickly won me over. The long trek had already drained what little energy I’d managed to recover. A nice warm meal and soft bed like I’d had at Clyde’s parents’ cottage would be nice right about now. I missed the sounds of the world above, like crickets chirping, owls hooting, mice squeaking, and the rustle of leaves tumbling across the yard. It was infinitely better than the emptiness of the desolate underground.
At least I wasn’t alone. If I had been, I would’ve died of fear. The minutes passed, and my eyes grew heavy with fatigue. Soon enough, I relented into the arms of sleep, hoping for a dream of warm fires and sweet hot chocolate while chatting with my family. The dream never came.
Chapter Two
Star
“Star. Star, wake up.”
I blinked, afraid to leave the cozy spot I’d curled into. As my senses flooded with the scent of a guy next to me and the frigid cold slapping me awake, I lifted my head and came face to face with Everlee.
I gasped, sitting up wild-eyed and confused. We were still in the darkness of the ravine, on the treacherous narrow path to who knew where. Hopefully, the Glass Sky was near, but the way was blocked, and we’d fallen asleep, too exhausted to go on.
“What happened?” I asked, bewildered. Everlee’s jacket fell off of me and I grabbed it, feeling its warmth as well as the heat from his body sadly recede. The rush of cold air slammed into me, and I shivered. Everlee, now free of my weight upon his chest, sat up and raked his fingers through his unruly hair, eyeing me curiously with an amused smile on his face.
“I think we took a nice long nap. It’s a mighty good morning, don’t you think, Star-girl?” He grinned, looking smug after discovering our sleeping arrangements. Quite smug in fact. My face flushed, heated by the realization that we hadn’t moved for hours. I slapped his arm.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” I rolled my eyes as I scooted away from him, taking his jacket with me. “How do you even know it’s morning?”
“Oh, I can tell.” He winked, earning a scoff from me. He stretched his arms out, looking as though he’d had the best sleep of his life. At least he didn’t look like a dead man walking anymore.
“How are we going to get past this thing?” I peered at the boulder standing in our way, ignoring Everlee as he grinned widely at me.
“Well, there’s always a way. Let me see.” He stood up, dusting off his shirt and pants. With his dark clothes, his silhouette stood out only from the layer of dust clinging to his clothes. I was sure I looked the same way, with my matching black outfit. I shivered again, looking away once more to stare at the boulder.
I shook my head. “It’s blocking the entire path. We’ll never get over it.”
He checked out the sides of the boulder, looking for any handholds, anywhere to grip onto it. Maybe he thought we could climb over it, but I couldn’t see how. We’d both need a boost just to get atop it. There was no way we both could get over it without help.
“You’re right,” he groaned, his jaw tightening as he again ran his fingers through his hair. It was a gesture he often made when he was aggravated or nervous. He was hard to read, but it got easier the longer I spent time with him.
Suddenly, he straightened, his eyes brightening as a thought came to him. Turning to me, he held out his h
and. “Come on. We’ll have to take a detour.”
“What? What detour?” My mouth dropped open as I followed him, retracing our steps from the day before. “No—no, we’re not going to the deeper caverns, are we?” When he didn’t answer me, I grew frustrated. “Commander?”
“You’ll see. Yes, it’s another way that comes a bit closer to the deeper caverns, but it should still be okay.” He moved quickly until we got to the narrow strip where he’d previously slipped. Taking it with a lot more caution this time, we shimmied through without incident. I wondered where this alternative route was and racked my brain for another tunnel I must not have noticed.
After we’d backtracked what felt like half of the way we’d taken, he paused and turned toward the wall of the cavern, where a large fissure divided it like a scar. It was slender and lay in the shadow of the cliff jutting out next to it. He cocked his head my way to see my reaction to the tight entrance to wherever he was taking us.
“How are we going to fit through that?” I asked. I could probably shimmy through it, for it was about the size of the crevasse to my geode room back at the Glass Sky. But would Everlee fit? He was a bit stockier than Clyde, but he hadn’t eaten for at least a day or two. That might have slimmed him down enough to pass.
“Guess you’d better suck it all in. Can’t be worse than those corsets you wear.” He winked again and started for the crack. He turned his body sideways, inching into the fissure, slowly at first. I could hear his shirt rip a little as he disappeared into the darkness. He grunted as the rocks scratched him up.
I sighed, looking around at the enormous ravine. Without him nearby, I felt smaller than before, insignificant. Shivering, I took a deep breath and pressed into the crack, finding it easier to squeeze through than Everlee. The light faded as the crack curved away from the cavern. Fear crawled up my spine as I tried to avoid thinking about the tiny creatures inhabiting the dark, possibly crawling on my clothes at that very instant. Spider webs tickled my nose as I continued, but I could barely swipe them away.