rylee adamson 10 - blood of the lost (28 page)

“Further would be better.”

Fucking hell. Sweating, my head aching and my guts on fire from the knife I pushed my Immunity further down until it pooled at my feet. With a soft pop it slid off me and I gasped. “What the fuck happened?”

Jonathan looked straight at me. “You can’t have your Immunity going into this battle, Rylee of the Blood. You must give up all your weapons to face Orion. Even those that are an innate part of you.”

Holy fucking hell. I couldn’t stop the shivering that took over my body; part fear, and part shock. Doran let out a low growl and from the shadows Liam echoed the sound. I knew without a doubt that if the sun hadn’t been high, Liam would have tackled Jonathan to the floor and strangled him.

Jonathan reached out and took my right hand, covered in my own blood and pressed it into the book on a blank page.

He began to write around my fingers, and outside the barn, a single howl erupted through the air.

Doran looked at me, his green eyes determined before he turned away. “They’re here. Do what you must, Rylee. We will protect you.”

I took a breath to answer him, and the world was sucked away and I stood at the juncture of two paths, Jonathan beside me.

“We will walk them, and you will decide which one you want to follow.”

Right, like it was going to be that fucking easy.

Somehow, I doubted it.

CHAPTER 34

PAMELA

LARK TOOK US deep into the heart of the mountain, where the air was so hot it felt as though it burned the back of my throat. Keeping up to her long-legged stride was hard, and I was constantly jogging to keep up. Peta ran ahead of us, seeming to lead the way.

“Why is Peta in front?” I asked.

“Because she lived here a long time. It’s a labyrinth down here, Pamela. Don’t forget that if you ever come on your own.” Lark glanced at me, then back at Griffin. I followed her gaze. He strolled as though on an outing at a park. His hands touched the sides of the tunnel we hurried through, lingering here and there on a gem or jewel that was embedded.

Cactus was on the other side of Lark, but he was quiet and his eyes seemed troubled. Why did I think that didn’t bode well?

Torchlight lit our path, but still the place felt dark and dank to me. Even with the heat. I swiped my hand across my forehead, but the sweat had already dried. Like a sauna that was so hot, I couldn’t even get relief from my own sweat.

We burst out of the tunnel and a large ornate door stood closed in front of us. Made of solid gold, there was a glittering bejeweled dragon etched across the doors. With gems for eyes, the dragon looked lifelike enough that I wondered if it was a supernatural I hadn’t heard of before, but it was like no dragon I’d ever met.

“Firewyrm,” Griffin said softly in my ear, answering my question before I asked.

Lark firmed her back and placed her hands on the doors. “Stick close, the queen can be . . . prickly.”

Cactus let out a quiet snort. “That’s an understatement.”

Lark glared at him, then turned and shoved the doors open. We went through, side by side. A woman sat lounging on an ornate dais raised a few feet above the ground at the far end of the room. Her hair was blood red and her eyes were as blue as mine. A thin circlet of gold wove through her hair and held the long strands back from her face. She was a beauty, of that much I was sure. But I somehow doubted that would make her any easier to deal with.

The queen was not dressed in a gown as I would have thought. No, she was dressed in black leathers from her head to her toes, like Magma, the fire elemental I’d faced when we were freeing Lark from the oubliette. The black leather matched the large jungle cat at her side.

A slow smile slid over her face. “Larkspur. It has been a long time, my friend.”

Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Lark bowed from the waist and I mimicked her. “Queen Fiametta, I will not take much of your time.”

“Nonsense, we must eat and recall the stories when you were here last—”

“We cannot. The demons come for this world, and I am here to ask you to stand with us against them.” Lark spoke swiftly, and the fervor in her voice made me want to leap up and tell her that I stood with her again. Griffin put a hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

“Not yet, little witch.”

Fiametta let out a sigh. “Larkspur, there are always going to be threats to this world. Elementals ride the waves of fate like boats bobbing on the ocean.”

My whole frame shook and I couldn’t help myself. I shook Griffin off. “If the world falls, you will be next. Orion won’t stop with wiping out the supernaturals.”

The queen’s eyes slid to mine and I held her gaze. “What have you brought me, Larkspur?”

“A child whose blood is evidence that all families have blended.”

Fiametta stood and walked down the dais, stopping in front of me. Her hand cupped my face, turning it upward. “I see the fire in her. She is the one who killed Magma, isn’t she?”

My whole body clenched with a sudden spurt of fear. What would they do to me? I’d almost forgotten the battle for Lark’s freedom and the elementals I’d faced.

“Yes, I am,” I whispered. “And I would do it again if it meant freeing Lark.”

The world seemed to narrow around us and behind me Cactus groaned softly. Fiametta’s eyes never left mine.

“How is it that you inspire such loyalty, Larkspur?”

I straightened my back. “Because she fights for what she believes in; like any true leader should.”

Fiametta’s smile was slow, like a cat seeing something it wanted to pounce on. I crossed my arms over my chest and held her gaze.

The queen spoke to Lark, but her eyes never left mine. “I offered you my help, Larkspur. Not the world. Not the Tracker. And not even for this girl here would I step outside of the Pit.” Fiametta waved a hand at me, fire blooming over her fingertips.

Lark took a step toward the queen. “We saved you, Fiametta.”

The queen’s gaze sharpened along with her tongue. “And I would not throw that gift away for a battle that is not ours. You know that, Larkspur. You know this is not our battle.”

A change slipped over Lark, one so subtle I wasn’t sure at first what I was seeing. She turned and addressed the crowd that had gathered so quietly I hadn’t noticed them.

“The Terralings, my people, go to fight at the side of the supernaturals for the safety of this world. As elementals, do we not owe it to the world we sustain to protect it? Do you think the demons will stop with taking the humans down? How long before they turn their greedy eyes to us? How long before they decide to rape our women, and destroy our sanctuaries? To steal our magic and subvert the elements themselves to their whims?”

A low murmur rumbled through the crowd. A tall man stepped forward, his body encased in the same black leather as the queen’s. His hair was cut short, pale blond with hints of red slipping through it.

“Lark, I will stand with you against this threat. You saved our boy, and our family. I owe you my life.”

He dropped to one knee and Lark went to him, touching him on the shoulder. “Do not kneel to me, Brand. I am not your queen, nor do I want to be.”

Griffin leaned down beside me. “Show them what you can do with their element, little witch. Convince them you are one of their own.”

A few others stepped forward and spoke for Lark as I considered what I could possibly do to convince these elementals I was truly of their blood. I stepped forward, and at the same time, called the fire to my skin. It danced over me as I’d seen it dance over Fiametta until it lit me like a torch.

The weight of the queen’s eyes were the heaviest, but all of them were watching me. “I am of your blood, your queen has pronounced it. Yet I am the weakest of you, am I not?”

There was a low murmur of assent. The magic trembled over me. “And I will go into battle, and you will hide here and wait for the weakest of your own kind to keep you safe. You
are
cowards.”

I let the magic go and slumped to my knees. Griffin caught me before I could hit the ground. “Well done, yeah? How did you know that pride is their downfall?”

My body shook from the exertion it took to control that much fire. “I didn’t. I only said what I knew would push me to do something.”

He chuckled softly. “It’s not a guarantee, but I think you’ve given it the best you can, yeah?”

I smiled up at him, the edges of my mouth trembling with fatigue. “Yeah.”

CHAPTER 35

LARK

WE LEFT THE Pit, with only a few assurances of help. Brand and his family would be at the battle. At least that was something, I had to believe it.

That was it. Even the firewyrms were reluctant to commit, despite my cajoling. The fact was they’d barely stuck their noses out of the tunnel that would have taken us to their nests. Ungrateful bastards.

Frustration and fear nipped at me. I could
feel
the seconds ticking by, drawing us closer to the time I was to stand with Rylee and help her with the ceremony.

Unable to face another failure, I took us to the Deep. Queen Finley welcomed me with open arms. Her blue hair fell to her waist in long curling waves that brushed against her soft curves. She’d matured into a beautiful woman, with a confidence and grace that I knew she’d earned.

“Lark, I know what is coming,” she breathed into my ear as she hugged me. “My Seers have told me we must fight for our lives or risk living under the boots of the demons. We will be there. Even now, I have sent my best to gather at the place you have spoken of.”

I pulled back from her. “You always were wiser than your years, Finley.”

She waved a hand at me, bracelets tinkling against her ivory skin. “I have sent an emissary to the Eyrie.”

“What’s that?” Pamela asked.

“Not a what. A where. The Sylph’s reside in the Eyrie. And they don’t like me much,” I said softly. My last visit there had been catastrophic to say the least.

Finley nodded. “I remember. Which is why I sent a note to the queen, asking her to help on my behalf. She did promise to fight at my side if the time ever came.”