35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

M y eyes sprang open, and I sat up from a worn table I'd been placed on. I didn't recognize the room, but from the layout, it appeared to be a dining space within the network of tunnels beneath Thistlewall. Chairs lined another table a few feet away.

"You're awake," Caelus said next to me.

My power pulled toward him, but I slid off the table on the side opposite him. The pain in my leg was gone, and I suspected that if I looked, the wound from the wolf's bite would be healed. "You saved me," I said.

"Should I not have?"

It was a loaded question. I hadn't forgotten that woman's lips pressed to his, and I wasn't sure if I could forgive him. "I need to find Teeg," I said, stepping out into the hall. It was familiar, but the near barren stone hallways offered nothing to help identify where I was.

Caelus didn't say anything, following me through the tunnels.

I found the iron door where I'd fought the labryn. Roan had escaped. I loosed a defeated sigh.

Across from that room was where I'd met Lord Whistlemane. I pushed inside, the green glow of the crystal illuminating the space. He remained tied to the chair. "Lord Whistlemane needs help," I told Caelus.

He hesitated, giving me a once-over, before leaving my side, untying the gnomish member of the Dawn Conclave.

I approached the crystal, placed my palm along the smooth surface, and gasped. The souls trapped inside writhed and warred, their suffering filling me. Their unjust murder left them angry and twisted.

Caelus placed his warm hand on my shoulder, anchoring me. "What happened?"

"What is this?" I asked Lord Whistlemane, ignoring Caelus.

Tooley Whistlemane looked from me to the crystal and back, eyes weary. "They've been collecting souls to power their resurrection project."

Within the crystal swirled a lighter green substance so much like the one I'd seen the night I'd woken up in the catacombs of the Temple of Ahrea. "Can it still be used?"

He nodded. "No one should practice using souls of the dead."

I released lightning along the crystal. Cracks spiderwebbed across it, and the glow faded. The light green soul essence spilled through the fractures, losing their light as well.

Give them peace, Thanally.

As if in answer, a sense of well-being washed over me, warming my chest. I smiled and clutched the moonstone lotus Marus had gifted me. I rubbed my finger across the smooth center stone to find it cracked as well. Holding it up, the stone was missing a piece and the silver outline of the lotus was bent and crooked, most likely from when the labryn had been squeezing me.

I frowned at the broken amulet and stepped outside, my job done, and continued to search for Teeg.

Caelus was there in an instant. "You can't run away, Tempest."

I glared at him. "I haven't forgotten what happened."

Footsteps barreled against the stone floor toward us, and I took on a defensive stance. Caelus stepped in front of me, a hand on the hilt of his recovered sword.

Selena rounded the corner, her tight braids now pulled back. She slowed, eyes landing on what remained of my wounds, the mess of my hair, and my blood-stained clothes. Her brows furrowed and lips thinned. "You should've listened!" she said between pants.

"You appear to be well," I said, thankful the glass and the explosion hadn't harmed her.

Her fury faded, and she laughed. "Honestly, I'm almost proud of that stunt you pulled. Esteban is furious, but he'll be glad to know you're alive and mostly well."

"Have you seen Teeg? He was with a half-fey man, Gavriel. Or maybe Roan?"

"I found Teeg and got him to Malik, but there's been a complicated development."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"It'd be better if you saw for yourself."

I followed Selena, though Caelus was still unwilling to leave my side.

Admittedly, I had saved him just as he saved me. I hadn't wanted him to die, and my body moved on its own—was compelled—to save him. But he'd go back to Ryseer, and I'd go to Dusmir, never to see each other again, and my heart ached at the thought, despite all that had occurred.

"What happened after you left?" Selena asked. "It took us a while to find these tunnels, but you had that gnome with you."

"I . . ." I wasn't sure what to say. I'd been captured but found Caelus. Finding him had been the plan, but Selena didn't need to know all the messy details when it came to the hurt and betrayal.

"Roan was responsible for taking Teeg," I said finally. "He delivered him to Ebonhammer before he knew about Travok's plan to kill and consume him for himself. After that, Roan took him with Gavriel's help. They planned to tamper with life and death, and I'm to blame."

Selena stopped and gave me a wide-eyed look. "You?"

I gave her a half-hearted smile. "I lost control of the tempest when I was young and it killed Gavriel's son. And Klareth . . ."

She nodded. "You killing anyone sounds ridiculous. Guess the bitch finally pushed you to your limit."

I gave her a thin smile. "She murdered Tryssa in front of me." The crystal below the temple flashed in my mind. Had Klareth been gathering souls beneath the temple too? For what purpose? "I don't regret it. But Dorian . . ."

Selena wrapped her arms around my neck. "He's probably smiling down at you, proud that you killed that bitch."

She smelled of sweat and lilacs, but I didn't care. I smiled, wrapping my arms around her in return.

We continued forward, and I could feel Caelus's stare on me.

Light shone at the end of the tunnel, and I glimpsed the dawn sky peeking through. Chattering grew closer. Soon I'd be with Teeg, and I would go home.

Caelus pulled me to a stop and Selena glanced back at us with a questioning look. Lord Whistlemane didn't bother stopping and started up the steps.

I gave her a nod, and her lips pressed into a thin line before going up the makeshift steps out of the cave.

Once she was out of sight, I faced Caelus. His eyes stayed on the steps a moment longer before meeting mine. The light shining into the tunnel made his gray eyes appear darker than usual.

Caelus stepped forward and twirled a dark lock of my hair around a finger. "You've accepted your gift," he said.

I stepped back, my hair falling through his fingers. I'd expected another apology or an explanation, but not that. "Is that all?" I asked.

He glanced at the exit again and took a deep breath. "There's one last thing I need to tell you."

My heart sped up, and my mouth dried.

"I was sent to Dusmir by the king. For you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking another step back.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but he was cut off by concerned shouts.

"Prince Alpheus! It's dangerous. You shouldn't rush down into unknown tunnels!"