Chapter 70

That rumble saved our lives.

I caught Tristan by the wrist seconds before he was crushed by the river of black. He would have been swept away.

The flow was so violent I fought to keep my boots planted while the mountain bucked and heaved beneath us. Of course, the quiet calm had been too good to be true, yet another trap to lull us into thinking we could actually do this.

All this time I'd convinced myself my magic was strong enough, we were smart enough, surely fate would be on our side.

That I could get close enough to use the knife, to rally my magic—our magic—and stab him.

But this?

There was no fighting our way through that, and the five of us trying to stop that flow would be like draining the entire ocean with a straw.

We're not getting through that. Tavion's voice echoed inside my head.

Yeah, no fucking shite. Tavion's face was as white as his hair, Zor's arm still pinning him to the wall behind us.

Then we'll find another way inside, I thought, and Tristan nodded, tapping the side of his head. We shuffled backward, backs pressed tight against the rock wall, the shelf shaking beneath our feet, chunks of rock plummeting down. We gripped anything we could to steady ourselves, the toes of my boots sticking over the edge.

And every time I looked down…I was never afraid of heights, but what I wouldn't give for a set of wings right now. The shield I'd erected was dripping from the overspray pouring out of Corvus's cave.

Tendrils crawled over it like tiny capillaries, seeking a way inside to infect us.

I fed more magic into the barrier. A small drain on my power, one I wouldn't normally notice, but between keeping myself balanced on this narrow edge and carrying the weight of the sword, plus the energy I'd expended climbing up here…the shield took a toll.

Don't look down, princess. Eyes up. Tristan nodded encouragingly as we continued our retreat.

Oh gods, I completely forgot.I finally remembered I had his keystone, and I pressed it into his palm. Fire erupted in his eyes, and through the bond, that jolt of power rippled through us, leaving me gasping.

Thanks, princess.Tristan's smile faltered as he studied my face. We have to get cleaned up; you're covered in…

He never finished because my magic warped and bent. I managed to grab the rock wall before the shield collapsed completely.

I caught a flash of teeth and slashing claws, then Zor was knocked straight out into the abyss.

Everything happened slowly,or maybe my brain slowed everything down.

The creature tangled itself around Zor's wings, both of them hurtling straight toward that roaring plume of black. Stop him. Somebody stop him. I might have thought the words, might have screamed them, but then Raz was gone.

But Zor was gone, too, vanishing, leaving the twisted creature free-falling until it was sucked into the falling river. Rock rained down over our heads and I shored up my shield, blocking out the choking mist, but I was too late. We were covered in blight, my skin burning as tendrils crawled all over us.

There was no sign of Raz, no sign of Zorander.

We have to keep moving. They can handle themselves. Tavion grasped my wrist, Tristan pushing behind me. Only one of us had wings, and if we all fell…I calculated the time it would take us to hit the ground. Not enough time for Tristan to transform.

Faster. Tavion panted. Come on, Anaria, faster.

Rock pelted down from overhead, my boots slipping off the narrow ledge more than once, saved only by Tavion's strong grip, by Tristan's hand twisted into the collar of my jacket, shoving me along.

Then Zor was right there, flapping beside me, wings stirring up so much blighted, contaminated air I didn't know how he could stand breathing. We passed the place where we'd entered the trail, heading further to the right until we reached an outcropping.

No, not an outcropping.

An opening.

Raz was already there, sending sharpened spears of magic through attacker after attacker, bodies piling up at the entrance.

This wasn't a gaping cave entrance. This opening was more of a tall, narrow crack in the side of the mountain, like an enormous claw had carved out a slash. I heard roaring water echoing down that long, dark hole and the slithering of some great beast.

But no rot flowed from that narrow crack, no choking mist, as if Corvus was concentrating his attack on that main opening.

Or had forgotten about this one.

"Stand back." I staggered forward, my muscles stiff and aching from climbing and balancing and flying. Well, being carried whilst flying which was almost as bad. I sent a blast of raw power into the crack, igniting scrambling forms that decayed into ash, and melting rot-slicked walls, returning them to smooth, untouched stone.

I gazed at my hands.

No sign of blight, and my skin had stopped burning.

Zor landed beside us, doubled over, panting. Without hesitation, I set my hands on his shoulders and sent a pulse of light over him, turning the black, writhing flecks to gray, harmless ash.

One by one, I un-blighted the entire party.

Well, that's fucking useful.Tavion waggled his eyebrows. How are you doing, princess? Holding up?

I could have done without the frightening ledge of death. That sucked.

"Right." Raziel squared his shoulders. "This is our way inside. Any idea where this ends up?"

I re-created the layout of the cave in my head. "Close to a pile of fallen rock. If he hasn't cleaned it up, we'll have some cover if we stay low."

"Does Corvus seem like the cleaning type to you?" Tavion cocked his eyebrow at me, and I could have kissed him right then and there for trying to lighten the mood.

"No, he does not. More like a bachelor determined to live in squalor." I mustered up a smile, focused on that hideously dark hole, rallying my magic.

"I need to go first," I said, bracing myself for the inevitable argument.

"What if"—Raz held up both hands in mock surrender—"and hear me out, what if I went first, in case something gets through your magic. My guess is we haven't seen all of Corvus's evil minions yet, and now isn't the time for surprises. Not when we're so close."

"That's a good plan, Raz. Lead the way."

"She never agrees with me like that," Zor grumbled. "She never agrees with any of us like that."

"Well, maybe you should take notes." Raziel winked.

"Maybe I don't like dark, scary caves crawling with bugs. Did you ever think of that?" I whispered, stepping through the opening which was every bit as damp and claustrophobic as I'd expected.

And that was when I realized my fear of heights wasn't my worst phobia after all.