Onyx Eclipse (The Raven Queen's Harem Book 5)(29)

“We’ve got to get out of here,” I say, fighting back the panic. I know I don’t have the energy to fight much longer.

The girl steps forward, stepping between me and Bunny. “I can help.”

“How?” The footsteps are closer, I hear Sam shudder behind me. He’s fading fast.

“Come,” she says. “Follow me.”

It’s not like we have a choice. The soldiers’ angry voices echo at the bottom of the stairwell, discovering the body of their men. The girl walks in the opposite direction, toward the stone wall. I think maybe she’s crazy, traumatized from gods know how long of living as a slave of the Morrigan. But a foot from the wall she turns, facing the side wall, and touches a stone. There’s movement, the sound of stone grating on stone, and a small, narrow passage becomes visible.

I sigh, knowing that it’s a risk. It’s all one risk after the other. But it’s for a bigger goal--stopping the Morrigan--and I can’t do it without my Guardians, and there’s no way any of us will survive another altercation. Dylan isn’t going to save us, even if he’s still alive.

I nod at the girl and make a decision that could either save or kill us, and climb into the passage.

*

The tunnel is long and incredibly dark. I blindly follow the sound of the girl walking in front of me, and listen to the labored breaths of my guardians coming from behind. The smell goes from musty to damp as we travel and the floor slants, taking us deeper and deeper beneath the castle. Just when I think we’re going to have to stop and rest, the girl calls for us to stop. A hand grips my shoulder. I’m not sure which one of my guardians it is, but I feel the instant surge of power between us, helping him heal just a little bit.

I hear a series of knocks, light tapping on what sounds like a wooden door. Light seeps through a crack, then a long shaft down the tunnel, bathing us all in a yellow glow. I can’t see what’s on the other side, but it has to be better than where we are.

Bunny and I help the Guardians toward the exit, blinking as we acclimate to the light and the strange, humid warmth wafting our way. The girl waits for me and smiles as I pass. “You’ll be safe down here and can stay as long as you need to recuperate.”

“Down here” is a cavernous world beneath the surface, an entire community built into the ground. From the looks of it, a thriving community. For the first time since I passed through the gates, I feel safe.

“Thank you,” I say, squeezing her hand.

With a glance behind me, she says, “Your men need help. Follow me.”





Chapter 32


Morgan


“What is this place?” I ask Nevis. The slave finally agreed to tell me her name after she got my guardians safely to the medics. “Why are you helping us?”

We’re standing outside a small cave dug into the black-brown earth. A swarm of men and women sprang into action the instant we appeared, following Nevis’ directions to clean up and look over the wounds. I’d pushed to enter with them, but she held up her hand and told me to let them do their work. Bunny stood to the side, awkward and silent—too many questions surround him.

“My people built this community many centuries ago—when the goddess first went mad. When her heart was broken and she declared war on all people, there were few survivors. She scorched the land, turning it into nothing but barren ash and bone. The only place to survive was underground, in the caverns beneath the castle that had been in existence since the beginning of time.”

“Does she know this place is here?”

Nevis shakes her head. “She’s too vain to consider that life flourishes in her place of destruction—especially under her nose. We’re protected down here and a few of us always maintain positions in the castle to keep an eye on things. It’s a job traditionally carried down from one generation to the next.”

I look around the open space. The air is warm, damp with humidity. For the first time in days, the chill in my bones disappears. Several small ponds of fresh water are fed by a stream coming from an outside source. Light shafts stretch from the high, rugged ceiling. It’s gray like the sky above, but it reflects off the water and the gardens filled with plump, unfamiliar vegetables. Homes tuck into the walls; some natural crevices, others dug into the surface. People mill about, in the middle of normal daily activities. Cooking. Tending the gardens. Caring for children.

“You didn’t answer my other question,” I say, watching a small group of children run past. They’re clean and look well-fed. “Why are you helping us?”

Nevis toys with the end of her braid, her hair as dark as my own. Her eyes are a deep blue and I notice this is the coloring of most of the people down here. Including much paler skin. “Legend tells us the tales of the Morrigan and how she came into existence. The stories of how her heart was betrayed. How she used her pain to wage war and wrath on Cu’s armies.” She leans closer. “There are other stories. Ones about the three sisters. That the Morrigan is only one part of the powerful Goddess that rules over this realm.”

“I’ve heard the myths.”

“My people have always believed in this version and have waited centuries for the reuniting of the three.”

Embrace, the Shaman had said.

“You believe the myths.”