Page 166 of Vicious Is My Throne

But by the time we hit the halfway point, I decided luck had nothing to do with success. I was blinded by sweat. Leathers and boots weren’t made for climbing, and Anaria was forced to carry the weapon since the godsdamned thing would pretty much kill the rest of us. She was pale today, and through our strange new connection…very, very quiet. I couldn’t stop watching her.

Tristan heaved himself over the lip of rock first, then he pulled Anaria up. When I reached the shelf—barely a trail at all—I pulled up Tavion, then Raz. Navigating the path became a slow, tedious process of Anaria blasting a few feet of loose rock clean, then the rest of us picking our way behind her.

We’d almost reached the mouth of the cave when the narrow shelf rumbled beneath our feet, the entire mountain heaving.

“Fuck. Is this an avalanche?” Tavion pitched forward and I threw my arm across his chest, pinning him to the rock as thick, black sludge spewed out of the mouth of the cave with enough power to crush everything below.

That river of blight rocketed past, barely an arm’s length from Anaria and Tristan. “Back up,” I hissed. “Move back. Give them some room.”

“What the fuck?” Tavion’s boots shuffled along the narrow ledge, fingers gripping the rock to stay balanced.

“Corvus knows we’re here. And that was our only way inside.”

A fine black mist and noxious fumes swirled and choked, then suddenly I could breathe again, a shield of bitterly cold magic swirling around us.

“So much for the element of surprise.” Anaria’s voice echoed slightly within the barrier she’d erected. “Unless someone has an idea of how we get through that, we’ll have to find another way inside.”

70

ANARIA

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.

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