Page 83 of The Dragon Queen

Thatisn'texactlyreassuring.Forallweknow,wecouldbedirectlyunderthealtarwhereevennow,KingErembourisstartinghiswedding--andhisritual.

Myabdomensucksin,andyetagain,Ihatebeingsocutofffromeverything.Butmyrationalmindreassuresme:ifhehadbegunhisattempttostealthemagicfromtherestofthedragonworld,we'dfeelit.

Right?

"Careful,"Stormadvises,comingupbesideme,shininghisownflashlightaround. "Weshouldn'tsplitup.Justincase..."

"What?"Rafeasksgruffly. "Thecavetriestoeatusagain?"

"Basically."JianyujostlesRafeashepasseshim,wigglinghisfingersasifhecouldunleashtherocksurroundingusatanymoment.

Hecan't,though.Idrawmybrowstogether,feelingoutwardwithmyadmittedlylimitedsenses.ThestoneisasdeadandstillasitwasintheCitadel.Asdisquietingasthatis,it'salotbetterthanitattackingus.Fornow,atleast,thethreathaspassed.

Butthatdoesn'tmeanwe'resafe.

"Overhere,"Malikcallsfromjustahead.

Mystomachdipsaswefollowhimintoacorridorthatwashiddenintherock.There'sasmoothblackstonejustatthejunction,carvedwithcharactersthatsendachillupmyspine.

"It'swritingofsomekind?"Stormsuggests.

Jianyufrowns. "Idon'trecognizeit."

NeitherdoI,butasIstepforwardtotakeacloserlook,thecharactersglowwithafaintpurplelight.

Thewordsappearinmyhead,spokenbyadeep,femalevoicethatmakesmyskincrawl,andyetwhichalsofeels...safe.

Iopenmymouth.Thevoicethatcomesoutofmeismyown,butdeeper.Darker.Istillcan'treadthewords,exactly,buttheirwarningflowsthroughme: "ThosewhoseektheGrandThronemustpassthroughthetrialsoftheMotherOfDragons."

"Uh..."Stormputshishandonmyarm,butIshakemyhead,myeyesgoingunfocusedasthewritingdancesbeforemyvision.

"Buriedinstone,"Irecite,"casttothewind,sunkendeepbeneaththesea,theCrownhasbeendevouredbytheflamesofDragondesires.Onlytheheirmaysetitspowerfree."

Iexhalewithawhoosh,theunearthlyvoicesuddenlygoingsilentinmyhead.Iglancearoundatmymates.Storm'seyesarepinched,andMalik'smouthdrawsdownintoaworriedfrown.

"Well,thatwasn'tcreepy,"Rafemutters.

"Ember..."Jianyutakesmyhand.

Ishakemyhead. "I'mfine.Just--"Igestureatthecharacters.Theglowhasrecededfromthem,leavingthemassimplecarvings,buttheechoesoftheirpowerripplethroughme. "Iguessthatwassupposedtobetheentrance."

"Sillyus,"Stormmuses,tryingtoputonabraveface. "Teleportinginandskippingthewelcomesign."

"Wemanaged,"Jianyusays. "ButIsupposethewarningmighthavehelped."

"Seriously."Iswallow,mythroattight. "Well,atleastit'sgoodtoknowwe'reintherightplace."

Rafecrosseshisarmsoverhischest. "Lessgoodtoknowthatthere'sdefinitelygoingtobeatleastthreemorethingstryingtokillus."

"Nothingyoucan'thandle,"Jianyusays,needlinghim,andsomehow,it'salmostreassuringthattheycanstillbegoadingeachother,evenwhenwe'reinthemostdangeroussituationwe'veeverfaced.

Malikseeksoutmygaze. "Sowecontinueon,then?"

"It'snotasifwehavemuchchoice."Ishrug,tryingtohidetheshiverthatcoursesthroughme. "Ourfriendsarecountingonus.Andbesides."

Itouchthelockethangingfrommythroat.

Ifeltitthemomentittransportedustothiscave,buttheemptysilenceofthependantstillgratesupagainstsomethinginsideme.Iopenthelocket,justtobesure.Onefaint,purplesparktracestherimoftheblackmetalbeforedyingawaycompletely.

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