Page 78 of Freed Wolfsbane

I’m practically running down the hallway when I feel something click under my foot. I freeze as I remember the warning about booby traps. A hand yanks me backward right as flames shoot from one wall to the other in front of me. If Xander hadn’t hauled me back, I would’ve been chargrilled.

“Well, that’s new,”Dido comments dryly.

I huff out a laugh.Any chance you can tell us where the traps are?

She shakes her head.“No. These underground levels weren’t lined with deterrents like they are now. You’ll be pleased to know that the space was remarkably free of spiders when I was alive.”

Snorting at how proud Dido sounds of that fact, I tell the guys, “Dido has no idea where the traps are, so we’re kinda on our own for this.”

“No way in hell are you walking first into this,” Malachi growls. He raises an eyebrow like he expects me to argue. I’m not planning on it because I am so not equipped to deal with booby traps.

When I don’t protest, Malachi nods and strides ahead of me, his head on a constant swivel as he looks for any clues to the defensive measures.

“Not to worry, pretty girl. We’ve got this.” Bastian flashes me a smile that doesn’t reach his emerald eyes as he walks in front of me. I follow him with Saint and Xander trailing behind.

I feel like I’m in an Indiana Jones movie as spikes shoot out of the ground, rocks come flying at our heads, snake pits open underneath us, and more crazy traps straight out of fiction slow our progress down.

As we navigate the various obstacles, I can tell we’re descending steadily, which hopefully means we’re going in the right direction—not that we really have any option because there are no doors or hallways branching off the main path. The only option is to move straight ahead.

After what feels like years of navigating the traps, the hallway dead ends at an intricately inscribed door with what I can now recognize as Phoenician, even though I still can’t really understand it.

All that separates us from the door is a pit filled with eels, water snakes, and literal alligators. I have so many questions. Mainly, why is this necessary? And how do all of them survive? Is there a caretaker that makes sure to feed this particular trap routinely? What a wild job to have.

I shake my head because none of that really matters now. Saint goes to open a portal so we can cross without getting eaten or shocked or bitten, but nothing happens. “Fuck. My magic isn’t working here for some reason.”

Groaning internally, I try opening a portal, praying to any god that exists that we don’t have to leap over the waters roiling with things that want to snap us up. To my surprise, a portal forms right in front of me.

I look at Saint wide-eyed, and he shrugs. “This was Dido’s home. It makes sense that your magic works places that mine doesn’t.”

Nodding because he’s probably right, I move toward the portal. Malachi steps through first, and the rest of us follow. I stare at the door, having no idea how to open it. By the confused looks on the guys’ faces, they don’t know either.

Do you know how I’m supposed to open this?

Dido dips her chin, and her eyes glaze over as she looks at it through my gaze. After a few moments, she shakes herself out of it.“The inscription says it requires a sacrifice of your blood and your magic to open it.”

Awesome.

I just love hearing the words “sacrifice” and “required.”

Sighing because there’s not much else I can do, I walk up to the door and prepare to slice my palm. Remembering how well that went last time, I turn around. “I have to give the door my blood and magic to open it, so no one freak out when I start bleeding, okay?”

Malachi huffs a laugh. “Thanks for the warning, baby girl. I’ll do my best not to ‘freak out.’”

Giving him a half smile, I shift one of my fingers into a claw and slash my palm. I wince as the skin splits and my blood starts to drip onto the gray stone ground. Moving over to the door, I press my bloody palm to the rough, swirling surface. At the same time, I put my other hand against it and let my magic funnel through me.

Nothing happens for a beat. Then my magic and blood races through the circles starting at the center of the door and expanding outward. It’s kind of cool to watch, in a slightly gross way.

Once the blood and magic work their way through all the circles, I step back. The door lets out a clicking noise before it ever so slowly inches toward the ceiling. I throw up a defensive dome and hold my breath as we wait to see what’s on the other side of the door.

CHAPTER37

BRIAR

“Took you long enough,” Ryker comments in a bored voice once the door rises enough for us to see him. His face is twisted in his usual sneer, and his arms are crossed over his broad chest. Oh, and he’s surrounded by twenty-five heavily armed Knights with their guns trained on us.

Fantastic.

I resist the urge to groan. Everything about finding the curse screamed that we were walking into a trap, but I had hoped we would catch a break for once. Apparently not.

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