Page 78 of Tangled Power
The tunnel veered up, and he followed. His head finally breached the water. The cavern walls were dark, but his eyes locked on the shape of a door directly before him.
He shook himself dry as he walked across wet sand to the entrance. The wild magic of this place settled over him. His power flared, and his leash, no matter how tight, couldn’t contain it with the area’s influence. The air felt thin around him. This had to be the place Arie had shown Rose—big magic, explosive magic, was enacted here—the ramifications were palpable. What would Carter see here? Lore was unclear about where and how spirits passed beyond the veil. That was part of its mystery. But the connection here to something other was intense.
The hair on the back of his neck tingled as he reached for the door handle. A momentary hesitation had him wondering if this was what Rose feared—would this door be a portal through which she’d be unable to follow? He dismissed the thought as soon as it surfaced. Aterra wouldn’t go anywhere else. He would get a perverse feeling of power from being precisely beneath where Arctos had settled with Rose.
Gripping the handle, he twisted it open.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“He’ll be fine.”Arie landed on her shoulder. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Luc disappeared below the water. Hours? More? That pit in her stomach widened as she considered everything that could have gone wrong.
They hadn’t talked about how long he would search. Or what he would do if he found something. Had he been portaled away? They didn’t have a way to go after him if he didn’t return. She breathed deeply, grounding herself. This had been their only option. He was the only one who could search the lake. She clenched her fists at her side as she reminded herself that she trusted his judgment. She latched on to Arie’s reassuring weight on her shoulder as she released another breath.
A splash tore her eyes from their thousand-yard stare at the point where Luc had disappeared. A dark head of hair broke the water’s surface. Tension left her body, her fingers stretching. Luc was back.
“I told you,”Arie said as she swatted him away. She ran to the lake’s edge, almost forgetting the invisible barrier. Luc stepped onto the beach before she hit it and caught her in his arms.
“You’re okay,” she whispered into his neck.
“No Aurora?” Arie asked, his disappointment evident. He must have spoken to them all as Luc responded.
“I found her, but I couldn’t bring her with me,” Luc said, breathless from his swim. “I think I need your help to break into her prison.”
“Well, how do you expect to manage that?” Juliette asked, wandering back to the shore.
“Aurora. She gave me a way. She told me what Aterra does to bring others down there.”
“Others?” Rose asked. “Who else is down there?”
“Aiden, of course,” Juliette answered for Luc.
Luc nodded. “Aiden was there.”
“Okay,” Rose said, still unsure how she was supposed to feel about her childhood best friend. He was responsible for the death of her family, of those she held dear. She would never forgive him for it. His selfishness had put the continent at risk, allowing Aterra unprecedented access to control the inner workings of fae and humans.
Yet, how much choice did he have after his initial childhood mistake? Weeks of sorting through these feelings hadn’t brought her clarity. She would have to go with her gut when she saw him.
As if reading her jumbled thoughts, Luc said, “We can leave him there. Aterra isn’t possessing him—or he wasn’t when I saw him.”
Rose shrugged. It was all she could do for the moment.
“What did Aurora tell you?” Arie asked, his focus clear.
Luc looked at Rose. “Do you have Aurora’s dagger with you?”
She nodded. She always had it on her person. She reached into her boot to retrieve it and then handed it to him. There was no time for her to object as he slashed it across his palm. He hissed at the pain, wincing as blood beaded to the surface of the cut.
“What are you—” Rose tried to ask, but Luc had already started dabbing his blood with his index finger and held it out to her mouth.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Rose said.
“I assure you, I’m not,” Luc replied, offering her his finger again.
She closed her eyes and licked it. He moved to each of the other Compass Points, offering a drop of his blood. “If you have even a little of my blood in you, the barrier will let you in.”
“I’m glad someone else is dabbling in human magic,” Juliette said, unphased, as her tongue snaked out to collect the drop. Carter did not look pleased but must have realized he had little option. It was Arie who hesitated. Arie, who, moments ago, would do anything to get back to his love.
“You want me to consume Aterra’s blood?” His disgust was apparent.
