Page 79 of The Stone Curse
But it was obvious to me. “She’s the test master.”
“You didn’t know?” Curi looked suspicious.
“No, he didn’t,” Adaline said. “And when you’re done, none of you will remember this.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Sharniza said.
Neither did I, but if it got us closer to our goal, then so be it. “What is this place? Where are we?”
“A secure location,” she said. “Part of an estate owned by the five bloodlines. I believe it’s a safe house, a bunker maybe, although none of that has ever been confirmed. What I do know is that only the heads of the elite bloodlines know of its existence, which is why, bearing in mind the recent attacks, it was chosen as the location for your test today.”
The test would take place here? “I thought we needed an orb to get to the test site.”
She smiled thinly. “In a manner of speaking.” She drew an orb from her cloak and raised it in the air. “Best of luck.” She dropped it, and smoke filled my vision.
The smoke cleared,and I was alone in the room, but the windows were gone. The door that Adaline had been standing beside was now open, a dark aperture that dared me to enter.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Great. Okay. Through the door it was, then.
Darkness swallowed me and spat me out into a space that felt like it had no end. No walls, no ceiling, the edges of the world shrouded in shadow, leaving me feeling small and exposed in the silvery light that illuminated the space around me.
“Hello? Is anybody there?” My voice echoed back at me, the cadence off, almost mocking. “Hello?” Once again, the echocame back sounding wrong, and the hairs on my arms stood to attention because that was no echo. “Show yourself!”
A figure emerged from the darkness, tall and regal, golden hair pinned up in a messy bun, gray eyes glittering where they caught the silvery light, and a jolt of recognition shot through me followed by unease, because the figure was me. Or a copy of me.
She tipped her head slightly to the side to study me, and her lip curled. “You’re a pathetic thing, aren’t you? We’ll have to fix that if you’re going to pass this trial.”
“She’s not pathetic.” Another figure hurried out of the darkness. “You leave her alone.” It was me again, but a softer version, hair unbound and flowing gently down my back. She looked over at me with a shy smile. “Hi.”
My gaze bounced between them. “What the fuck is going on?”
CHAPTER 35
SERATH
It’s back and getting closer. I can hear its breath, smell it, a faint scent like burning wood and kindling. “This is my domain. You can’t have it.”
It moves to my left, hovering there, waiting.
Because that is all it needs to do.
Wait.
I can feel my grip on this place fading as my strength wanes. If I allow it, I can hear the hum of voices, and if I tune in, I can make out words.
“The connection is made.”
“Is it secure?”
“Yes.”
“So if we administer it now?”
“It should work.”
