Page 124 of Devour
“I am here when you are ready,” I whisper the words, playing them through. Was that drakai, or was that Astella? “Or am I just literally fucking insane?”
I take in a long breath. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change my next steps.
If there is a trap ahead, I am still going. If the drakai are attempting to lure me into their den so they can munch on my bones, so be it.
I have to try.
I grab the closest torch and sink into the darkness at the edge of the tunnel. The last time I crossed the walkway, I did so in darkness but it was not preferable by a long shot. My steps are slow and careful but not fearful. I move with grace I didn’t even know I was capable of. So far, no priestesses.
But the strange goading voices float up, tickling my mind in the strangest of ways.
You’ll be so much tastier now that you’ve put a bit of meat on your bones.
The beautiful ones are always the most delicious.
Who will take the first bite?
I ignore each one and follow the path I know will take me to the girl. My toes sink into the thick muck. The glow from my flickering torchlight reveals the iron bars.
There is a tiny feminine form leaning against the bars, head full of stringy brown hair. My stomach twists. For one moment, I think it’s Astella. I feel both regret and relief when she turns to reveal the long nose and green eyes of the dungeon girl.
“You came,” she says, voice so weak and broken I fear I’m too late to save her. She’ll die here before long.
“Of course I did,” I say softly.
“Shhhh,” she says. “The guards have been on extra alert tonight.”
I swallow. Does that mean it could still be a trap? They weren’t on alert in the halls. Why? Again, I wish I had Astella’s intuition.Tell me what’s right. Tell me what to do.
But I have no firm answers here. Only questions.
Only uncertain choices that will paint the strokes of the rest of my life, however short it may be.
“Does that mean you?—”
“I didn’t bring you food, I’m sorry. I?—”
She forces a smile, but her eyes are so dim, so sunken. The light almost gone entirely. “That’s okay. Did you… did you do it, then?”
“Do…”
She shifts against the bars, like she’s unable to even hold her chest up. “Did you kill him?”
I blink. “Oh! Oh, um, no I couldn’t find the key.”
Her expression falls, all energy seeping from her. “Okay,” she whispers. Her eyes flutter closed.
“Wait.” I reach through the bars to touch her hand, to wake her, to ensure she remembers her hope.Don’t die yet, I want to tell her.
Her eyes fly open.
Then, her hand whips out and grabs me by the wrist. She moved so fast. Her grip is so strong. How?—
I panic and try pulling my hand back, but she traps it in her death grip, her wide eyes reflecting the torchlight. I barely hold back a scream.
“Don’t leave yet,” she says, her voice calm, despite holding me captive. “We can still do this.”
She swallows and slowly shifts her eyes to my wrist in her grip.
