Page 46 of Devour
“Where is the other part?”
His brow pinches. “What?”
“You said once you made it to this part of the den, you’ll be okay. What about the other part?”
“Oh, well, you want to stay clear of the priestesses. They’re scarier than the soldiers, but you wouldn’t know it just looking at them. Outsiders aren’t meant for those rituals.”
My blood turns cold.
“Is that where they take the others? To be used in rituals?”
He frowns. “No…” He looks down at his feet, then when he looks back, there is a darkness to his features that makes me retreat a step. “There’s the dungeon. That’s where they take the criminals. You don’t want to go there either.”
“Is that the big cavern area with the skulls?”
He pauses before answering me again. “No.” He narrows his eyes. “Why are you asking?”
I consider what I should tell him. He’s clearly not a direct threat, but he’s still one of them. Was he raised here? Is this all he’s even known?
“I saw them take people away. A little girl. A man. What were they doing with them?” It’s not technically true. I have no idea what happened to anyone else at the bonfire. But I need as much information as I can.
I remember the stories I’d heard about the cult and their rituals of pain. But I’m in deeper than any of the stories I’d ever heard. None of the refugees had been here and made it out to tell the tale. At least, no one I’ve ever encountered.
His face softens. “You don’t have to worry about that. They’re far away from you. And if, for some very bad reason, you try to find your way to that side of the den, you’ll regret it. I promise.”
21
Haze
She’s gone.
My blood is cold as I stare at the empty room. My vision turns hazy.
Maybe I made it all up. It was in my mind the whole time. The ghost of a memory.
I shake my head. That would be a good thing—a blessing—if she were gone from this place. It would mean she could still be out there, free and happy.
She shouldn’t be here. If there was any goodness left in this world, she wouldn’t be.
On the stone just feet from the door to my nest is a tiny green stem with just the bud of a dark-colored flower. My nostrils flare.
I rip the weed from the ground and crush the bud in my fist then hide it in my cloak.
Three deep breaths is all I give myself before scouring the den to find her. She couldn’t have gone far, but if anyone else finds her before I do?—
I listen carefully for footsteps or yelling in the distance but am met with silence. I march directly to the pit, where I findBravin standing at attention. He doesn’t even acknowledge my presence before I turn on my heel with a relieved breath.
She hasn’t come here.
Footsteps echo down another corridor, and I rush to follow the sound.
When I turn a corner and find a soldier with his bare hand on her arm, my vision tunnels. Anger flares wild behind my eyes.
“Haze,” a kind voice says with the type of joy rarely found in this dark place.
I blink back the rage and refocus. My shoulders relax. Gordian would not harm her. Thank Nihil.
“Is she yours? I was just trying to help her find her way back.”
