Page 51 of Devour
“Sit! I will get you juice.”
I follow her instruction, sit on the bench, and bite into the crumbly bread. Spices zing on my tongue. It is warm and soft and utterly delicious. My next bites are ravenous, shoving it too fast into my mouth and struggling to swallow.
She chuckles and hands me a glass, which I gulp down so fast I barely taste it.That is not water, I realize as I finish the last drop. It tastes like drinking an apple.
“Tell me,” she says, “is it as Gordian says? You came here with your Drak, and he served you?”
My lips part as I consider my answer. Gordian was kind and gracious about me being off on my own, but the Dread was less so. He was far from pleased. And the conversation between Helena and Gordian has me pondering how my place here may be particularly precarious.
“Yes,” I answer finally. “He gave me crackers, and my… my Drak walked me back to the room.”
She breathes deeply. “All right, then. You must be careful of your actions here. You are special, and some will take advantage of that. Men like the Drak are—well, they are challenging companions. Gordian is good, but he is foolish at times.”
She must read some concern on my face because she quickly places her hand on mine in a comforting motion. “Follow the rules, and all will be well.”
I force a smile as she stands and beckons me to follow her again. “There will be more food soon. But first, it is time to get all of that mud and grime off of you. You will love being clean!”
I grimace. I’m unsure I know what clean even means anymore. Astella and I bathed in the rivers regularly, but there were few soaps available. Dirt and dust clung to us before we even reclothed.
Helena again places her arm in mine and guides me down the hall, farther than I’d traveled yesterday. “Don’t worry, this is the best part of the day. Everyone agrees.”
I still try my best to watch the doors and new halls we pass, keeping track of where I see more warriors standing guard.
Soon, the sound of rushing water grows from a soft murmur to a roaring threat. We pass two maskless warriors and stop at the third.
“Helena,” he says, face hard and emotionless.
“I am escorting our new Drahkita!” she squeaks out nervously.
The man looks me up and down. “Who does she belong to?”
“Azkel Haze.”
The guard frowns and shifts his uncertain gaze from me to Helena. “Impossible.”
“It’s true!” she says quickly, standing on her toes. “You didn’t hear about it yet? He challenged Ivar in this epic dual and revealed some of the strongest Khoas we’ve seen in ages.”
The guard’s mouth drops open. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.” Her eyes sparkle. She is eager to share this tale. She leans in and continues in a hushed tone. “Lealuis witnessed it. Ask him.”
The man blinks and shakes his head. “All right. You may pass. You better not be messing with me, Hel.”
“Never.” She smiles. The guard turns to his side to allow us to pass, and Helena guides me through the doorway.
The roaring sound of water is louder than ever. Only a few steps past the guard, Helena stops and throws out her arm. “Welcome to the Soul Cascade.”
23
Lina
My breath is swept away as I look up at the water careening from the stone ceiling hundreds of feet high, falling down through the reddish stone into a massive basin below. I would call it a lake, with how expansive the body of water is, but it is split into smaller sections by barriers of stone, creating lots of smaller pools. Water rushes over some of the barriers, but others toward the edges are glassy calm.
Unlike the waterfall where the warriors fought over me, there are no skulls to mar its beauty. The mist rises through the massive cavern. And below, a dozen people splash in the water.
“It is warm,” Helena tells me. “Come see for yourself.”
We skip down a long set of stairs leading to the base level. With each step, the stairs grow warmer.
