Page 76 of Left Hand of the Divine
“Because Nyx told me. She’s told me a lot of things about you,” she taunted, that low rasp of hers ringing in my ears.
Who was she, and how did she know all of this?
Something in Erebus snapped. His shadows burst from him, thundering into every crevice of the square.
“Show yourself!” he roared, his rage getting the better of him. The woman just laughed through it all, the sound of it loud and jarring.
“Erebus, stop.” I tried to hold him back, but he ripped himself from my grip.
“Where is she?” Erebus yelled as his shadows swept around the square, looking for the woman. “Show yourself!”
“We need to do something,” Atticus said, his voice by my ear. “This is getting out of hand.”
He was right, but how was I going to stop this mess?
I looked at the circle. Then at Atticus.
“No,” he said. “Don’t even think about it.”
But I was thinking about it.
There was more at play here than this badly drawn circle, and this was probably the only way to get answers. Whoever this woman was, she wouldn’t reveal herself until I’d done what she’d asked. Hell, she’d manipulated us all here; she probably had a backup plan that would involve murder and maiming if I didn’t step into the damn circle.
I grabbed his arm. “You said it yourself; the shitty carvings made it weaker. Perhaps it won’t do anything but tickle.”
Panic laced his brow. “No, Roux. You can’t.”
“I love you,” I said, and I yanked my arm from his grip.
His fingers scrambled to hold onto me, but it was too late. I jumped into the circle and braced for whatever was going to happen.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Magnus
We made it back to the square just in time to see Roux jump into the summoning circle.
No! What had she done?
Light exploded in a spectacular white orb, extending outwards with a sonic boom that knocked me off my feet. My head slammed against the stone bricks of the building behind me, and for a moment, the world turned hazy.
The world around me slipped in and out of focus, but I managed to drag myself to my feet. There was dust and debris everywhere, and there must have been a hell of a lot of power in that circle for it to cause this kind of destruction. Barely any of the buildings surrounding the square avoided damage, and most were in piles of rubble.
Roux floated a few feet off the ground, her arms stretched wide as a lone figure of a woman stared up at her.
Someone who lookedexactly like Roux.
I rubbed my eyes, convinced that I was seeing double. But no. There was another version of Roux. Standing right in front of me.
I looked around trying to find the others, but it took me a minute to find them. Rafe and Rayne were out cold in a pile of rubble, and I found Atticus by his hair. He was in a heap on the far side of the square, trying to pull himself up. His leg looked like it was twisted at a funny angle.
My head was splitting, and blood dripped into my eye. I wiped it away as I stumbled over to the summoning circle. I couldn’t see Thane or Erebus. Gods, I hoped they were okay.
“You must be the vampire,” the woman said. It was uncanny how much she looked like Roux. Even down to the same shade of fiery red hair.
I gave her a half-hearted wave. “That would be me. And you are?”
“Astra. I’d sit down before you fall down.” Astra tipped her ear to one side, like she was listening to something. “It’s time for the fun bit.”
