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"Show-off," I couldn't resist quipping under my breath, though my eyes followed her ascent with admiration.
Up she soared, silent as a ghost, while we watched from below, our torches rendered useless against the towering darkness. The column itself seemed to watch her go, its carvings an audience of stone. My gaze shifted to Alastor, his silhouette rigid against the flickering torchlight. His eyes never left her but there was something raw, something wounded in his gaze that had my heart thudding in my chest.
When I’d woken this morning, disorientated by the darkness that still surrounded me, I’d caught the sounds of Sariel and Alastor from across the cave. Jealousy had filled me with the thought of that man’s hands on my mate, that he got to make her moan like that, but envy had soon faded into desire as her breathy cries drifted across to me. I’d slid my hand into my pants, gripping my cock as I imagined Sariel in my arms, picturing her rising above me, dark hair like a halo around her face as she rode my cock, moaning my name. Keeping mymovement to a minimum so as not to wake the oblivious human beside me, I’d let the noises of her pleasure take me over the edge, spilling my release onto the cave floor.
I’d taken it as a sign that there might be hope for us, all of us. That she was maybe reconsidering her position, but after the atmosphere between them today, and looking at Alastor’s face, I could tell that the opposite had happened. It had driven her further away. I considered whether he had pushed her too far, anger starting to rise inside until I’d seen the pain in his eyes, and something told me, it had been her that had given him hope this morning and then pulled away. I was desperate to know what had gone on, but this wasn’t the time.
"Later," I promised myself. "We'll sort this mess when we're back under the sun." Because this darkness would be nothing compared to what would fall on us both if Sariel rejected us.
My thoughts were dragged back to the present by a sudden sound from far away. I jerked my head round, locking eyes with Alastor. One look told me he’d heard it too, even though the others hadn’t yet. It sounded like… drumming. It began as a faint rhythm, a slow pulse that crept into the air from the city far beyond the temple's confines. My head snapped towards the entrance, ears perked, senses on high alert. That sound wasn't right.
"Alastor?" I said quietly.
"Damn," Alastor muttered under his breath as he looked back up. "Sariel, be quick!"
She was just a few feet from the top, but the drumming grew louder, still slow and steady but more insistent.
"Sariel!" Alastor's voice was louder this time, but she didn't descend. Instead, she flew the last stretch, hovering above the column, her silhouette framed by the dim glow of the oil basins, looking down at the top of the column. There was clearly something there, but that sound was grating on my nerves -there was something about it that had my wolf whining to shift, like he always did when he was nervous.
Alastor's hands clenched at his sides, the knuckles whitening, clearly feeling the same as me - torn between wanting to go and investigate the creepy noise and not leaving Sariel alone in this weird temple.
"Come on, come on," I whispered, a silent plea to whatever gods might be listening.
"Dammit, Sariel!" Alastor shouted. "Get back down here!"
I paced, restless as a caged animal, the wolf within me pacing in tandem. It wasn't just the noise—it was the charged air, the way my instincts screamed at me to protect, to secure, to fight if need be. But against what? That was the million-dollar question.
"Guys," Ash murmured. "What the fuck is that?"
“Drums?” asked Carlisle. “Or… is that footsteps?”
“It's freaky as shit, is what it is,” answered Ash.
"Tell me about it." I didn't bother to keep the growl out of my tone. Freaky was an understatement.
“Sariel!” shouted Alastor. “We need to get the fuck out of here NOW!”
Sariel pulled away from the column and dived down towards us, pulling up at the last minute in a move that sent our hair blowing back away from our faces. Well, not Alastor’s obviously. Guy was as bald as an egg.
Her feet barely touched the ground before Alastor reached out and dragged her against him, away from the circle etched into the floor.
She pulled away instantly, folding her wings against her back.
"Nothing up there," she said. "No scroll, no ring either. Just some kind of riddle etched into the stone."
"Of course, it's a riddle," I snorted. "It couldn't just be the damn scroll sat up there for us to grab. Why make things easy for once?"
"Shut up, Theo." Alastor said, his gaze fixed on Sariel's solemn expression. "Does it reveal the location of the scroll?"
She nodded. “I think so.”
“Does it sound like the scroll is in the temple?”
“I don’t think so, it says-”
"Will you remember it? The words to the riddle?" he cut in, his eyes flicking to the entrance of the temple.
"Of course," Sariel replied. "Why?"
