Rae lights up the space with a ball of sunlight, and pride swells in my chest. She’s a natural. I can’t wait to see all she’ll be able to do as she grows into her power.
A pained growl echoes throughout the cavern, and Rae pauses, looking around as if to determine which way to go. “Idon’t know what’s worse,” she says, “the lack of screaming or what the lack of screaming implies.”
I pull her into my arms. “Whatever we find, we’ll face it together.”
She nods but doesn’t respond. I don’t even think I can begin to fathom all the things she’s feeling right now.
I want to feel hope—hope that we’ll find the answer to our realm’s struggle. Hope that we’ll be able to free the god, even though he’s been unable to free himself all these years. If Rae’s suspicions are correct and Kyros is trapped somewhere in this dank cave, I worry at the potential state of him. The thought of being locked in here for nearly thirty years would drive a mortal man mad. How would a god feel? Especially one who is meant for the sun?
Raelyn moves away from me, but I grasp her hand. I need to hold on to some small part of her, even if our safety is likely an illusion.
I’m thankful for Rae’s ball of light as we walk down, down, down. The sloped path curves and winds around, and bones of long-decayed animals and remnants of torches litter the narrow path. Does that mean humans had something to do with his imprisonment? I frown as I file that information away to unpack later. The thought that any man would dare to imprison a god is terrifying to say the least. I can only hope we’re spared from said god’s wrath. Having his daughter here might be our only saving grace.
The narrow path opens up to a hollow cavern with what I estimate to be a six-foot hole in the center. Old markings that look like runes are painted around it.
A low, weak growl comes again.
Rae looks at me nervously. She squeezes my hand tightly as we approach the hole and look down into the deep pit.
An emaciated lion lies at the bottom, its golden eyes flinching at the light from Raelyn’s orb overhead.
“Hello?” Raelyn calls out.
“It’s a lion,” I whisper. “I don’t think he can talk back. He didn’t in your dream.”
She shrugs, the look in her eyes screaming helplessness. “I’m here,” she says. “I came. What do I do? How do I help you?”
A low growl reverberates up the walls of the pit.
Rae takes a deep breath, stepping away and pacing back and forth. “Gods, Ki. What do we do? How do we help him? Should you lower me down with the rope from your pack?”
“Let’s think this through,” I reply, trying to remain calm for her, even though I feel just as helpless.
“He looks so weak,” Rae replies, wringing her hands, the orb of light above her flickering uneasily in her distress. “Hells! I’m a fool.” She stops pacing. “He probably needs blood!” she exclaims. “He’s been starved down here for decades.”
Shit shit shit.The god would probably need to drain many men to regain his strength. We are ill-prepared.
“It’s fine. I can fix this,” she says, drawing my dagger from her thigh sheath.
“Rae, I don’t know. Maybe we need to think about this,” I say hesitantly. “He’s going to need a lot of blood. You’re only starting to regain your strength.”
Angry darts shoot out of her eyes as she faces me. “If that lion down there is truly my . . . f-father,” she stumbles over the words. “If that’s Kyros, who has been kept from me my entire life, I would never forgive myself for leaving him. I have to do something.”
I understand where she’s coming from, but something doesn’t feel right.
“Fine, we’ll give him some ofmyblood,” I concede. “You will need your strength for the walk back to the boat.”
She scoffs, “I’m a demi-god, Ki. I’m stronger than I look.”
“Yes, you are, but your powers have been suppressed for almost your entire life. I’m just trying to protect you.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t you get it? People have been ‘trying to protect me’ my entire life. Let me make my own damn choices.”
I raise my hands in surrender. “I hear you, Rae. I’m sorry. But please allow me to try some of my blood first?”
She takes a breath. “We can try that, but you need your strength too.”
I nod. “How do you think we do this? Cut my hand and drip blood down into the hole and hope he catches it in his mouth?”
