I pulled the neckline of my gown over my nose, took in a final breath of fresh air, and pushed through the gate. The moment I was inside, I found myself on white stairs made of ancient rock. A long, winding staircase leadingdownsprawled out the further I stepped in.
Each slab of stone that made up the stairs were carved out of obsidian. I’d never seen anything like it. Especially when Temple Efysis, which was perched above ground, was nothing but ivory marble and gilded floors and doors.
I took a step and slipped. I caught myself in time, balancing a hand against the rocky wall. Nearly puking, I wrenched my hand away. The wall was sticky and prickly. I pulled my hand back andfound it coated in new blood, some gold, some raven black, with a few metallic shards poking out of my palm.
Adjusting my gown, I gingerly began taking step after step. There were no ethèrlamps here. Only torches with a crimson glow that gave the stuffy corridor a chilling feeling. I looked down, finding almost every stone had some measure of blood or something other carved into it. After a while, I began to see trails of torn feathers, broken talons, and angelic bones.
Rotting stars.
Somehow I’d found myself in the dungeons.
I’d heard stories of dissenters being sent here. Kept here. Dissenters and criminals. Which meant the Scourgers were also down here. That also meant Quazar had been down here each time he was in the custody of the Scourgers.
I swallowed hard, noticing the increasing darkness the further I descended. I wouldn’t lie to myself. I was terrified. I didn’t know what I was doing down here.
Was this part of the trial? Was I supposed to find something down here? We were told to look for traitors. Had we all somehow been directed here to search for who it was that plotted against the temple?
My foot caught on loose rock and I went stumbling. I rolled down several steps before I was able to stick out my wings to brace my fall and keep me from rolling further. I propped onto my wings, surveying the area. I’d ended up in a cavernous chamber of interconnected stones and staircases, all leading to different directions.
“Now where in the stars did he go?” I whispered to myself.
Even though I kept my voice low, my words traveled, bounding off the walls. I bit my bottom lip, jumping into nearby shadows to tuck myself and hide in case anyone surfaced to look for the source of the sound.
I stayed in the shadows for some time, scared I’d drawn unwanted attention to myself. When no angels surfaced, I shook my shoulders. I was about to leave the shadows when?—
“That can only be done with the power from the Star of the Age. Without it, every effort would be rendered useless. I don’t understand why we don’t double our efforts to find the Nebulari.”
“Hunting the Nebulari would be a waste of time. Best to wait and see what Anathelle thinks. I hate her presence in the Order, but have to admit, she’s never wrong. She swears the power we need is under our nose. Then we can take it and use it against Zemshaza. We won’t need to uphold the treaty with the Fallen High King any longer.”
Ice froze over in my gut.
Treaty with thewhom?
My hearts were racing as I craned my neck to hear the two passing Farasees better.
“Oh please, we’ll always have to keep a truce with Zemshaza. At least he’s backed off with sending more Fallen...”
The Farasee’s words cut off as they calmly walked up the stairs to another level. Not wanting to get caught, I decided to take a chance and start taking more steps down. I shuffled across the stony floor, crossing to the other side of the dungeon. Then I began descending the steps into the bowels of the temple that felt too keenly like walking down into the Hèls.
Chapter 57
The dungeon smelled absolutely disgusting. No matter how high I pulled my gown over my nose, I could still smell the stench through my clothes. The further I descended, the darker the lights grew.
I made it onto another platform, a level below the one above, that led out to endless, barred chambers. Several females were behind the blackened iron bars, screaming at the top of their lungs, begging for someone to help them.
My chest tightened at the sound. My hands prickled with a fresh wave of fear at their desperate, hopeless pleas. I heard the unmistakable sound of males doing the unthinkable. The females screamed and cried. My neck grew hot. My hands fisted. But there was nothing I could do. Not now. Not yet.
My hearts were pounding as I crept along, staying in the shadows. I kept away from the torches so my own shadow wouldn’t show down the alcoves, hinting at my presence.
My ears rang with the screaming of the female angels, only growing louder as I snuck around the circumference of this level, aiming for the stairs on the other end that descended further.
Chain links sounded in my ear. I gasped, whipping my head to the side. Three Scourgers had surfaced.
One of them was Scourger Jeroah.
I pressed my lips tight, backing into the wall. There was nowhere to hide. If they turned my way, they’d find me.
Rot, rot,rot.
