I shook my head and glowered at him. What was he doing here? Regardless of what magic he used, he’d made his thoughts about me clear enough. Alliances weren’t friendships, I reminded myself.
“Lyvia?” Vulcan asked.
I pinched my eyes shut, something strange and foreign pressing on me.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. I blinked my eyes open and scanned the surrounding cells, searching for the source of the intrusion. A growing sense of unease snaked its way up my core, prickling the hairs on my arms as thatsomethingtried again to tap against my consciousness.
“If feels,” I murmured, exiting Father Marcus’s cell and allowing my powers to rise to the surface, “like something is here. Someone is here…”
Vulcan stepped beside me and began moving down the line of cells. I followed him, closing my eyes as that sensation struck again.
“Not here,” I murmured, “lower. We need to go lower.”
Astraeus moved to my other side. “Stay with the priest,” he said to Vulcan with a trace of authority not missed by the elf. “Bring him up. I’ll stay with Lyvia.”
“The fuck you will,” Vulcan growled, his usual sneer plastered on his face.
Tap.
I pinched my eyes shut as bickering began.
Tap.
“You’re injured.”
Tap.
“You’re untrustworthy.”
Tap.
“You swore to protect her, but you’re injured.”
Tap.
Vulcan went still. “How?—”
“At all costs.”
Tap. What were they talking about?
“Today, the cost is standing aside and letting another step in.”
Tap.
My head began to ache, and the space between my eyes burned white hot.
“Lyvia—”
A hand gripped my shoulder as I swayed.
Away. I needed to get away from this feeling. It pulled me down, deep below where we stood in the stone dungeons. My feet dragged as I made my way to the staircase. My boot hit the first step leading up out of the dungeons, and the tapping turned into a vicious pounding.
“Easy,” Astraeus murmured behind me.
I took another step up, a whimper fleeing my lips.
Fuck.
