I was freaking doing this.
At the back wall, I gingerly lowered myself to the clear square of floor surrounding the box’s pedestal and silently thanked my mentor for all his excruciating training. Turned out the mean old geezer hadn’t just been kicking my ass for shits and giggles.
On this side of the room, the weaker candlelight cast sinister shadows that made me feel as if I were being watched. Head on a swivel, muscles tense, I peeled off my gloves and stuffed them into a pocket. When no threats materialized, I turned my attention to the box and immediately had to stifle a gasp ofsurprise.
Sereana’s memories had shown me a plain wooden box, but there was nothing simple about this one.
A galaxy of stars swirled across the cedar surface. Constellations formed, broke apart, and reformed, each movement creating deep but fluid grooves in the wood; there one moment and gone the next.
Magic.
The realization knocked the air from my lungs and the plan from my brain. I wanted nothing to do with magic, but when a quick scan around the room turned up no other small wooden containers on pedestals, I came to terms with the fact that I didn’t have a choice. Mentally preparing for the getaway of my life, I gripped the wooden top and tried to open it.
No luck.
Deciding to take the whole damn thing, I took a fortifying breath, wrapped both hands around the box, and tugged. When it didn’t so much as budge, I braced myself and strained.
What the…?
I’d touched something in the treasure room, which meant the owner was likely heading this way, but I couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of my heart. I also couldn’t leave without the artifact. Dropping to my knees, I studied the way the wood sat flush against the pedestal but didn’t appear to be connected. Confused, I drew a dagger and attempted to wedge it between the two, but some invisible barrier blocked the blade.
A thin seam ran horizontally around the box, but there was no visible keyhole or locking device. I tried to pry the lid open with the dagger, sheathing my weapon when it didn’t work.
Sliding one hand over the seam, I dug in with my wolf’s strength. The lip yielded beneath my fingertip, but instead of opening, something pierced my skin. Startled by the sudden stab of pain, I yanked my hand back.
Too late.
I watched with a mix of horror and fascination as my bloodtrickled into the nearest etched star. The star swirled and moved, spreading blood across the cover and staining the galaxy red.
Blood could be used for countless shady spells, and this box now held mine. Panic threatened to choke me as indecision locked me in place. Before I could spiral into a full-blown anxiety attack, the lid popped open. My hands shot up to shield my face just in case, but nothing happened. Slowly lowering my arms, I peered inside. Cushioned on silky golden fabric sat a rock smaller than the palm of my hand. It was oddly shaped, with one side as sharp and narrow as the tip of a dagger. It didn’t look like much, but magic wafted off it, charging the air and making my ears ring.
Snapping back to reality, I hurriedly plucked the bloodstone from its opulent nest.
Two things happened.
A warm, tingly sensation seeped into my hand and flowed up my arm.
And the house screamed.
Yes, screamed. The alarm seemed to come from all the walls at once and was loud enough to wake the dead. My demon wolf tried to jump out of her skin—out of me—but that bitch was locked up tight. Ignoring the goosebumps sprouting all over my body, I shoved the bloodstone into a pocket in my backpack and hauled ass for the door.
HAVE YOU NO HONOR?
Arioch
An earsplitting shriek woke me.
I shot up in bed, registering the alarm of my inheritance, my burden, and my last line of defense, which now shrieked a warning through every stone as I barked out a command. “Show me.”
The consciousness bound within my ancestral home answered with an image that flickered into my mind, temporarily blocking my vision and showing a figure, cloaked in shadow, standing in my…
My hoard?
Impossible. However, an even more pressing problem presented itself in the empty wooden box perched on the pedestal beside the intruder.
How?
The manor offered no explanation, and the image vanished.
