“I have to check on something. You’ll stay here and keep Willow snug?”
Rhune nods, his large wing curling around her small form. “Always.”
“Good boy.” With a grin, I ease out of bed and make my way toward the exit. Waggling my fingers in a goodbye, I step past the threshold and begin walking down the tunnel to Cin’s bedroom.
I’m about to step inside when I notice a bright light seeping beneath the covering of Cin’s workshop door. There’s a wall of exposed welwig root in that room, and it normally glows blue—but for the first time ever, it’sred.
Interesting…
Deciding Cin can wait for a moment longer, I make my way toward the workshop. As soon as I step inside, I’m assaulted with a wave of ancient, dangerous magic. It tickles my skin and makes the hair at the back of my neck stand on end, activating some primal fear deep in my soul.
Determined not to give in to my fear, I walk up to the wall and place my palm flat against the thick twining roots, but nothing happens. I feel the magic of this world calling to me, ordering me to feast and give in to my monstrous desires—but that is nothing new.
Sighing, I drop my hand to my side, staring hard at the crimson roots.What does this mean…?
Just then, the ground shudders as an ice wyrm roars deep underground. A second responds to the call, their eerie wails seeping through the cracks in the ice and sending a shiver down the length of my spine.
They’re closer than they were before. Much closer.
Thousands of years ago, the ice wyrms carved these caverns that we call home. Over time, they moved deeper into the earth in search of more magic to feast on, leaving these upper tunnels abandoned.
With all the activity we’ve been hearing lately, it’s safe to assume that they’re migrating back toward the surface.But why?
The closer you move to the core of The Far Place, the stronger the magic becomes. If anything, the ice wyrms should be going evendeeperif they are hungry.
This isn’t right. Something is terribly wrong.
I don’t have anything to prove it, but there’s a horrible gnawing pit in my stomach, warning me of something horrible to come. And my gut is rarely wrong.
With a shiver, I turn from the wall and hurry out of the room, desperate to be far away from that evil energy. I stop at the threshold of Cin’s bedroom, panting hard, my heart beating erratically. I’m about to move inside when his familiar, Noox, slithers out from the bottom of the covering, her eyes holding a vicious promise.
“I’m not going to hurt him. I just want to talk.”
In response, the snake strikes angrily at my feet, and I only narrowly manage to dodge his attack. “You’re a moody little asshole, you know that?”
Noox hisses angrily, his tongue flicking out to taste the air around my ankles. “Don’t you eventhinkabout it. I’ll get Circe to swat your ugly ass.”
Cin’s familiar is always so volatile and pissy—possibly more so than his master, and that’s saying something.
With a heavy sigh, I jump nimbly over the python, sending a gust of wind in his direction to push him a little ways out of the room.
Now that there’s a good amount of distance between me and the snake, I move deeper into the room, my gaze locking on a pair of silver eyes glaring at me through the shadows.
A predator patiently awaiting its prey.
“Is that you, Cin?”
A low growl fills the space, the sound sending a shiver down my spine, but I push forward. “I know you’re in there, Cin. I need to speak with you.”
Those serpentine eyes blink, and then flash with clarity. “Nyx…”
“There he is.” My mouth tips in a grin as I step closer, hoping I’m not about to be mauled to death. “How are you feeling?”
He reaches up, rubbing his temples. “Scattered…” His head snaps up, his pupils flaring wide as he whispers, “The girl. I didn’t…? Did I…?”
“She’s unharmed. You didn’t do anything more than spook her—and turn her on a bit,” I add with a wink. “Her scent change is the reason Rhune went to investigate. He came in to find you holding her, and that’s when things took a turn for the worse.”
Cin nods, his shoulders dipping inward slightly. “I can’t remember. I saw her eyes, and I just… I lost myself.”
