Page 12 of Vervain

“Very well,” the mystery man says with a brush of his hand. “But I will find him faster if there is something of his I can use as a scent. Clothing, perhaps…”

“I can travel to the feeding ground tomorrow. The sun is about to rise,” Serun says.

I step forward, clasping my hands together. “I want to go as well. I left pieces of my friends there.”

This time, Serun stands while the others remain seated. “Let me show you to your room. We will journey to Darkovish Feeding Ground tomorrow night, before we make our way to the Undercity.”

A sickly feeling settles in my stomach at the way Maeve looks at me. She has the sharp eyes of a hawk, and a sweet smile to disguise the venom crawling across her skin. Out of the group, she seems the second most powerful.

“It was nice meeting you, Saya Claymore,” she says, her milky voice like sweetened medicine.

There is something about her I can’t place.

There is something familiar.

CHAPTER FOUR

PUNCTURE

Saya Claymore

“Don’t stray too far from me.” Serun pushes his palms against the wooden doors, which grind over the limestone floor as they open. “Without guidance, you can get lost in the Sunken City.”

Serun walks without looking at me. Yet, his ears flick, bending as if he is listening to my footsteps as I follow him.

The sound of flowing water fills my ears as it rushes between the cracks in the stone floor. Perhaps the reason they call it the Sunken City is that it is being taken by the sea. An island that lost its mantle.

This place seems ancient, in a way. A castle from one of those books that spoke of Earth before humans came to Kepler, with curved stone entryways and watermarked doors with old, stained wood.

I breathe in and taste wet stone.

Torches hang from brass fixtures, the flames flickering in the cool breeze, whispering in the wind. Pure shadows stretch around us, while flashes of the orange warmth from the torches tingle against my chilled skin.

As we round the corner, I look back the way we came, wondering if the others are following, only to see a wall. What?

I stop and reach out, my fingertips brushing the solid rock.

“Kamai,” Serun says softly, drawing my attention away from the wall and to where he waits at the end of the hallway ahead. His eyes narrow slightly at the wall, then he turns away. “You shouldn’t stray too far from me.”

“What happens if I do?”

He shrugs. “I suppose you will get lost, and I will have to come and find you.”

I’d rather not be a nightwalker’s entertainment for the night.

“What does kamai mean?” I say as I resume walking. “You said you would tell me after I accepted your offering.”

“Technically, you didn’t accept my offering.” He smirks. He fucking smirks.

“Then I suppose I will just ask someone else. It’s Daryun, and I am going to an Undercity filled with nightwalkers. I’m sure someone will know…”

He just keeps on smirking.

Serun leads us to an open hall, and my eyes widen a fraction at the stained glass windows. Unique shapes join to depict a faceless naked man reaching out, as if longing to grab someone’s hand, but there’s no one there.

Magnetic orange, purple, and blue hues shatter across the walls as the pale moonlight beyond shines through the stained glass. Fragmented diamonds glimmer across my dirty, bloodstained gown.

“How long was I in that coffin for?” Turning my focus on Serun, my hands curl into fists, and my arms stiffen at my sides. “Has it only been one night?”