Page 17 of Vervain

And on that table is Cole.

Pale, almost lifeless.

My heart pounds, aching to break out of my ribcage as I dash forward.

“Cole,” I breathe. My shaking hands reach toward him, only to hesitate. His flesh is somehow translucent. Sinew, muscle, and veins are visible up his arms before meat and pale skin connect, coated in dry blood.

Then something moves. A worm, or some kind of black thread, writhes within him. Inside an arm I shouldn’t be able to see within.

My heart thumps painfully as my thumb presses against his skin, pushing at it, and then my ear twitches. Insect noises violently flood my ears—and when I look up, the creature who attacked Cole is standing on the other side of him, a broad grin splitting across its face, drool slipping down its vicious jaw.

I stumble back, slip on wet stone and hit the ground. Then, I’m staring at the room I slept in last night.

“Cole?” I choke out on a sob. Confusion muddles my brain, tormenting me.

What the fuck was that?

I run my hand down my face and pinch at the bridge of my nose between my eyes, rubbing in a circular motion to try to rid myself of a pounding headache.

This labyrinth must be messing with my head. That couldn’t have been real.

Could it?

I need to find Serun so that Reyes can find Cole and take me to him. Right fucking now.

CHAPTER SIX

MOURNING

Saya Claymore

With a sharp breath, I leave the room and start again. This time, I’m led to a hallway with an archway at the end—no brick wall.

No one is messing with secret passageways this time.

Portraits line the right side of the hallway, covered by a thin black veil. Even covered, I can make out the image of two men side by side. One I know as Lucifer, but the other is a stranger. They have beaming smiles and entwined fingers. So much warmth in a painting that sends ice down my spine.

I continue down the hallway, passing the portraits, then come to an abrupt halt at the archway.

My eyes widen and jaw slackens at the wall of glistening windows speckled with raindrops. Moonlight illuminates everything, painting the view in a shimmering silver. A vast sea glistens below, rippling and unsettled. I’m above the rush of it, but water weaves across square roofs and buildings. The water has taken most of it, leaving only this castle to watch over a city that once was.

“Melancholy beauty, is it not?” A soft, deep voice comes from behind me. My ear twitches, but I don’t move from my position overlooking the Sunken City. A shiver crawls along my nape when I don’t see his reflection in the window. “This place, lost in the war, now looks over what once was a thriving, bustling city.” Serun’s hands sink into his pockets as he reaches my side.

“The war? Before Mother left?”

A tingling sensation prickles my skin when he steps closer to me. Defiant, or desperate to understand the man who made me his consort, I stand my ground.

Part of me wonders if he would find me flinching away from him amusing. Nightwalkers enjoy the look of fear, from what I have heard.

From what I have seen…

From the corner of my eye, Serun’s eyes narrow and his jaw tightens. “Before Mother. A world in ruin, torn between living with magik or without.”

I click my tongue. “Makes sense why Jax wanted me to run away with him. He wanted me far from Naylen—on an island with no nightwalkers. Probably has no slayers, too.”

“I doubt all his reasons were because you are vegodian. His possessiveness was a toxin.”

My fingers twitch, the poisonous desire to touch him suddenly turning to yearning, clouding the warnings in my mind. With a shake of my head, I lift my chin higher and glare out at the Sunken City. “And you, nightwalker? Did you not claim me as your consort?”