Page 101 of Memory of Ashes

Casyl dismounted and grabbed Salkin by the arm, dragging him towards the hole.

When Salkin realised what was about to happen, he writhed and fought. When he could not escape Casyl’s grip, he began to beg.

“Any last words, Salkin?” Casyl asked.

He turned to Amelia, his expression shifting. “You really don’t know, do you?” he spat through bloodied teeth. “Tiryn was right.”

Casyl launched him into the pit. The creatures’ shrieking ceased, replaced by Salkin’s screams.

Her stomach twisted as Salkin’s men met the same fate, joining the bodies in the destroyed catacombs beneath them. It reminded her that these were fae, not humans. They didn’t play by the same rules.

The pit would be their tomb.

Amelia remembered the bones she had crawled over when she was first trapped inside the mountain. It had looked like a mass grave. The thought made her skin crawl.

They entered the city to retrieve the bombs and returned to the mine.

“So, we’re going to destroy the mine entrance with the explosives and then what?” She thought she already knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him, even though it would tear her apart. “What happens then?”

“Then we return through the rift and try to close it before anything else breaks through.”

“What about me?”

“You belong here more than we do.” He didn’t say it to hurt her; his pain was clear. He was being honest.

He cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her. His lips pressed against hers, and the taste of him lingered.

She closed her eyes, trying to lose herself in the moment, but she couldn’t stop the tears from falling. He wiped them away with his thumb and pulled away to look at her.

What would she do without him? Her home had been destroyed, and the people she’d known were most likely all dead. He was the only thing she had left, and she didn’t really have him.

She longed to go with him, but he was right. The few people who remained would most likely rebuild the city once the fae had gone.

Every moment with him was borrowed. As he made to leave, she clasped his arm. He turned to her.

“Casyl, I…”

He leaned his forehead against hers. She would savour the way he looked at her.

“Me too,” he said.

Tharos greeted them as they arrived back at the mine. “Eleandor’s found something of interest.”

“The runes!” Amelia said. She’d almost forgotten about them.

“Yes.” He was surprised that she’d guessed.

The runes in the cave had been a mystery to Amelia. She was now sure that they were linked to the ones she’d seen on the mountain. If Eleandor could read these in the mine, he was sure to understand those on the mountain.

She found Eleandor beside the runes.

“What do they say?” she asked as she approached him.

“I’m not sure exactly. Parts of it are missing.”

“There are more.”

His gaze snapped towards her. “Where?”