Page 29 of Secrets of Ruin

“I will.”

With unsteady steps, Brokk returned to the last living ophidian, who had dragged himself halfway out the door before collapsing onto the ground. With glee, Brokk straddled the man with one foot on each side of his chest and bent over him.

He stuck his fingers into the hole he created in the man’s jugular and gritted his teeth against his growing weakness. His broken fingers ground together as they protested the movement, but he managed to tear off the man’s head.

He tossed the head aside and turned back as Kaylia freed their three remaining friends from their cages. Kaylia dropped the key and the gloves. Her fingers moved as she tried to open a portal, but nothing happened.

Brokk’s heart sank. Somehow, the ophidians’ magic kept them from opening a portal; they would have to find their way out of the pyramids and back into Doomed Valley before escaping.

He barely had the energy to stand, let alone make it out of this pyramid. He had no idea how many enemies they’d encounter along the way, and they were too depleted to put up much of a fight, but at least they had the poles and gloves.

Still, he didn’t know how he would walk out of here. He’d used all his fight to get this far, and weakness was fast closing in on him.

They’ll have to go on without me.

The idea of Kaylia being out there without him created a new adrenaline rush, but it dwindled as soon as it came. She’d have to go on without him; he’d only slow her down.

She had a chance to get free, and he would make sure she took it. Before he could give voice to his decision, Kaylia spoke.

“I’m too weakened. Someone else has to open a portal into the human realm so we can get to Dragonia from there.”

He had taken too much from her earlier, but while he hated himself for this, he was also relieved they might not be as trapped here as he’d believed.

“I can do it,” Leland said.

With the last dregs of his strength, Brokk rose and limped back toward Kaylia as Leland waved her fingers and a portal opened before her. That portal was one of the most amazing things he’d ever seen, and judging by the faces of the others, he wasn’t alone in thinking so.

But his joy at their impending freedom couldn’t stop his legs from quaking so badly that his knees gave out. Ryker caught him before he hit the ground; he carefully put his arms around Brokk’s waist to hold him up.

“Thank you,” Ryker said.

“I’d like to say anytime, but let’s never do this again,” Brokk replied.

“I have to agree with that,” Tucker said.

Kaylia hovered at Brokk’s side as Ryker walked with him into the portal and toward freedom.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The large shadow passing overhead drew Lexi’s attention to the sky. She smiled as Alina, the speaker of the dragons, soared above them before she shifted her attention back to Skog and the other dwarves.

After the Lord destroyed the dwarves’ realm of Drumbledon, they decided to stay in Dragonia and make a new home in the mountains. Lexi tried to visit at least once a month to see how things were going and check in with her friends.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a fun visit. They’d come here to recruit more help for another exploration into Doomed Valley, a realm that had already taken more than a few dwarves.

“We plan to leave tomorrow,” Orin stated.

Lexi didn’t like it but kept her uneasiness hidden. She’d prefer if he and Sahira would stay and recuperate for at least another week before diving into Doomed Valley, but they insisted they were ready to search for Brokk and Kaylia.

This time, her dad was determined to go with them. She didn’t try to talk him out of it; he wouldn’t change his mind about going with his sister into the place that had claimed too many lives… or at least she assumed most of those they’d sent were dead.

They never found most of the bodies or any sign of those who had vanished. She hoped she was wrong about that.

She wasn’t ready to give up on Brokk and Kaylia and was determined to find an answer about what became of them. And she knew Brokk’s brothers wouldn’t give up until they knew what happened to him.

So tomorrow, Orin, Sahira, her dad, and others would return to Doomed Valley. She tried to keep her distress over that hidden. No one had returned yet, but the three of them were adamant they would, and she couldn’t stop them.

She would send more dragons this time; they were the only immortals who regularly returned. Cole wasn’t thrilled with the idea, especially since the ghouls were making more aggressive moves toward other realms, and there were rumors they planned on coming at Dragonia, but they had to find out what happened to Kaylia and Brokk.