Page 126 of Queen of Shadows and Ruin

“What did you tell them?”

“We’re looking for the king of Andhera so I can kill him.”

A beat of silence filled the cavern.

“You okay, Row?”

He turned around to face Yasen, his mouth set in a firm line. “Many years ago, I left this place because I could not support the lengths Raja Abishek would go to protect his power. He was becoming a tyrant, blind to his own ambition. And I didn’t even know the half of it. He never told me he had six anchors, and I can’t begin to imagine what else he was hiding.

“I could have let it go. I did—I gave him little thought for many years. I moved on with my life and found other ways to occupy my time. Sometimes, I missed this place, but it was for the best.”

He paused as he looked around the cavern and the shadows dancing along the surface.

“But then overnight, I became a father and swore to protect a little girl with my life. I spent so many years living in fear for her safety. She hated me for it. She hated being caged to that shoreline, and who could blame her? She wanted to live. She wanted to see the world and all it had to offer. And all I could offer her were her beloved books. But it wasn’t enough. Sometimes, I wondered if reading about everything she was missing only made it worse.

“But then, one day, I couldn’t contain her any longer. The time had come. I had known it from the very beginning. I couldn’t keep her there forever. I didn’t know the rest of the prophecy, but I already knew that if she were indeed the bearer of this rare gift, then there was little chance our quiet life by the sea was all that awaited her.”

He stared into the fire, his expression pensive.

“But now he’s taken her, and I don’t know why exactly, but I will find out, and then I will do what I should have done all those years ago. I will repay him for everything she missed and for what he did to the woman I love.”

Row fell silent, a grim set to his features. A movement at the cavern’s edge drew their attention to a mountain man wearing even more furs and leather than the others.

“Catana,” Row said, striding over and bowing at the waist. “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, but I need your help.”

“I heard everything,” Catana said, raising a hand. “I know where they are.”

FORTY-ONE

Zarya barreled down the tunnel lined with burning torches. Anytime her hand touched the chalky white surface, it transformed into grey stone. She left herself a trail of breadcrumbs on the off chance she might find her way back.

If there was such a thing as back from whatever awaited her at the end. She continued repeating the memorized instructions, winding through the pathways and taking a left and a right at each fork, but she was scared and tired and hungry, and the directions jumbled in her head. As she ran, Rabin’s ferocious roars shook the ground as he fought against the stone, desperately trying to reach her.

She stopped and looked back, wondering if she was on the right path.

Was that supposed to be left at the last fork? Or right? Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that a clock was ticking over her head. She needed water.

She stumbled as the ground shook again, using her hands to catch herself. Her palms scraped open with a wince. The floor transformed under her, revealing a patch of mosaic tiles carefully laid out in intricate patterns. She frowned as she realized this tunnel had been man-made. Was this a clue? She crawled on her hands and knees, watching the ground shift.

When she reached a fork with several tunnels branching off in various directions, she headed left and watched as the floor turned to stone. She stopped and backed up, turning in another direction. Again, she was met with blank stone.

Another try; she chose the tunnel on the far right. This path shifted into another field of colorful mosaic tiles. She made a noise of surprise. This had to be a sign. This had to be right.

She leaped up and headed down the tunnel, periodically reaching down to touch the floor to ensure she was still on the right path. Every so often, she’d stumble when the mountain shook with the force of Rabin’s roars filtering through layers of stone.

She wanted to scream and cry. She wanted to reach him so badly. She’d give anything to break through the enchantment.

Another fork had her turning left as she revealed more of the tiled floor.

Finally, she entered a massive round room with a dozen arches leading in different directions. The ceiling reached high overhead, where small openings cut into the surface, let in beams of that mysterious light, and offered a view of Amrita’s roots.

She pressed a hand to her chest to settle the thrashing of her heart and her panicked breaths. She remembered this room from the map. At least she was headed in the right direction.

Her memory suggested the path continued somewhere on the other side of the chamber, so she crossed the floor, keeping light on her feet.

It didn’t take long before a shadow swept over the room. Rabin had seen her. Should she stop or run? What would draw his attention?

Another pass of shadow had her stalling in her tracks. He flew away, and she tracked his movements using only the sound of his wings.