Page 140 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“Watch out!” He jumped on me, forcing me to the ground as two sharp arrows whizzed above our heads and embedded themselves in the wall behind us. “Bet you’re glad I came now, aren’t you?” he asked grimly, rolling to get off of me.

“You’re an idiot,” I hissed. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“This could be a good thing,” Sloane said from behind us. She and Tessa had ducked to avoid the flying arrows. “He can keep watch.”

He scowled. “Excuse me, I can do more than⁠—”

“Because he’s smart enough to know that putting himself in harm’s way will only make things harder for us, aren’t you, Captain?” Sloane’s pointed look would’ve melted ice. “Do you want Vera to die trying to keep you safe?”

I had to admit, Sloane had a pair on her. I was starting to like her.

Starke’s eyes flicked to mine. I could tell he wanted to argue, but he gritted his teeth and pulled a sword from its sheath. “Fine. I’ll make sure nobody comes after you. Just go.”

“Where exactly are we supposed to go?” Tessa asked, looking around the cavern.

“Don’t know. I’ve never gone past the entrance.” Sloane wagged her eyebrows at us with a grin. It was a mischievous little smile that reminded me of how I often looked at Starke when I got us into bad situations. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

Without warning, several more arrows shot at us. “Praetum firma!” I cried, holding my hands out. The shield charm erupted in front of us and blocked the arrows.

“Where are they coming from?” Sloane asked.

“That way.” I pointed ahead, where shadows darkened a corner of the cave. Keeping the shield high, I edged down the tunnel, watching out for any more arrows. The air got colder the farther I walked. I forced flames up my arms to light the way. As I approached the corner, I slowly reached a hand over the edge of the bend.

When I jumped around the corner, preparing to strike our attackers, I stopped short. Nobody was there. Just another endless, rocky corridor.

“There’s nobody here,” I hissed back at Tessa and Sloane.

“Probably enchanted arrows, then,” Sloane said.

We tiptoed a few more steps before Tessa threw an arm out to stop us. “Wait.” She was so close, I saw her skin pebble as goosebumps rose to the surface. She put one hesitant foot out.

Several spikes emerged from holes in the floor. With the nimbleness of a jaguar, Tessa leaped back, barely avoiding being impaled. A loud crackle came from behind me, and streams of fire burst from the sidewall, nearly singing the ends of my hair. I gasped and jumped forward, but Tessa stopped me before I ran right into the deadly spikes.

“We’re trapped,” I muttered. I summoned my Strider magic and imagined myself striding us from here to the other side of the spikes. I disappeared, but then reappeared exactly where I’d been. I tried again, and pain shot through my forehead.

“There’s some sort of spell blocking my striding magic,” I grunted, rubbing my temples. “Wonderful.”

Sloane squinted, and her body wavered in and out of focus. “Same. My powers don’t work down here.”

“I’ve got this,” Tessa said. Her limbs instantly shortened into her torso, and sleek fur grew from her skin. Tessa had the rare Shifter ability to not only transform into an animal, but to also change her size. Her jaguar form could be as small as a kitten or as large as a horse. This time, she became smaller and smaller until she was a cat lithe enough to slip between the sharp edges of the spikes, winding her way across until she reached the other side.

“I didn’t know she was an animorph,” Sloane said in surprise, staring after Tessa.

“A what?” I shook my head. “Nevermind. If you liked that, you’re going to love this.” I smirked, shifted my phoenix wings from my back, and grabbed Sloane. She shouted in surprise. I kicked off the ground and extended my wings, flying us over the high spikes. The ceiling was so low that my wings scraped against it.

I hit the ground in a crouch, carefully setting a wide-eyed Sloane down. “A little warning next time,” she huffed.

I chuckled, then looked around, waiting for the next threat. Tessa padded forward in her small jaguar form, nose low to the ground. Her ears went straight as her hackles rose. She sniffed the path ahead, and her black tail flicked.

My grin faded. Something felt…off. The walls on either side looked more narrow than before. The rockface pressed closer together as we moved deeper down the tunnel. I summoned fire to my hand, and its blaze flickered off the stone. After several yards, the corridor abruptly widened into a circular chamber. The ground was carved into dozens of square tiles, each about two feet wide. Faint runes were etched on top. Some glowed red, but others were dark.

“Nobody move,” I said. “Everything here is trying to kill us.”

Tessa shifted back into her human form beside me, her brows knitting. “Glowing rocks? What’s this for?”

Sloane crouched at the edge of the chamber and brushed dust off one of the runes. The symbol flared brighter at her touch—three lines with a diagonal sword through them.

“Never know until we try,” she said with a shrug. Before I could stop her, she pressed down on the tile and immediately jumped back to us.