Page 166 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“Let me go!” I screamed at Starke, battering him with my elbows. His grip on me was solid as he dragged me down the tunnel after Mortep.

All I could see were Everett’s eyes as the cave wall closed in on him, and a sob tore from my chest. I hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye.

“I trusted you,” I spat at Starke. “How could you do this to me? To them? They did nothing to you!”

“It wasn’t supposed to go like this, V.” His voice was pleading, but his hold was still ironclad. “Nobody else was supposed to get hurt.”

“You never should’ve trusted Mortep. All he does is lie.” Rage replaced my unending grief, boiling into the space that held my dormant magic. I tugged against my restraints, making Starke stumble. “Where are you taking me?”

He slowed down to readjust, giving me a second to get my footing. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“It’s like you don’t know me at all,” I seethed. I rammed the back of my head as hard as I could into his nose. A crack resounded off the walls, but I ignored the bright stars clouding my vision as I shoved my elbow deep into his gut. He instantly released his hold. I took off at a sprint, feet slipping and tunnel spinning as I tried to remember the turns we took.

“Praetum firma,” Mortep shouted, and a solid, shimmering barrier extended in front of me. I slammed into it, staggering backward from the force.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he tutted. “I still need you, little bird.” Mortep leisurely stepped over a crouching Starke, who was trying to stem the blood flowing from his nose.

“Voquer,” Mortep said. His summoning spell latched on to my spine and yanked. I was tugged toward his outstretched hand, heels grinding the floor as I dug them into the ground, but it was no use.

I landed in his grip, and he cocked his head at me with a slimy grin. Fingers closed around my neck. “I was instructed to bring you dead or alive,” he said. His fingers slipped from my neck to the amulet dangling at my chest. “I wouldn’t test my patience, if I were you.”

“Instructions from who?” I snapped, but I already knew the answer.

His grin widened. “Our dear hosts, of course.”

Fire bloomed around us, accentuating the dark circles under his eyes. With his magic, he forced me down another path, until it opened to a wide, domed chamber. At the center sat a stone altar, and the three High Elders behind it. The sight of them made my muscles tense, wrath seeking out my phoenix fire but finding nothing. The second I stepped into the room, the amulets around Arcadia’s and Maeve’s necks gleamed. Mine mirrored theirs and buzzed at my chest, forcing my heartbeats to match its steady pulse.

“Well done, Lightbringer,” Maeve said, auburn curls tinted bright red from the glow. “You retrieved the third amulet.”

“And you won’t lay a finger on it,” I snarled.

“My dear Vera,” Arcadia said, voice as steady as always. “We do not need to.” The sleeves of his gray robe swept through the air as the High Elder motioned to the altar, where golden ropes magically appeared. “Malek, please prepare the vessel.”

“The vess—no.” My eyes widened as Mortep’s magic pushed me deeper into the cavern. “I thought you needed me to raise Pyraeth!” I shouted, trying with all my strength to fight Mortep’s spell. The altar loomed closer, and the symbols carved into the stone lit as I approached.

“We simply needed you to get the amulet,” Maeve said.

“We will be able to raise the kingdom ourselves, once we obtain your power,” Arcadia added. “You may depart this life knowing your sacrifice will serve a greater purpose.”

“A greater purpose?” I spat. “Your immortality isn’t a greater purpose! Murdering your entire realm isn’t a greater purpose!”

“Perhaps you do not see it, daughter,” Arcadia said, “but we will raise Pyraeth into a new age. One where we are not ruled by the Fates. One where we are not ruled by anything.”

Starke appeared at my side. “Wait. She’s going to die? Nobody said anything about killing her.”

Mortep quirked an eyebrow. “You didn’t ask.”

“I—I didn’t agree to this,” Starke urged. “You can’t do this. There must be another⁠—”

“You did your job, pirate,” Mortep spat. “Now get out of our way.”

Starke faced me, horrorstruck. “I had no idea. You have to believe me. I never would’ve gone through with it.” He glanced at my wrists. “I can still stop this.” He reached out to grab the cuffs, but didn’t make it halfway before Mortep raised an arm, and magical vines shot from the ground. They wrapped around Starke’s throat and lifted him in the air.

“Don’t hurt him!” I bit out without thinking. The betrayal still tasted like poison, but he was my friend. I didn’t want to watch him die.

“Get in my way one more time,” Mortep said, deathly quiet, “and you’ll never see your family again.”

With that, he twitched his hand, and Starke went flying across the chamber. His body crashed into the wall and landed on the ground with a sickening thud.