Page 265 of Vasmora

Beside Zevander, Maevyth whispered, “What’s happening to him?”

“I can’t be certain,” Zevander said, though he had a pretty good idea as he studied how each pained outcry from Dravien affected Kazhimyr. Like a severed mate bond. He’d heard the pain was a deep, splintering ache in the chest that burned when the threads had begun to unravel.

One long, droning wail from the other side of the door fractured to a gurgle, then died to silence.

Kazhimyr’s body jerked with heaving breaths, quickly slowing to a calm stillness. He sat upright again, lowering his hand from his chest, and stared down at the iron door in silence.

“Are you alright, Kaz?” Torryn asked beside him, not touching him that time.

For a moment, Kazhimyr remained quiet, then nodded and pushed to his feet. “Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s keep on,” he said coldly.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

MAEVYTH

The tunnels wound and stretched as we kept on our path, following after Gavroche toward Cadavros’s nest, and the queasiness I’d suffered after siphoning the life from that wolf slowly faded, warmth replacing the cold hollow in my chest. The numb thickness in my legs had begun to shrink as strength returned to my muscles.

Rho trotted beside me, his tail wagging, ears flopping. Far too adorable for a place that reeked of death and decay. Behind us, trailed Fennyx and Daelan, Lothare and Torryn, with Kazhimyr dragging behind them. Only four adult wolves remained, telling me one of them must’ve been lost to the brawl with the infected wolves.

The haunting echo of Dravien’s cries slipped through my thoughts and I winced. I hadn’t known him long, but I’d gotten a sense he’d lived a life of torment and sadness. And I hoped he found peace in death.

I stared down at the many bones we passed, an ossuary that left me questioning what had happened in the tunnels. A faint vibration thrummed in my veins, stronger when we passed large clusters of bones, and as my palms tingled, I reached out a hand, the bones clacking against each other.

“They’re drawn to you.” Verena spoke low beside me while checking the wound at her flank, and I quickly lowered my hand, realizing she’d been watching me.

“I don’t know why. I’m not particularly interesting.” My voice didn’t hold the amusement of my words, with the somber tone that hung on the air. The bones had been only a small distraction from the worry brewing in my head.

The possibility that Rykaia and Branimir could be dead.

Had they encountered those wolves, how would they have survived?

“Bones have always been sacred to our kind. Some wolves will consume them for the marrow. Razorwolves leave them. They believe the bones are what carry a being’s essence.”

I chewed on her words, appreciating the opportunity to climb out of my anxious thoughts. “If that’s true, the ones we bury must feel trapped.”

“No. They slumber.”

“For what?”

She shrugged. “Depends on what you believe, I suppose. Some think the gods will return and reclaim Aethyria. Others believe there is no afterlife. Just eternal sleep.”

“Eternal sleep … You make it sound peaceful.”

“Death is peaceful. It is an end to suffering for many. Imagine countless dreams. Living inside the memories of those you love most.”

I thought back to my time in Caligorya. The constant, unsettling feeling like I shouldn’t have been there. That I was an intruder. “You believe there is no afterlife, then?”

“As a wolf, I believed I would serve Wanyheai, the divine alpha, in death.”

“And that brought you peace?”

She looked ahead as we continued through the tunnels. “Yes. No other being outside of wolves has ever laid eyes on him. He would take me to the Sleeping Forest. And there, I would live amongst my ancestors.”

Strange, the way even wolves believed in a mystical creature. Longed for comfort after death. It led me to ask the question that’d been burning in my mind from the moment I’d watched her and her sister turn human. “Were you turned wolf?”

She glanced toward me and nodded. “My sister and I were out gathering berries. We unwittingly came too close to a bear cub, and its mother attacked us. Mauled us near to death.” Eyes seemingly lost to the memory, she frowned. “I don’t even remember the pain anymore. Only that I was ready to die.” She craned her neck toward the men who followed behind us. “Fennyx and the wolves appeared. Scared her away. He bit me first. Then my sister.” A sad smile pulled at her lips. “Said she tasted so good, he decided to make her his mate.”

“And Rho?”