AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter seventy-five
Fayeshieldedhereyesas a cold gust of wind whipped her hair. She blinked, gazing over her new surroundings. The morning was too new to warm the rocky cliffside. A dense sea of trees stretched over the acres beneath it.
She stood with Rune in an overgrown field, and at the center of it was a simple stone altar. It was familiar, as though she’d been here before, but there was no comfort in the feeling. Faye took a step back. Everything in her urged her to run. Her heart raced as her apprehension steadily grew.
“Are you well?” Rune stood close, not touching her as he studied her face.
Faye nodded, forcing herself to take a step toward the altar. Fear prickled her skin, like she approached some great sleeping beast and expected to be devoured.
“I don’t like how this place feels,” Faye said, forcing another step toward the altar.
“How do you mean?” Rune moved with her, remaining at her side.
Her breaths came faster as she drew closer. Dread fell over her in a net, suffocating her. She kicked a dead shrub from the altar’s base.
A link protruded from the altar’s foundation.
“There were chains here.” She knew this with certainty, could feel it.
Rune waved his hand, and all at once, the debris and brush were cleared from the altar. There were words carved in it, the deep grooves visible but too worn to read. The stones seemed to hum with energy, and Faye tentatively stretched out her hand, gasping as her fingertips crossed over the foundation’s threshold.
For the first time in her life, Fayefeltpower.
There was no strain to feel it, no effort. It was there, and this altar pulsed with it.
Faye perceived the ripples of raw energy as she moved her fingers. She glanced back at Rune and asked, “Did your alter radiate power when you invoked your blood?”
Rune tensed and pulled her hand away. “Altars serve as a gateway for a connection to the Darkness. The altar itself holds no power.” He opened his hand as she had, remaining still for several heartbeats. “I do not feel anything. Your strength is immense, you may be feeling the power that awaits you.”
“This power is mine, so it can’t hurt me,” Faye spoke the self-soothing words before glancing up at Rune. “If I summon something, you’ll protect me.”
“I would burn the realms for you.”
Faye turned toward him and was met with a solemn expression. The man was serious. She crinkled her brow and said, “No. We don’t burn realms.”
The corner of his mouth lifted as he inclined his head. “As you command.”
Faye clutched the white box her sister had given her. Moments passed and she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that gnawed at her.
“This does not need to be completed today,” Rune said. “I could research the area. Chains at an altar is disconcerting.”
This is my power, and it can’t hurt me.
With a final deep breath, Faye stepped onto the foundation. Power hummed through the altar and its foundation, licking up her skin.
To welcome or consume her? She didn’t know.
Her eyes narrowed with determination.This is my power, and it can’t hurt me.
Faye poured the soul shards over the altar. Taking the knife, she cut her hand, letting her blood pool at the center of her palm.
It can’t hurt me.
This power is mine.
Faye turned her hand. Her blood splashed against the altar, pouring over the shards.
Her blood hissed and boiled.
