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“You don’t think we’d let you have all the fun, do you, big brother?” Vaun grins.
I nod. Tried and true, any man would be lucky to have such brave and loyal men by his side. “Let’s go, then, but be on your guard. Just because the witches couldn’t use their magic doesn’t mean there aren’t hidden traps or other dangers guarding Maeve and our queen. They would not have made accessing them easy.”
I lift a torch from a brazier on the wall and use it to light the way down. Its warm flames cast dancing shadows as we go. “I think we’re nearly at the bottom,” I warn. “Eyes peeled.” The stairs end a few steps later, and a long, wide corridor stretches ahead into the pitch black. Scanning the stone pavers, I spy nothing that would indicate a trapdoor or trigger. “Here, take this.” I hand the torch back to Garth and step forward.
I know my men want to go first. They would rather meet their own end than see their alpha fall and their queen remain locked away to rot, and die, like a beast in a cage. But as their alpha, it’s my duty to protect my clan.And so, I will.
As I take several cautious steps forward, the way seems clear.It shouldn’t be.Another step, then two more, and my concerns are proven true. Bars fall from the ceiling above, slamming down into the stone, blocking my way both forward and back. “Fuck.”
“Alpha!” Vaun calls out.
Garth throws out an arm to stop him.
“No, don’t come any closer,” I say with a growl. “If I can’t get out of here, you need to warn the clan and lead them back to the mountain. Take the witches with you if need be.”
I steel myself. There’s nothing to do but try my luck. I hesitantly reach out to touch the bars.Nothing is simple whereThe Five are involved.Sizzling fire races through me, and every muscle and fiber in my body seizes—painfully taut, like an overstrung bow. Clenching my teeth, I fall to the floor, twitching and spasming until my vision fades.Asha…
Chapter Thirteen
Asha
All-encompassing darkness. The glowing path of the Goddess is gone, as are the glittering stars. I gasp, drawing my first breath back from the dead. I feel my physical self once more, still bound and imprisoned within the sarcophagus.I’m here. I’m back.Tears run down my cheeks.Thank you, Goddess.I spend several moments gathering my nerve and steadying my erratic breathing. My own power wasn’t enough to break free of this prison, but if I channel my Sisters—as the Goddess suggested—I can save myself and them.I’ll be keeping my promise.
Focusing, I see my Sisters in my mind’s eye as glowing orbs of radiant silver light, already making their way out of the Rosewood Valley Asylum for Wayward Witches. I see Maeve, our queen, just across the chamber, entombed within a stone crypt and secured by chains harnessing each of the five elements. Her light burns brighter than any of the others, like a real star among diamonds.
Magic can’t escape the sarcophagus … but magic can come in. Unbalanced magic always has a weakness, a loophole—only the six elements combined are infallible.Imagining myself as a siphon, a pool to which all streams flow, I call out to my Sisters with my mind.“Sisters, hear me! This may hurt. Forgive me.”
Spiraling deep within, I visualize great rippling streams of light connecting me to the others, and then with all of my strength, I rip. I draw from them all that I can, draining them until I feel like a star ready to supernova. I hold the power for as long as I can, letting it build in intensity until I can scarcely contain it. Then I scream, unleashing the siphoned Chaos like a cosmic tidal wave.
It rushes forth with such brutal, searing strength that it burns the gag from my mouth and the ropes from my wrists, vaporizing the enchanted sarcophagus as if it were no more than common kindling. I fall to my knees as I feel the Chaos surge from me and through the castle. It’s the most painful thing I’ve ever known.It hurts more than death,I wonder in awe. The wave of silver light obliterates all it comes in contact with, destroying any and all magically imbued traps, seals, and bindings. I sense the enchanted shield around the castle disintegrate, and want to weep for joy.I did it!
Maeve’s crypt explodes from within, showering the basement in fragments of stone and dust. I see iron chain links flying, and then the Chaos Queen arises. Free at last, after three hundred long years.
I smile at her weakly before my hands find the floor. I feel as though I’ve been hit by a meteor. Every single inch of my physical body aches, and my head throbs with an agony unlike anything I’ve ever known.That pressure…My vision begins to blur, and then the world falls sideways. The last things I see are Maeve’s black boots approaching.
****
“Mate. Wake up. Come back to me.”
Consciousness comes back intrepidly, like a butterfly alighting upon a flower in the breeze. I hear Erik’s voice, and my heart sings. My eyelids flutter, and my mate’s beautiful, chiseled face comes slowly into focus. “Erik,” I whisper, my voice hoarse.
Erik smiles down at me, holding me in his warm, muscular arms, raising me from the floor of the ruined basement.
“You came for me.”
“I promised that I’d always come for you, my queen,” he answers, his eyes soft with tenderness. “And I always keep my word.”
I reach up with fatigued arms and wrap them around his neck, burying my face against his chest. “I love you, Erik.”
“I love you, Asha.”
“We all have you to thank, Asha Ravensong,” interrupts a familiar voice.
I look up to see the Chaos Queen standing over us. “Maeve.”
“I owe you a very large debt, Sister,” she says. “One that cannot easily be repaid. You not only freed me, but you liberated my castle and saved our Sisters. Rosewood Valley Castle will never again fall into the clutches of The Five, and it’s all thanks to you.”
I rise with Erik’s help. “I would never have been able to do any of this without your help, my queen. If you hadn’t reached out to my mate and freed me from the asylum in the first place… Speaking of which, how did you know what Fate had in store for us?”
