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They’d been one of the many things our mother had cautioned us against. They had long lived in the fairy forest but had disappeared from sight as the Scourge overtook the land.
“Look out,” I called to Jaik, kicking one away from him. But while I did that, more swarmed onto my legs, others dropping from the ceiling onto my shoulders. Their claws bit into my already wounded body.
Jaik blasted fire at them. My face grew painfully hot as a blast of fire knocked a cockroach from my shoulder. It screamed as it slammed into the ground.
“Thanks,” I said, my shoulder bumping his as I closed nearer to him, and he blasted fire at the chittering monsters swarming us.
Jaik just seemed irritated. “Always trying to outdo me.”
“I didn't get stabbed with a poison tail to fuck with you!”
The monsters were swarming us, and the earth began to shake again. Jaik swore. “We've got to move. We've got to find a way up. If we keep going, I know where we can break through.”
“Let's do that,” I said.
Blasting fire ahead of us, he took off at as much of a run as he could. The blasts of fire washed the tunnel with brief bursts of light that showed Jaik running and the monsters pouring down from the ceiling and up from the tunnels in endless waves. The ground kept shaking and bits of the tunnel rained down like we were about to be buried.
Shuffling, chittering sounds filled the air. I stepped on one cockroach and its barb punched into my calf; I stumbled, trying to find a clear space to step in the darkness, but more monsters crowded us. They were hemming us in, slowing us down. My calf burnt so badly I could barely keep moving, even with adrenaline coursing through my blood.
The tunnel let out a shrill sound and began to buckle around us. Then abruptly, it collapsed in front of us, and shrieking roaches doubled back, trying to swarm over us in their desperation to get away.
Jaik aimed a blast of fire at them, trying to give us a clear circle as the two of us backed up together, backs pressed against the stone. In the brief flash of light, his face was weary and streaked with dust. “This looks like the end.”
“I told you we should separate.” At least he’d have a chance without me.
With another flash of fire came more skittering and screaming, and it illuminated an exasperated expression across his face. “I'm trying to tell you that I love you before the two of us die.”
“I already know that. Every time you look at me like I'm an idiot, or make some snarky ass remark, it just feels like you're my brother again.” I grinned at him, although it might be lost in the dark. “And you know I love you.”
Maybe the two of us led opposing factions. Maybe it was hard to imagine how we would ever lead our people to peace. Maybe some of our people wanted blood so much they’d murder us for trying to deescalate the tensions. But now we wouldn't have to figure all that out. It was over.
The memory of my mother’s face swam up out of the darkness, as if she was waiting for us on the other side. “We'll see Ma again.”
The tunnel buckled in toward us on the other side. The tunnel seemed to fold up on itself like a crumpled napkin. It drove us to our knees. I grabbed my brother’s shoulder, steadying myself in the dark. Old prayers formed in my head, a vision of the beyond forming quick as a dream.
And then an unexpected scent drifted through the tunnel.
Sugar and sunshine.
Honor’s scent.
CHAPTER6
Honor
A sudden surgeof adrenaline ran through my body, and I jolted awake as if I was in a fight for my life. My heart hammered in my throat. Panic surged in my chest. The walls of Zehr’s room were a blur as I looked around frantically; it felt as if the walls were closing in, the ceiling pressing down on me, but slowly I realized the dark room was the same as before.
“You’re fine,” I muttered to myself. There was no reason why I felt like I was dying, but I could do nothing to calm my racing heart. I shook Zehr’s shoulder, and his eyelashes fluttered rebelliously, trying to stay asleep. “Are you doing this to me, Scourge king?”
Those intense black eyes locked on mine. Through cracked lips, he managed, “I can feel the panic, wild girl. But it’s not yours.“
If this panic wasn’t mine… it might be coming through the mark. Was it Jaik or Caldren or Branok? “What’s happening?“
“I’ll help you figure it out,” Zehr promised.
I looked at him skeptically. He never seemed like the helpful type. And now he was drifting in and out of unconsciousness, I really questioned his ability to be much of an aid.
“Come here.” He reached for me, then tried to wrap his fingers around my throat. I pulled away. He was still strong, incredibly so. His hand tightened around my throat, and it was hard to shake him off. I grabbed his wrist, and those dark eyes flashed up at me. “Trust me.”
