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“Are you okay?” Octavia asks, her brows creased with concern as she takes my hand, carefully assessing my skin.
“I’m okay.” My heart is nearly bursting from my chest. I’m not exactly sure what I expected, but the gate crumbling under my touch was not it. Maybe a searing pain or flesh-eating acid coated on it. “I’m really not convinced that anyone lives here.”
“It seems strange that there isn’t any sign of life here or at least some spells or reinforcements,” Octavia agrees, giving me a soft smile as she lets go of my hand. “But I trust Delilah. If she says that they’re here, I believe her.”
I nod in agreement and push against the gate again. We already came all the way out here, so there’s no way I’m going back without at least checking inside.
“We’re on our way back, little mate,”Mateo projects to me, and I jump at the sudden sound.“You have one more hour before I come find you.”
“Olivia?” Octavia asks, placing her hand gently atop mine as it rests on the worn wrought iron gate.
“I’m fine. Mateo just startled me, is all.” I take a deep breath and push the gate open another foot with Octavia’s help. “That should be enough to get through.”
We pull our hands back, and I brush off the rusted metal flakes from my palms. For an old gate, that was deceptively hard to open, especially with the seized hinges.
“What did they say?” Octavia asks, reminding me of Mateo’s message.
“They found the hideout, and they’re on their way back to the meetup.” I glance down at my watch just to confirm the time. “We have an hour left before we need to be out of here.”
“We can do this,” Octavia assures me as she steps towards the gate. “I’ll take the lead.”
I purse my lips, but she’s already slipping through the crack in the gate before I can argue. I squeeze through too, and with one final look back, I cast an illusion, making sure the gate looks untouched to anyone who might walk by. We saw one guard already, and despite the nearly decomposing bridge, I don’t want to risk another discovering us.
Octavia waits for me by the stone bridge that hovers above ... a moat of lava. Perfect.
“It’s like deja vu,” I huff in exasperation, examining the stone.
It’s the same smooth obsidian stone, yet it doesn’t seem to be crumbling like the castle. A coating of dust covers it, yet the shiny surface still gleams beneath, the sides glowing red from the bubbling lava below it.
“I learned my lesson the last time,” I say, and place a shield over it.
Octavia’s lips quirk, but she doesn’t say anything, her own shadows billowing out across the smooth stone in almost the same way mine had. She takes the first tentative step forward, and I join her, each of us sighing a breath of relief when our powers hold the form of the bridge solid.
We make it over the bridge with ease, and I cast a parting glance over my shoulder to the lava, grateful to be over that hurdle. I seriously will never understand the lack of making stable structures over a danger that could burn your skin from your body in an instant. No thank you.
“Do we knock?” I frown, my gaze flicking between Octavia and the large wooden door in front of us. It’s at least twenty feet tall, and held together with the same rusted wrought iron as the gate.
“And give them a chance to attack us or turn us away?” Octavia asks, a small grin spreading across her face.
I can’t help the indignant huff that slips from my lips. Well, when she puts it that way …
“Here goes nothing then.” I clasp the large iron handle and push, using a bit of my power to send a little extra strength into my muscles when it doesn’t budge at first. The door slowly groans open, sending a cloud of dust billowing up into my face. I nearly choke on the debris floating through the air and take a step back, my lungs desperately trying to pull in a breath of fresh air.
“Olivia,” Octavia exclaims, her shadows sweeping in around us as she clasps my shoulder, blocking out the cloud of dust looming closer.
“I’m all right,” I choke out, my throat parched and scratchy. “We should go, though.” I eye the open door and the gloomy interior just beyond it, Octavia’s words echoing in my mind. If they didn’t know we were here, they definitely do now.
“You’re right,” she agrees, giving me one final assessing look before she turns back to the door. She eases through the narrow pathway, and I follow behind, my powers already sweeping around us to form a shield and cloak the door. Octavia’s shadows flow into the foyer, thinning to a subtle black mist as though it’s mapping the area and reporting any activity back to her.
That’s definitely a useful skill to have.
I keep my eyes peeled for any sign of movement as we walk into the dark interior. Dust and grime coat the large glass windows, barely letting any light into the tomb-like castle. Signs of opulence are scattered along the entryway, large ornate tables and gilded mirrors all hidden beneath years and years of grime and disuse. I swear if there was any vegetation in this place, the forest would have reclaimed this building as its own, sucking it back within its depths.
“Princes?” I call out, unsure how to even start this conversation if they are here. “We’ve come to help.”
I mean, we are here to help ... and ask for theirs.
A shadow flashes in the distance, the figure there and gone in an instant. My heart thunders at the sudden movement, my brain still trying to determine if it was just a trick of the light.
