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My rage turned cold. “Give them back.Now. We made a bargain, and I kept my end of the deal. Now keep yours.”
“All you Fae, such sticklers for your ridiculous rules.” She shook her head, running her hands down her restored, perfect body. “Fine, then. I buried them right beneath your feet, little thief. Almost within reach, if you dig deep enough.”
Darkness bloomed in her eyes. “For someone as powerful as you, freeing them should be simple.” Terrible, wicked delight shone in her face as her words sent wave after wave of disbelief through me.
“In fact, this is your next task.”
Her beautiful face glowed with anticipation. “Yes, that is what we shall do. A series of three tests, I think, to prove your worthiness to the gods.To me.” Her ruby red lip curled up, revealing white, perfect teeth. “We shall see if fate agrees with my choices, since I have my doubts.”
This fucking bitch. I’d done everything she’d ever wanted, and now…
I blew out a long breath, which did nothing to quell the anger rising within me. A tide of fury that could burn away everything in its path if I wanted.
But not right now.
Now was too soon to show my hand.
Too soon for the Oracle to know who this newborn power answered to. She thought she controlled the magic, as if such a thing was even possible.
“We will not play your games; we will not complete your tasks.” All I could think about was tearing out her throat.
“I am done playing your games.” Every word sent stars tangling with her darkness. A tendril of her power touched me, leaving a trail of fire, blisters rising where it touched my skin. “Give them back.Now.” The trees shuddered, sending leaves showering down over us like emerald snow.
“You do not command me, mortal.” She sniffed.
Then she was gone.
46
ANARIA
“Fucking gods…what happened to her?” Zorander’s lips were white. “What did she mean…she buried them?”
“She took Tavion and Tristan. And Adele.” I frantically scanned the ground around us. There had to be an entrance to a cave, a hole…something that led downward. “She kidnapped them, using them as leverage to get me to do this.” I waved my hand at the newly formed forest.
“We have to find them.” I met Raz’s eyes. “We’ll have to start digging.”
* * *
Desperation and panicgrew as we made more and more passes over the forest floor. But beneath the leaves, the unbroken pale dirt taunted us with its even, impenetrable surface. If our friends were here, there was no way to reach them.
I dug random holes until my nails cracked, my fingers bled, feeding magic into the ground, using everything I had to try and locate them.
But I never did.
Raziel used his magic like a shovel, the soil soft enough for him to carve out a hole deep enough for him to stand in. Just seeing that hole, all that dirt piled around him, made me sick with horror.
Were they even still alive?
Or was this ‘task’ as she’d called it, already doomed?
“Even the Oracle can’t be that ruthless.” Now that we’d filled him in, Zor was caught up in the same impotent anger as Raz and me. He didn’t remember much.
But he knew our friends were missing, and we had to find them before we ran out of time.
“How far down?” I asked, for the thousandth time. “And where? Right below us?” I gestured to the endless wood stretching out around us in all directions. “Or just…here?”
Raziel walked to the spot where the Oracle had appeared, the splotch of oily black surrounded by a perfect circle of death and decay.
