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“I could be down for an orgy,” Brax states, making my jaw drop, along with Raven’s, as she stares at him with wide eyes, clearly considering the offer. But the niggling feeling at the back of my mind forces me to put my body’s desires aside to focus on the bigger picture.
“Zane’s right. We need to go, but when we get back, it looks like we have a plan.”
Nobody confirms or denies the offer now on the table as Brax grunts something under his breath, creating a gateway by the door behind me.
“Wait, have you been there before?” I blurt, gaping at the gateway that’s suddenly appeared.
His eyes meet mine as he gives me a single nod. “Once.”
Why don’t I like the sound of that? I roll my shoulders, trying to loosen the stress winding my muscles up tight, when Zane sidles up beside me with a concerned look on his face. “Wait, so we’re going to Shadowmoor itself, right? Not the outpost.”
“Right.”
“Well…” He glances at Raven for a second, almost like he’s considering his words, before he turns back to me. “We’re not going to get some random ass tattoos on our temples the second we step foot there, are we?”
I stare at him like he’s grown a second head, unsure how to even answer him, when Raven’s giggle reaches my ears.
“Only you would think of that, Zane,” she murmurs, shaking her head as she nears us. “But to answer your question, no. I don’t think that’s how it works. You’re usually marked when your powers haven’t come to fruition yet. That’s why my mother never had it.”
He nods a few times, taking in her words before a smile spreads across his face. “Good. Let’s go then,” he declares, not wasting a moment more as he steps through the gateway, leaving the rest of us to rush after him.
I don’t know what I really expect to find on the other side, but it’s like stepping into the shadows of Hell. The sun that peered through the windows seconds ago is gone, only a dull sheen casting from the sky above, but there’s no telling where the light is coming from.
It’s hazy, a flicker of darkness on even blacker surfaces. Blinking, I take real stock of where we are and pinpoint the trees that rustle around us. Not a single green leaf sprouts from their branches, making the place look even more harrowing. Yet there are crisp leaves scattered along the ground.
This obviously isn’t from my vision, but it’s not like I was expecting to rock up in the middle of the exact room that has been overpowering my mind.
“What, exactly, is it we’re looking for?” Brax asks as he closes the gateway, and everyone looks at me expectantly.
Scrubbing the back of my neck, I take a second to try and describe the kind of place I’m looking for. “It’s dark, windowless, and I occasionally get the stench of blood wafting in my nose.” Creed, Brax, and Zane all look at me with blank expressions while Raven taps at her lip in thought.
“I think I might know where you mean. Follow me,” she breathes, taking off through the woods and leaving us to catch up. She’s wearing a jacket I don’t remember seeing earlier and she tightens it around her waist as she takes cautious steps. Like she knows exactly where to step in order to not cause a disturbance.
It’s eerie, seeing her right now, like something has shifted and she’s right back to being the girl who arrived at Silvercrest, not the one who was standing in our house moments ago.
“Is it like this all the time?” Zane asks as we all finally fall into step with her, and her brows crinkle.
“Like what?”
“So… dark?”
Raven shrugs, but there’s a stiffness to her shoulders now. “Pretty much.”
“I can barely see shit,” I add, ducking just before I smack into a low-hanging branch.
“When you grow up in these surroundings, your ability to see in the dark naturally increases.” Raven’s words make me pause as I try to imagine what this was like for her. If this is how dark the days are, what are the nights like?
A break in the tree line comes into view but I can’t see what stands beyond it. Not that it matters, though, because she turns at the last second and comes to a stop by a large tree. Her fingers skim over the bark, the hint of a memory flickering through her eyes, but I don’t get to question her about it before the tree trunk transforms into a door.
She steps through the opening like she’s done it a thousand times before and it makes my heart clench for her. Not with pity. Fuck, no. She doesn’t deserve that. It is in awe of her and everything she has survived so far.
Following her inside, we come into a long, dark corridor. “I doubt anyone is here right now. The pits start later, but it’s best we keep to the walls anyway.”
I nod, keeping a step behind her as she presses her back against the stone walls.
“What are the pits?” Brax asks, not quite able to press into the sides with his wider shoulders and sheer lack of care.
Raven glances back over her shoulder with an almost solemn sigh. “The pits are where the strongest fight for bragging rights and a stack of cash.”
