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Bony ivory fingers grabbed her calf; the touch sent a chill through her. She kicked and tried to use the momentum to surge upward. She trembled as she dislodged the appendage, and she watched in muted silence as the hand dissolved into thousands of small spiders. They crawled all over her, their tiny little legs sticking into her like pinpricks as they danced along her skin. She tried to shut her mouth and cover her nose, but it was too late. They invaded her, penetrating every part of her as she shook in agony. The spiders were in her mouth, on her tongue, in her ears, clawing at her eyes, down her throat. They scratched and burrowed into her just like the bracelet. Rieka tried to dislodge them, her skin burning as blood dripped from her nails.

It seemed like an eternity, but as quickly as they’d appeared, the spiders disappeared. Leaving her in blessed silence.

Above her, just out of her reach, there was light beneath the surface—two or three more kicks, and she would break through and take her first real breath of air. Hope swelled within her.

They dragged Rieka down into the abyss.

No. No. No.

The surface was getting further away.

The hands were stronger this time, as they tried to claw their way onto her body, pulling her down with them. The voices continued to rise to an uneven crescendo, a cacophony of noises that further disoriented her.

The fire in her lungs was all-encompassing as she struggled against the weight of the liquid and the hands. But it was getting so much harder.

Then it was gone.

Rieka shuddered, bending over as she took in a deep breath. She was on solid ground. Her clothes and hair were saturated, and she was covered in bloody gouges. In the background, the sound of a blade scraping against the stone echoed loudly. The air smelled like smoke and ash.

She doubled over, burning from the inside out. The pain she had experienced before was nothing, but a speck compared to how it raged through her now.

“Can you feel it? Your Atlantean brought the pendant with him.” Lucien knelt next to her. He reached out and patted Rieka on the head. A poor attempt to placate her.

The blood of queens and monsters ran through her veins.

It was Lilian’s voice, and it was growing stronger each time she heard it.

“You have accomplished what no other Atlantean could.” A haughty smile spread across Lucien’s face; his eyes appeared maniacal in the dim light. “You have awoken the O’hurani and set into motion the events Vandana tried to stop. You are useful.”

She lay on the cool ground, trying to make sense of what was happening as another part of her slowly fractured into smaller pieces. Rieka wiped the tears and looked around, but Lucien was gone.

The O’hurani was awake because of her. She didn’t want to believe it, but lying to herself would not change the fact. Her quest to understand her mother may have just damned them all.

It took her a moment to register that the hum running through her wasn’t the bracelet. It was the pendant calling for her. Like a beacon.

Chapter 48

Thewayfarerblendedintothe shadows as he lost himself in the darkness’s caress. He had shed his skin for the last time. Idris had ceased to exist centuries before. He no longer had to pretend to be something he had never been.

It is time.

She slithered into his mind, invading all his thoughts. It was the voice of a long-lost lover, intoxicating but edged with the promise of pain.

An invisible hand caressed his face; talons pierced his skin. He licked his lips, tasting blood.

The O’hurani desires retribution.

Chapter 49

Thestonewallinfront of Dante moved, instantly rearranging the room. Another time he would have admired the masterfulness of the design and the foresight. Today he wanted to murder the mastermind.

“Is anyone else getting annoyed by the puppet master?” Talik jumped back as a wall sprung up from underneath him. “This is fucking insane.”

Dante moved to the left, narrowly missing the gaping hole that had just appeared. Dust particles exploded as the new wall settled into place. He pushed at it, trying to see if it would move. It didn’t budge.

The numbness that had been so much a part of him was slowly dissipating, replaced by emotions that made him want to fall to his knees—fear, rage, and love. The intensity threatened to overwhelm him. For the first time in his life, he could taste the cold tendrils of fear wrapping around him.

Laughter echoed through the tunnel.