Page 178 of Where Darkness Falls

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I also have to retrieve it before Laisren and Riordan become that hideous spider’s midnight snack.

In. Out.

My head swims as the staircase suddenly feels as if it’s tilting and the pounding in my chest is too loud.

In—

Two strong hands take hold of my shoulders, shaking me once. “Maeva, stop!” Emyr snaps.

I open my eyes to find my starlight wrapping itself around us. Emyr grimaces as the contact stings him. However, the pain doesn’t deterhim from holding onto me. I quickly pull the slivers of starlight back into myself, only allowing the red lights to illuminate the space. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I started panicking because I have no bloody clue where to find the Crógemma, and we’re all going to die because of me.”

“Hey, everything’s going to be okay,” Emyr coos. “We’ll find it together. The more level headed we remain, the quicker we’ll be out of this mess.” He offers me his hands and I take them without hesitation. Just the contact of his skin against mine is soothing. “Better?” he asks.

“Yes,” I sigh.

“Good,” he says with a nod. “Now, I need you to think of any clues my father might have given you as to the location of this artifact.”

As quickly as I’d calmed down, panic seizes my chest once more. “But what if I can’t figure it out in time?” I whisper.

“You will,” he replies. His features gleam with such confidence in my abilities that it’s hard for me not to believe that he truly means it. So I sigh, clearing my mind in order to find any correlation in the conversations I’ve had over the last several months.

Out of all the interactions I’ve had with the king, I don’t remember him mentioning where to find it other than in the Abyss. So I backtrack even further as I comb through every memory from the moment I left Aurelius. Nothing unusual sticks out until my mind snags on the Basilisk in Delerauh.

“I’ll ssssee you again, Chossssen Daughter.”

“We have to find the Basilisk,” I say. “He said in Delerauh that he’d see me again soon. Do you think he knows where it is?”

Emyr pulls Scrisis from its sheath. “Perhaps,” Emyr responds. “It’s at least a start. Tiernan always mentioned that the Basilisk resides at the bottom of the Abyss in some sort of cave.”

“Let’s go,” I say. “There’s no time to waste.”

We race down the steps that are, thankfully, not as slick as the previous flights. However, despite the easier descent, we are dodging andweaving out of the reach of thrashing limbs in every size and shape. Many of the beings here contain the blood-red eyes of Domhnall. I truly believed nothing could be more vile or hideous than him. However, I was entirely wrong. Some beings have rotting flesh, while others miss limbs or body parts. Others contain rows of jagged teeth or their mouths are sewn shut. The further we descend, the more gruesome the creatures become, shouting obscenities while attempting to name our darkest fears.

“What a lonely girl you are,” one calls out.

“Does she refuse to love you, boy?” another hisses.

“No one will choose you. You’re destined to be alone.”

“Don’t listen to them,” Emyr calls from behind me. “If you give them the power of your fear, it enables them to feast on you.”

How lovely.

For the remainder of our race, I think of any and every happy memory that I have in order to keep my mind from wandering to those darkest recesses where my fears lie. I refuse to become bait for such wickedness.

As one of the abominations taunts us, the glowing lights flicker faintly. We need to find the Basilisk quickly, and pray that he’s the right answer.

As we reach the bottom of the stairs, there’s a small island made from bones across the way, and a tunnel leading to who knows where.

That must be where the Basilisk sleeps.

I step down only to have Emyr firmly yanking me back. “Maeva, wait!” he yells. “That’s not a landing.”

My breath hitches as I look down to find that I almost stepped off into a large body of water. However, it’s what I see below the surface that unsettles me. A large, snake-like creature is swimming up from the depths toward us. Emyr pulls me back up several steps just as the enormous Basilisk’s head emerges from the water. Its fangs glisten in the slowly waning light, giving them the appearance of dripping blood. Even in Delerauh, this creature wasn’t quite this fearsome. Perhaps being close to its source allows it to become more vile.

“You’ve returned, Chosssen Daughter,” it hisses. “To what do I owe thisss pleassssure?