Page 168 of Cursed Evermore

This was the second enchanted melody I'd heard today. Somehow, I felt that was no coincidence.

I held out my hand, and the Nyzith strands slid over my palms, soothing away the remnants of the ache I'd previously felt.

They glided away from us, gathering in a mass before they floated toward the door. The doors opened by themselves, allowing the strands to float out into the hallway. We followed them, leaving Garrick and Arielle behind, too stunned by what they couldn't see to immediately react.

The melody rose, growing louder, but not overbearing and daunting. It was still sweet. Still soothing. Still breathing every healing note into my soul.

I looked at Wolfe. He was already staring at me, watching how I engaged with the Nyzith strands.

“You can hear them, too, right?” I asked quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever this was we were seeing. I also didn't want to seem crazy if only I could hear the song.

But Wolfe nodded, putting my worries to rest. “I hear them.”

At that confirmation, the Nyzith strands shot up to the high beams of the ceiling and soared down the hallway.

Suddenly, I remembered what Mother told me in that dream. “My mother said to follow them.”

Wolfe's gaze shot to me. “What?”

“When the Ruskiel dragged me into the sea, the impact knocked me out, and I dreamt about my mother. She told me I should follow them, and they'd lead me to my destiny.” That's what she'd said.

“Come.” Wolfe took my hand without another question, and we ran to catch up with them.

In a swarm, the Nyzith strands rode the hallway, then out they flew through another set of doors that led outside.

We followed, running out onto the balcony. There, the Nyzith strands pulsed in looping spirals, like they were pointing,calling.

They hovered over the distant cliffs, over the caves etched into the shoreline like old scars. The same caves where the dragons lived.

The same place I'd felt the pull not even an hour ago.

That same pull gripped my insides now, cold and sharp, setting every nerve alight.

“The dragon caves,” I whispered. “They want us to go there.”

Wolfe didn't answer. He just kept staring at the hovering strands.

Until they vanished. Gone in a blink, taking their song with them.

Wolfe and I looked at each other. And I knew whatever was waiting in those caves wasn't just calling to me. It wassummoninghim, too.

“Why would they want us to go to the caves?” I searched his eyes for the answer.

“I… I don't know.” His voice was low and broken, tainted by defeat.

And that defeat... it wasn't just about the caves.

It was about everything.

The spell.

The ring.

The bond between us.

And whatever came next.

Chapter 32