Page 117 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

Cyrus

“T his had better be the last time I am digging through piles of rock and body parts,” Cyrus muttered, tossing aside another chunk of stone. He couldn’t believe he actually wished Luan was here to take care of this for them.

“In theory, if this works, it should be,” Cassius answered, chucking his own piece of debris to the side.

They had been beneath the Fellowship for an hour now, Hazel having used some enchantment to guide her to where this last ring supposedly was. At least the Sorceress had been right about that. It was here. If this worked anyway.

“So if we find it here, then what?” Cyrus asked.

“It is here,” Hazel said from where she was hauling away as much rubble as they were. “Once found, it will be up to the queen what she desires to do with it.”

“Destroy it,” Cassius said, digging out another large piece of debris.

He hadn’t said much to his mother. He’d be cordial and polite because that’s who Cassius was, but he only spoke to her when needed.

And the High Witch was respectful of that, even if Cyrus did catch her eyes flicking to her son every so often.

“I will help her do so if that is her wish,” Hazel answered.

“Is there a reason she wouldn’t want to destroy it?” Cyrus asked.

“All options should be evaluated when dealing with something of such great power,” Hazel replied. “The portal keys were made so that such magic would not be taken from existence.”

“But there are more of them,” Cassius interrupted. “Destroying one wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

“Perhaps not this one,” Hazel said.

Cassius and Cyrus both paused to look at her.

“Would it?” Cass asked. “Affect other worlds?”

“Everything we do has an effect somewhere down the line,” she answered. “A seemingly innocent action can change the course of history, for good or bad. I would imagine destroying something of great power will have a great impact.”

Cassius had stopped working, staring at his mother. Cyrus continued to haul away rock, trying to do so unnoticed to give them …whatever this was turning into.

“If Scarlett does not destroy it, it leaves an opening for Achaz to come to this world,” Cassius argued.

“Which is why it will be up to the queen to weigh the costs and make a choice,” Hazel answered.

“But if you had knowledge of those potential costs, you would share them. Right?” Cassius pushed.

“I just did.”

Cyrus rolled a large hunk of rock out of the way, finally creating an opening big enough for them to squeeze through.

He hated to interrupt this sort-of bonding moment, but he also really wanted to get the fuck out of here.

He had no doubt Alaric knew they were here.

Nuri had known, which meant Alaric had. The Maraan Prince was likely waiting for them to find the ring for him, just like he’d waited for Scarlett to find the Avonleyan Keys.

“I think we can get in now,” Cyrus said, not waiting for them as he squeezed through the gap. He made it. Hazel had no problem. Cassius was a little broader than he was, but he made it through, too. Barely. But once Cassius was inside and looking around the room, his face paled a little.

“What’s wrong?” Cyrus asked. Hazel was already moving deeper into the room, but she paused and turned at the question.

Cassius cleared his throat, back straightening some. “Nothing. This was one of the Fellowship’s rooms for …extracting information. With everything in ruin, I didn’t realize this was the room we were digging into.”

“You spent a lot of time in here?” Hazel asked, studying her son intensely.

Cassius dragged a hand through his hair. “You could say that.”

But Cyrus was putting two and two together, sifting through the one memory he had of navigating these passages and the few things Scarlett and Cass had shared about their upbringing. “You weren’t always the one doing the extracting in this room, were you?”

“No,” Cassius answered, seeming to shake off the memories that had surged.

“When was the last time you were in this room, Cassius?” Hazel asked.

“Does that really matter right now?” Cass retorted.

“It does,” Hazel replied. “If this is the room where you received the injuries I healed, it would be why the ring is here. Likely where your blood was spilled.”

“How is that possible?” Cassius asked.

“The enchantment used is drawn to its creator. Or, in this case, the ancestor of its creator.”

“Then how did Alaric and his people miss it during their searching?” Cyrus asked.

Cassius still hadn’t moved further into the room, and Cyrus wanted to tell him to go back out. That he didn’t need to be in here, reliving memories. Some memories are better left buried deep. He knew that better than anyone.

“Descendants of the Witch Goddesses have more power,” Hazel said.

“Our wards are stronger. Our enchantments are more complex.” She crouched down, waving a hand over a section of the floor.

The dirt swirled away, revealing blood-stained stone.

“We have a few enhanced abilities we can tap into from time to time.”

She beckoned Cassius closer, and he moved to her side, lowering stiffly down beside her.

Hazel held up her hand, nodding at him to follow her instruction, and Cyrus watched as the High Witch guided Cass through the same movement she had just used.

She reached over, making subtle adjustments to his fingers, tilting his palm a little to the left.

When he waved his hand over the ground, the dirt didn’t swirl like it had for Hazel, but it did shift some, as if the floor vibrated beneath it.

“Good,” Hazel said with a nod. “With your mixed bloodline, it will take more concentration, but in time, you will become proficient.”

Cyrus silently came up behind them, studying the red stained floor they’d uncovered. “Was that little lesson supposed to do anything? Because I don’t see a ring anywhere.”

He’d become used to having Hazel around at times.

He’d been in the same room with her for days when Cassius had been healing.

They’d stayed at her home to kill time before they’d gone to collect Talwyn.

The cool glare the High Witch leveled him with reminded him exactly who she was, and he quickly dipped his chin. “My apologies, my Lady.”

“The enchantment that was done would have hidden the object if lost. The object would have tried to get back to the Witch who performed the spell. As such, it is here,” Hazel said.

“Wait,” Cassius cut in. “Scarlett always said the Avonleyan keys were always trying to find their way home.”

Hazel nodded, an almost smile forming. “Yes. This is the same concept. Magic always has its own agenda, guided by Chaos and Fate. That is why you are trained to control it rather than letting it control you.”

She pulled a vial from the pocket of her witchsuit.

Uncorking it, she poured the clear potion inside atop the blood.

Cyrus recognized the layout now. Knew this was where Cassius had been lying in a pool of his own blood.

Where Scarlett had been chained just out of reach.

Where Cyrus himself had said Cass wouldn’t make it.

The blood appeared to fizz for a few seconds before a red bubble rose up.

Cyrus’s lip curled in disgust. He knew it was Blood Magic and all, but that was taking it too far.

Hazel reached her fingers inside, and when she pulled them back, she indeed held a Semiria ring.

Eliné’s sapphire ring had been a crest with a golden owl above a flame, and Talwyn’s ring had been an emerald with a silver wolf howling to the moon.

This ring, however, was a blood red ruby with an obsidian snake coiled around a sun.

Hazel held it out to Cassius, dropping it into his open palm when he extended it to her. Cass picked up the ring, pushing back to his feet while he studied it. “This is what the Sorceress wants so badly?” he murmured.

Cyrus took it from him and slipped it into his pocket. “I guess so. Scarlett and I are working on it.”

Cassius sent him a dry look. “That never bodes well for anyone.”

Cyrus flipped him off before turning to the High Witch. “Any chance Cass can Travel us out? It’s not like we ever plan to come back here, so it doesn’t matter if we set off some wards.”

“I can hold them open long enough for Cassius to Travel us out,” Hazel agreed.

“Great,” Cyrus said, intertwining his fingers with Cass’s. “Let’s do that.”

It took a moment for Hazel to signal there was a tear in the wards, but the moment she did, Cyrus blinked.

And he was home.

He was godsdamn home .

They’d come to Solembra after getting the ring from Mikale, but after being gone for so long? Not knowing if he’d even make it back? He breathed it in like he had the first time. The mountains. The river.

No fucking sea.

Eliza appeared a few moments later, no doubt alerted by the wards that newcomers had just appeared inside the palace. They’d had their reunion. He was certain Eliza had even cried, though she would deny it until her last breath.

As she approached him now with Razik at her side, Cyrus dropped to a knee, bowing his head. “Princess,” he intoned with dramatic reverence.

“For fuck’s sake,” she muttered. “I cannot believe I actually missed you.”

“Where is the other royal pain in the ass?” Cyrus asked, getting back to his feet and stretching his arms over his head.

“They should be back soon. A group of them went to Avonleya. Rayner wanted to check in on Tula, and Cethin and Kailia needed to check on some matters of their own,” Eliza answered, folding her arms across her chest. “Did you get it?”

“Yep,” Cyrus answered, taking the ring from his pocket and tossing it to her. She caught it with one hand, holding it up to look at it in the light.

“To think Eliné had a piece of a portal key all this time,” she murmured.

“To think Talwyn had a piece of a portal key all this time,” Cyrus said.