Page 27 of Queen of the Crimson Throne (Queen of Blood and Stardust #2)

27

LENNOX

“Okay, me, Lennox, and Kara are going to go in and find the book, while you guys stay out here,” Luce directed as she rose to standing.

“Fuck that.” I met Luka’s gaze. “Do you think I’m going to let you go in there while I stay out here and hope and pray to the Goddess you don’t get attacked by some magical monster?”

He looked over at Luce. “There is no way I’m staying out here.”

“I agree with him, Lucy,” Nico added.

Luce rolled her eyes. “I figured you guys might throw a fit. Now I have a plan b, but I don’t think you’re going to like it either.”

“Let’s hear it,” Declan said.

“I know a spell that can connect us temporarily. For a short period of time, we’ll be able to communicate mind to mind.”

My brows rose. I had never heard of this sort of spell, which meant— “but it uses Ichor Magic, doesn’t it.”

“Well of course,” Luce answered. “What? It’s one little spell and it will solve our problem.” She looked at Luka. “I figured he wouldn’t let you out of his sight.”

“Fine.” I sighed, she was right. “Tell us what we need to do. ”

“Are you sure about this?” Luka eyed me questioningly.

“Luce uses this magic all the time, I’m sure it will be fine.”

“But do you want to do it? I like the idea of being able to communicate with you while you’re in there, but don’t do this for me. I won’t let you put yourself at risk for my ease of mind.”

Ichor Magic had so many unknowns, but it was true. Luce used it all the time and it was created by Hecate… One spell should be fine. I had no intention of making the use of Ichor Magic a frequent occurrence, but I wasn’t crazy about the idea of him being out here with those creatures without a way to communicate.

“I want to do it. Being able to communicate with you while we’re in there will be helpful.”

“Okay.” He turned back to Luce. “Tell us what we need to do.”

“We will each partner up, Declan and Kara, me and Nico, and you two, obviously ,” she muttered under her breath. I rolled my eyes, sass ran from the Ambrose side of the family after all.

We all listened intently as Luce rattled off the instructions. They were oddly simple for a forbidden form of magic.

“Sounds easy enough,” Nico muttered after Luce was finished. He drew his dagger from his hip and shifted toward Luce.

Luka took my hand in his, turning it over so my palm was facing up. “You ready?” I winced as he drew his dagger across my palm, the blade cool against my skin. He repeated the motion with his own hand before we pressed our palms together, our blood mingling before releasing them.

I took out the stardust from my pocket Luce gave me, removing the cork from the vial with my teeth before spitting it onto the ground. I sprinkled the luminescent substance over our palms to mix with our blood.

“Okay, now we press them back together.” I looked beside us, finding Luce, Nico, Declan, and Kara repeating the same actions .

Luka took my hand in his again, interlocking our fingers.

“Ready when you are, Sweetheart.” I swallowed, focusing on the feeling of the sticky blood marring our palms instead of the feeling of his hand in mine.

I closed my eyes, reciting the spell as Luce had instructed. My chest tightened to an almost painful pressure, my head spun as the pressure traveled to my head.

I squeezed my eyes tighter, trying to ease the pain and pressure as it continued to mount. Luce said the sensation of Ichor Magic was intense, but this—this was more than intense—it was painful .

I gritted my teeth as the magic made its way through me.

“Breathe,” Luka reminded me, his thumb brushing over the back of my hand.

“I can’t—” I gritted. My legs shook from the intensity of the unusual form of magic working its way through my body.

“Yes. You can.” I jumped at the feel of Luka’s cool hand at my neck. His thumb brushed a line behind my ear, making me shiver despite the intense heat of the magic invading my body.

He pressed his forehead against my own. Our intertwined hands now pressed against our chests. I could feel the erratic beats of both of our hearts between us.

“Breathe Lennox, breathe .” His breath was warm against my skin. “Breathe.”

I tried, my breaths were still coming in short pants, but I focused on his voice, on where his skin touched mine until my breaths were in sync with his as I continued to mutter the spell once again.

You’re okay.

“Thanks to you.”

“Wait, you heard that?” Luka took a step back, his brows pinching as he looked me over.

I opened my eyes. “You didn’t say that out loud?”

No. His mouth didn’t move, but his voice rang clear in my mind .

“Holy shit.”

Can you hear me? I asked in my mind.

Yes.

Well, this is freaky. As if you weren’t already in my head enough .

Luka smirked. Careful, Sweetheart .

“You guys ready?” Luce interrupted, pulling us from our silent conversation.

“As ready as we can be,” Kara responded.

Be safe, Lennox.

I will. I told him in response before disappearing into the mouth of the cave.

I brought a ball of flames to my palm, illuminating our path into the labyrinth. “If you each want, you can use my flames to create your own.”

Kara and Luce paused, each of them closing their eyes and opening their palms as embers from my fire drifted toward each of them.

“I forget how cool this is.” Kara mussed as she shifted her palm, the flames moving with it.

I flipped my braid over my shoulder. “Flames are the most badass element.”

Kara and Luce both scoffed but said nothing more. They knew better than to argue with me about my flames.

We continued down a single path, until we came to a crossing where one path diverged into three.

“Which one do you think it is?” Luce put up a hand to silence Kara and closed her eyes. I could feel Luce’s magic surrounding me and curving around the wall of the cave.

She opened her eyes. “That way.” She pointed to the path farthest to the right.

Neither of us questioned her, following Luce as we moved along the path to the right. At every intersection we came to, we followed Luce’s direction as she felt for the book.

Is everything going okay? I jumped slightly at the sound of Luka’s voice in my head .

Yeah. We’re still making our way through the labyrinth. Luce has a good feel for where we need to go.

Good. He responded.

Is there anything interesting on your end?

He chuckled. I couldn’t believe I could hear his laugh through this spell. No. Nico tried to get us to play a game. Declan and I quickly shut him down. We decided we didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to us if we could help it.

I’m sure he took it well, too.

He’s currently sitting on a rock pouting.

I laughed. If only I could send images through this bond.

If only.

I could picture it though—Nico sitting on a rock pouting with his chin rested on his fist like a child, his silver hair falling across his dark face.

Luce came to a halt again as we came to a crossroads, I mentally shut off my connection to Luka and focused my attention back on my cousin. This crossing had three different entrances. Luce stood assessing all three for far longer than the previous times.

“Do you know which path we need to go on?” Kara pressed.

Luce shook her head. “I can’t feel anything.” Her shoulders slumped.

I moved, intertwining my hand with hers, closing my eyes, seeing if I could sense anything—or help her sense anything. Not that I had any clue what I was looking for.

I pushed out my magic, feeling for any connection to Hecate, Astria, the book, or anything .

I felt— nothing .

Luce let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t understand why I can’t feel anything. It’s like the sensation suddenly stopped.”

“Maybe it means we’re getting close,” Kara offered as she came in line with us.

“But still, I don’t understand. I’ve been able to feel everything up until now. ”

“Let’s try again,” Kara said calmly. “Let’s all try.”

We all grasped hands and tried again—still, I felt nothing.

“Do we just pick one?” I asked.

“I guess.” Luce sighed.

Luce closed her eyes again, I assumed to feel for anything to direct us in any direction.

She opened one eye. “Let’s go left?”

“Okay,” Kara and I said in unison. Any feeling was better than nothing.

We ventured down the path to the left—it appeared the same as all the rest. Although this path felt like it continued on forever—far longer than the other paths.

“Did we chose the wrong path?” Kara asked finally.

“I don’t know. I?—”

The cave shook around us. I braced myself on the wall to keep myself standing as the ceiling shook. Small rocks and dust fell from above. I moved to a crouch, covering my head with my arms as I looked at Luce and Kara, finding them doing the same.

Visions of the room shaking around me in the palace flashed before me. Of the ground shaking beneath me in the grand hall as my city was destroyed. My throat felt like it was closing—I couldn’t get enough oxygen to my lungs as pressure clamped on my chest.

This wasn’t happening. Not again.

Lennox . Luka’s voice was laced with panic as it ripped into my mind. Lennox, what’s happening?

There’s a land tremor in the tunnels.

Are you okay?

Yes, no. I’m—I—I can’t stop thinking about the last time the ground beneath me shook.

He was silent for several moments. Did something happen at the mouth of the cave as well.

Are you all okay? His voice finally came through again.

Yes. It stopped now. It had. The rumbling had stopped. A few small stones still fell from the ceiling and dust clouded my vision, but the shaking had ceased.

Good. Luka’s voice came through my mind again. Put one hand on your chest and one on your stomach, and take five deep breaths. Focus on the feeling of your stomach moving as you breathe. If your heart isn’t back to breathing regularly after the five breaths take five more.

Okay.

Do you want me to count for you?

No, I can do it. I counted as I breathed, I took five breaths and five more while Luka waited.

How are you feeling? He asked after several minutes.

Better . My heart was almost back to normal. I can breathe freely again.

Good. He paused. Remember, you are in control of your body.

Thank you. I took another deep breath. Are you still okay out there?

Yeah, we got a little bit of the tremor, but not much. But I hope it doesn’t wake anything.

I hadn’t thought of that. I looked around for Kara and Luce, the dust was still thick around us, I coughed as I stood, my eyes burned against the dust. I summoned a ball of flames to my palm, the previous one was extinguished in the tremor, I assumed Luce and Kara’s had been too.

“Kara? Luce?” Dust invaded my lungs as I spoke.

“Yeah. I’m here.” Kara’s voice rang through the tunnel.

“Me too,” Luce responded. The pressure on my chest loosened as they came into view.

“What the fuck was that?” Luce asked.

“I don’t know I?—”

The ground shook again, but it was different this time. Smaller. It came from the part of the cave we had come from, not above. The sound shifted, it was no longer a rumbling. It sounded like—footsteps.

There were footsteps shuffling on the hard floor.

Luka ?

Yeah.

Are you guys still at the mouth of the cave?

Yeah, why?

We have company .

“Kara, Luce. We’re not alone.” They turned and looked down the path where the sound was coming from.

The whine of my sword reverberated in the empty cavern as I drew it to my side, my magic wrapping around the blade.

“Do we wait or do we run?” Luce removed her staff from where it rested across her back.

A chorus of roars sounded, rumbling throughout the cave—they were getting closer.

“Run,” I answered without hesitation.

We ran, taking off in the opposite direction of the creatures, trying to get as much distance between us and them as possible. We kept running, the flame in my palm lighting the way a few feet at a time through the dusty tunnel.

“Fuck.” I screeched to a halt as the path before us ended, leaving us panting in front of a cement wall.

Luce slammed her fist against the wall. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” She screamed.

What’s going on? Luka’s concerned voice pierced through my mind once again.

We were running from the creatures that appeared, but now we’ve come to a dead end. I looked toward the dark path we had come from. They will catch up to us any moment.

What kind of creatures?

Something that growls.

Astria’s tits. Let me know if you want us to come and help. I don’t doubt you all can handle them, but ? —

Luka? Silence rang through my mind.

Luka? I asked again. Luka!

It looks like we will have our hands full out here as well. The quake did wake some monsters after all.

Before I could reply, the monsters rounded the corner. Six monsters—there were six of them. Their bodies were massive and they each had three heads, each bearing a resemblance to a different creature. What in the Goddess name kind of magic created these mutations?

I ran towards the first creature. My sword cut through one of its heads, the one resembling a boar with its massive curved horns protruding from its rectangular snout. The creature’s blood sprayed. I couldn’t tell what color it was in the dim light, but it didn’t look red and the smell was foul. Certainly not normal blood.

I tried for a second head, but the creature snapped its jaws, its long snake-like fangs scraping my arm, clear through the fabric of my leathers. I hissed and took a step back. I clenched my jaw against the force of the blow as my sword thrust through the monster’s body, the cut on my arm burning.

The two remaining heads let out a shriek before its body collapsed onto the floor in a heap. I didn’t spare them a second glance before I bounded towards two more monsters that entered the dead end, shooting out with my flames in one hand and my sword in the other.

The creature hissed as it erupted in a ball of flames. My sword found home in the other creatures leg, it limped slightly as it came towards me again, its three heads growling at me as slobber—or poison—dripped from their maws.

I grabbed the daggers from my side and flung them, one after another toward the beast, but it didn’t slow them.

It ran toward me, its growl shaking the tunnel as I speared my sword through one of the skulls as another one dipped low for my leg.

I screamed as its teeth pierced through my leathers into my thigh. Holy stars . I clenched my teeth as the creature tightened its hold, its teeth puncturing through flesh and bone. I removed my sword from the creature with all the strength I could muster.

Lennox. Are you okay? Luka’s concerned voice pierced through my mind. How strong was this fucking bond ?

Fine . I bit out. Only a little scratch . I panted.

I moved through the pain, slicing my sword up through the creature’s chest. It removed its grip from my leg and I screamed, stumbling back, my sword ripping from my grasp as the creature reared back and growled as it assessed me.

Fuck.

I could feel the blood gushing from the wound on my leg. My blood soaked through my leathers and dripped down my body. The ground beneath my feet was slippery from it. I took a deep breath and blocked out the pain.

Later.

The creature regained its posture and came barreling towards me again with my sword still embedded in its chest and one head hanging lifeless at its side.

I kicked out with my non-injured leg, forcing it back a step as I stumbled, my injury screamed under the pressure, but I clenched my teeth and tried again to block it out. Wounds would heal, but I had to make it out of here alive.

I closed my hand around the dagger strapped to my other side but turned at the flash of movement at my back.

I wasn’t fast enough. The creature I had left in flames had recovered. Its charred body was still quick as it scraped its claws down my back.

I screamed, my dagger clamoring to the floor.

Lennox? Lennox, are you okay?

I stumbled for my dagger, my back screaming as I stood. The creature with my sword still embedded in its chest swiped for me with its barbed tail, hitting me in the chest and slamming me against the wall of the cave as its barbs pierced through my leathers. I tried to take a step, but the creature lashed out with its tail again. This time my head slammed against the stone wall of the tunnel.

Lennox.

Stars danced in my vision. I tried to blink them away, trying to stay standing as the world became blurry around me. I could still hear Kara and Luce fighting around me.

The tail came again. My entire body slammed against the wall. I screamed as the raw flesh of my back scraped against the wall as I slid to the floor.

I tried to stand—the hilt of my dagger bit into my palm as I gripped it tighter.

I need to stand.

I needed— Lennox.

That voice. I needed to get to that voice.

Lennox!

LENNOX!

The voice rang in my mind as my eyelids slid closed and I let the darkness seep in.