Page 29 of Queen of the Crimson Throne (Queen of Blood and Stardust #2)

29

LUCIANA

I stared at the opening in the stones where there once was a wall. A wall Luka had sat against holding a limp Lennox in his arms as I healed her.

But no, my eyes were not deceiving me, there was magic in these tunnels that revealed the opening.

“Whoa,” Kara breathed. “Looks like your research was correct.

The research hadn’t been detailed about the trials we’d have to face to get to the center of the labyrinth, to Astria’s chamber, but I hadn’t been anticipating a fight against the beasts to be part of it. Kara looked relieved at the opening, but I was certain this was not the end of our trials. All of the texts I found recorded there were several trials we would have to face. We found the cave and fought off the beasts, but there would likely be one more task for us to complete before we would be able to leave with the spellbook.

“We still need to be careful,” I told the group. “There will likely be more traps for us to avoid.”

“Luka and I should go first,” Lennox offered. I was ready to argue against her and by the looks of it, Luka was too. Lennox had been knocked unconscious by beasts after all, but she summoned a ball of fire to her palm before I could say a word. “You’ll need us to light the way.”

“Fine.” I sighed, looking at Luka. “But you stay by her side.” I shifted my attention to Lennox. “You just underwent major healing, there’s no way to know if your body is back to normal yet.”

She opened her mouth to argue but closed it. “Fine,” she conceded.

Her and the vampire prince turned toward the opening, Luka’s hand resting on the small of her back as he led her through, and Kara and I followed behind.

We entered the dark chamber, the only light coming from Lennox and Luka’s flames.

“There are torches.” Kara’s voice pierced through the darkness as she approached the outer wall, brushing her fingers over the wooden handles. “Lennox, can you light them?”

Lennox shifted her fingers, but Luka stopped her with a hand on hers. She glared at him, but he gave her a soft smile. “Let me, we don’t know if you need to save your energy.”

Lennox sighed deeply, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine.”

I rolled my eyes at the two of them, shifting my attention back to the room as Luka’s magic lit the torches lining the chamber.

The space looked eerily like a tomb. The chamber wasn’t circular like I had first thought, but more of an octagon, with the room coming into points at various junctions. Where we were standing was the highest point of the room. Steep stairs made of a deep red stone led into a bowl, where a dais sat at the center, where Astria and Hecate had conducted the ritual to return Astria to the sky, I assumed.

Drawings and words in an ancient language were painted and etched into the walls. I ran my fingers over the indentations.

“What language is this?” Lennox asked.

“It’s the ancient words of the witches,” I breathed. “Witches used it initially after their creation to keep their stories to themselves. It died out after a hundred years or so.” I read about the ancient language many times. It was the witch’s attempt to keep their stories and spells a secret.

“Can you read it?” Kara looked over my shoulder.

I shook my head. “Not all of it. I recognize some of the markings, but I never tried to learn the language in its entirety.” Part of the reason why it died out was because the language had no true key. Every story had its interpretations and new words had to be created. There became too many inconsistencies across covens for the language to be worth upkeeping.

I ran my fingers over the marks, scanning for one I did know, “This one stands for the Goddess.” The symbol in the middle resembled a woman’s form, with a small waist and full hips and three stars dancing above her head with a crescent moon on each of her sides. I ran my fingers over another symbol of the seven-pointed star appearing as it was exploding. “This one is for Hecate.” I didn’t recognize any of the other symbols. If only I had thought to bring a text with me. But none of my research had said anything about having to read or decode messages in the ancient language. Or anything about the ancient language at all.

“I wonder if it’s the story of Hecate and the goddess?” Kara offered.

I moved from the walls, turning my attention back to the group.

“Shall we?” Luka gestured toward the stairs.

“I suppose,” Lennox, Kara, and I responded in unison.

One by one we filed down the steep red stairs toward the bottom. Making our way towards the large stone structure in the center. It was on a raised dais, the same markings from the top of the chamber were etched into the outside of the square structure, but these etchings had colors added to them. Even in their old age, the vibrant purples and blues remained as they told a story we were unable to comprehend. Stars above did I wish I could decode it. I tried to etch the markings into my mind so I could try to decipher them later.

“Do you think the book is in here?” Luka assessed the stone structure.

“Maybe.” I moved my fingers over the markings on the stones. I could feel a pulse of magic emulating from them. A small tug, like I had in the tunnels that guided us here. But this tug, this pull, was stronger. The sensation in the tunnels had come from my gut, this one tugged at my heart, like there was a delicate string wrapped around my heart urging me forward.

I brushed my fingers over the marking of Hecate carved into the stones.

“Luce?” Lennox questioned hesitantly. “What is it?”

“It’s Hecate’s magic. It’s here.” The pull in my chest tightened in response, as if to say, yes it is her magic. “The book is in here.”

“How do we get it out?” Kara asked. They all turned their attention to me as I pulled a dagger from my side. “According to my research, we need to deactivate the spell encapsulating the book using blood from Hecate’s bloodline. She sealed the spellbook with her blood, like a form of Ichor magic before it even existed, to ensure the other half of the book wouldn’t get into the wrong hands. The spell ensures only descendants of her bloodline can access it.”

“Witches are rather paranoid aren’t they,” Luka commented.

I pricked my finger with the tip of my dagger. “You have no idea.” I let the blood from my finger drip onto the top of the stone structure. It hissed as it hit the stone, the red liquid pooling in the carvings, but nothing happened.

We all waited with bated breath, but still, nothing happened.

“Were there any other directions?” Kara asked hopefully.

I shook my head. “No, I never found any specific details as to how to deactivate the spell.” I balled my hands into fists. “Fuck!” I slammed a fist on the makeshift altar .

“Maybe I should try my blood?” Lennox offered.

“Do you think that would work?” Kara’s eyes were wide. If only I could have a smidgen of her optimism.

“It’s worth a try.” Lennox pricked her finger with the dagger, letting the blood drop onto the stone next to mine. Still, nothing happened.

“Well Kara might as well try.” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. I racked my brain, reminding myself of everything I read last night as Kara dripped her blood onto the stones. I had no intention of leaving the cave without the other half of the book.

The stone hissed as Kara’s blood dropped. The three drops of blood moved across the surface, smoke rising as the blood pulled together in a perfect drop. The dot moved precisely through the etchings in the stones like water moving through a stream before it disappeared into the stones.

The chamber around us shook. I placed a hand on the wall to steady myself, but the shaking stopped as quickly as it started. I looked up to find Luka with his arm around Lennox’s waist, holding her up as she thanked him softly.

He gave her a soft smile before letting her go.

Small fissures worked their way through the stone covering the top of the pillar. Each one branched off into another until the entire top was covered in cracks and the top dissolved in a puff of dust.

I coughed as the dust invaded my throat and blinked back the tears that burned in my eyes. When the dust finally cleared, we all leaned over the structure. A large leather-bound book, identical to the one in my pack, sat in the center of the now open altar.

“Witches tits.” I breathed. “It’s the other half of the book. I can’t believe we found it.”

I reached inside the hole and picked up the book. It was heavy in my hands, but it felt almost identical to the one I already possessed. Except this half reeked of power, power so thick it made my head dizzy.

“Stars above.” Kara marveled as I held up the book for us all to admire. I pulled the other half of the book from my bag, I wanted to see them side by side. See if something happened when we combined them.

But then the howling began.