Page 32 of The Gods We Defy (All Gods Must Die #2)

CHAPTER 32

O ne day. I have one day to search for the stone before the last trial begins. Kestral warned me to stay in the room. There was another attack on the iron wall. And with Asra, Cyra, and his best men in the hidden kingdoms, there was no one to protect it. Not with the kind of power Kestral can wield.

With complete confidence he told me to trust that Veles would find the stone. He warned me and then bargained, begged, and pleaded with me to stay in the room before he left, telling me to stay safe before he dragged himself away from me. I promised him I would stay and stare at the walls of his room.

But after an hour of worrying and stewing in my fears and doubts, I could no longer sit back and do nothing. Not when it could be me and Veles searching for the stone. There was only one hallway left. And if there are as many rooms as the first one, we could get through them faster with both of us, now that he actually knows what I’m looking for.

Heading down to the underground ruins, I quickly make it to the throne room and eventually find my way to the hall of mirrors and out into the place at the start of the three hallways.

I don’t see Veles on the way, but he may have been searching all night and needed a rest.

At least that’s what I tell myself as I head for the last hallway and walk down to find three doors on either side and one at the very end.

Hope slithers through me at the thought of finding it in one of these rooms and being at last free of Lord Cain and our deal. I still have to make it through the trials thanks to the little loophole of keeping us here, but I will be well and truly free after.

I approach the first door on my left, my heart racing as I open it. Only for it to drop when I spot similar shelves as the one from the middle hallway. I scan the room and the brick walls for a glint of shimmer just in case. But quickly realize there’s nothing here.

I move to the next room, my heart dropping further when I spot a replica of the room I was just in. I move to the third and find the same.

Heading straight across I search the three rooms on the right of the hall, my panic only growing as each one reveals more dirty broken shelves, a disintegrating bed, and desk.

Standing back out in the hall, I stare at the last door at the end and throw all my hopes into it.

It has to be here… It has to be.

I take a step forward and another and another. Until I’m standing in front of it with my hand outstretched to the handle.

Taking a minute, I inhale deeply… and release it slowly as I turn the handle and shove it open. Only to be met with a large circular room with framed portraits lining the wall.

My heart drops. My chest grows tight. It’s not here. It’s not in any of the hallways Brigid pointed out. But… Maybe that wasn’t her. The other mirror had darkness in it. Maybe it was also dark in its own way like the illusions. She could have led me here on purpose.

And if that’s the truth, then I’ve just wasted whatever time I had left.

I step into the room and move to the walls to check each portrait. For even the slightest of chance that I’m wrong. But every single inch of the plain rock wall is the same as every other part of these ruins. There’s not a sliver or glint of green stone.

I move back as my chest grows tighter with each step.

I’m going to die. Maybe not because of the trials but because of the deal I made. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

A loud wailing shriek yanks me out of my moment of pity, and I raise my head to find the images inside the frames moving. No, not the images, something within them.

My eyes widen as a clawed hand pushes through the dark canvas, followed by a body. Another and another wail sounds out and I glance around to find myself surrounded as long boney bodies covered in a thick black essence crawl and climb through the other images and out into the room.

I grab my sword and slash at the nearest one, making my way to the door. But just like the dark creatures, its body grows back almost instantly.

I raise my sword again when my Sidus light springs out of me by itself and pushes them away, unblocking my exit.

I sprint to the door, slamming it behind me before watching it for a moment as they bang and slam against it. Once I realize they can’t pass it, a sliver of relief passes through me. But I quickly make my way back down the hallway to the open area before fully relaxing.

“All chosen are to stay on the other side of Túr Rí near the arena for the last trial tomorrow,” Veles says as he steps down from the hall of mirrors with a narrowed look.

I wince at that look, and a stream of guilt rushes through me. But then his words seep in, and I realize my time here is officially up and I still haven’t found it. Even if I pass the final trial tomorrow, I’m dead.

“It’s not here,” I tell him and ignore the warning pain. “In any of these rooms.” A desolate feeling rushes though me, overshadowing the wicked headache forming. “I thought…”

Veles moves closer to me, his eyes softening. “You thought you could find it and go home straight after the trials to help?”

I nod. “But… the trial starts soon and I… I feel further away than ever from reaching it now.”

“Now that I know exactly what you’re looking for, I think I know where I can find it.”

My eyes find his and he glances around. “These ruins have shifted dozens of times over a span of centuries. Apart from the throne room, I have never seen the library or these hallways before.”

“They shift?” I ask and he nods.

“But a long time ago when I was just a kid, I came down here after I’d shifted and was attacked. My injuries were bad, but a green light drew me to it.”

My panic eases the more he talks, and I listen but then I freeze when I realize what he just said.

“I came to a room where the walls, floors, and ceiling were glinting and glowing with this dark green. It healed me.”

The room, he’s seen the room.

“You’ve seen it?” I ask with a wince, trying not to think of the green stone.

“I have.” He raises my chin. “Trust me. I’ll find it for you, Seren. You have my word.”

There’s complete confidence in his tone but my fears and worries start to overshadow it. What if the rooms shift again and he doesn’t find it? What if he finds it but too late.

“If… if you don’t?—”

He shakes his head, stopping me. “No. We’re not going there. You will survive this and the trials. There is no other option.”

I look at him for a moment, at the certainty and determination on his face, and nod.

We make our way upstairs and into the main building. Walking along one of the long corridors, we hear a commotion and head straight for it.

A group of servants are gathered around, mumbling and whispering.

“What’s going on here?” Veles asks and they step back with frightened expressions to reveal a body. A familiar body.

Sidus light wraps around him, slowly raising his body off the grounds. Seconds later it shoots up through the ceiling and disappears.

‘May the light guide you, the darkness lead you, and the night welcome you a safe passage home,’ I silently pray, hoping he finds some peace wherever he goes.

“Well…” Veles starts but doesn’t know what to say.

“He saved me,” I tell Veles, and he moves closer to wrap his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him.

It was Nevan that saved me after Oryn’s betrayal. He got me back to the main building, to a healer, and informed Asra and Kestral.

Kestral was already on his way here, sensing something was wrong through the bond, but he was too far away.

Nevan was the one who saved me. And now he’s dead.