Page 61 of The Spark that Ignites (Shattered Soul #1)

E mmery’s fingers numbed from Vesper’s firm grip, but she didn’t mind.

Extinguishing her flame in favour of bracing the wall, she begged herself not to peer into the descending darkness.

Each time she did a wave of nausea clawed up her throat and it was her turn to hold tighter.

The dampness of the crypt infested their bones as the steps and obnoxious ticking endlessly droned on.

If they didn’t reach the bottom soon, she would lose her damn mind.

Her feet barely fit the steps and Vesper ambled sideways, his heavy boots scuffing in the suffocating stairwell.

He lost his footing as one crumbled and spat a colourful curse as he caught himself.

“These stairs are bloody ridiculous. Were they made for children?” He glanced down at Emmery’s boots. “Or you, I suppose.”

She thwacked him on the shoulder. “Mind your mouth.”

He answered with a rumbling chuckle and no hint of remorse.

Winded and on edge from the relentless ticking, she breathed a sigh of relief as the stairs ended, and her feet met solid ground. But it was short lived as they peered into the dismally dark hallway. Emmery cupped her flame, easing the relentless gnaw in her gut.

Vesper ruffled her hair, taking the lead. “I guess it pays to be a living torch.”

She snorted, smoothing the strands. “How much time do you think we have?” Her legs trembled from the countless stairs. Extending her flame to the wall sconces, they licked to life in a brilliant gold. She sent a silent thank you to Briar.

“No clue.” The gold reflected in Vesper’s moonlit eyes. “And I don’t know about you but getting trapped down here would be the second worst thing to happen.”

Emmery frowned as her heart pounded with each tick. “What’s the first?”

“Not getting that bloody amulet.”

“I think your priorities are a bit skewed, Ves.”

His attention darted behind them. “Let’s hurry the fuck up and get out of this godsforsaken pit. It’s not just giving me the creeps, but inspiring future nightmares.”

“You took the words from my mouth.” Emmery traced the wall carvings depicting terrible stories of faceless creatures and shape shifting shadows. Atop each archway a man stood, accompanied by two lions like those on the Whispering Spring chalice. He watched—waiting eternally. It had to be Deimos.

At the end of the hall, a treasure trove hummed with magic. The ancient items rattled her bones in a strange, enchanted rhythm and they shimmied between the mountainous gold walls.

“How are we supposed to find the amulet?” Emmery whispered, coins tumbling to her feet. “We don’t have time to dig. Or be buried alive should this topple over.”

“It’s one of a kind. I doubt it’d be strewn amongst”—he gestured to the riches—“all this.”

A haggard wooden door with jagged claw marks waited at the room’s edge. Her stomach clenched as she recognized them as the same ones marring the trees in the Waking Wood. Emmery held her breath as Vesper turned the rusted handle and a vexed groan answered.

The room opened to a prolonged bridge, stagnant obsidian water bordering each side. Emmery lit the sconces, and they dodged suspicious tiles. She yanked Vesper aside as he nearly stumbled on one.

“Watch it. I don’t want to find out what those markings are,” she warned. Some were blood-red, others smudged black, but both prickled the back of her neck.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. Decoration maybe.

” Vesper waved her off, distracted by an eerily similar stained-glass window to Castle Dusk, though it served no purpose with not a lick of sunlight gracing the chamber.

Emmery cocked her head at the pictures. In this depiction, Deimos danced with Kahlia, rather than standing backs turned.

Which was the true story? Emmery supposed they would never know.

Glass pillars lined the window and inside were shiny things, jewellery, chalices, statues, books, and—

Oh gods, those were bones .

Vesper’s steps quickened and Emmery sprinted to keep pace, that damn ticking reverberating through her brain. She could barely think past it.

He stalked along the pillars, dragging his gloved hand across the invisible barrier. “This is it.” His voice was ravenous, fingers itching to retrieve the amulet. He stared at it like a man possessed, eyes glittering like luscious jewels. “Use your magic.”

Her stomach knotted as she surveyed the incongruous items locked away by the gods.

Maybe this was a mistake. If they were buried in this godsforsaken crypt, it had to be for good reason.

But her heart constricted as she pictured Maela’s face.

There was no time to dwell on any of this.

They’d come this far. And Maela was almost within reach.

So, Emmery squeezed her eyes shut and laid her hands on the barrier.

Her khaos flame devoured it, hungry to see her sister again, and she released a jagged breath, scattering ash and a thick layer of dust. Vesper tore the lid aside and chucked it to the floor, not giving a damn as glass shards scattered everywhere.

Emmery’s hand habitually flew to her chest, but her pocket watch was absent.

With quaking hands, Vesper cradled the amulet as if it were a delicate piece of art.

It seemed to come to life, gazing curiously back.

A magical bass boomed from it, like it could rattle the world, strip it of happiness and everything pure with a single eclipsing blink.

Like it could tarnish every afterlife and laugh in Death’s face.

A cool wind kissed Emmery’s neck, and her fingers searched for the familiar groove, but the shooting star was gone. And so was Vesper’s.

Their pactum was complete.

She was free. But somehow, she didn’t feel it.

Emmery’s chest tightened as he handled the amulet, every fibre of her being crying wrong, wrong, wrong. “That thing—” She shook her head. “I—I don’t like it.”

Unbothered, Vesper clasped it around his neck. “Serafelle likely forged it through some sick means, but we don’t have a choice. I haven’t a clue what Deimos was saving this for, but it calls a soul outside the Hollow.”

So, it would work on Maela. Her chest throbbed with anticipation and something else. Something like remorse.

He continued, “Zyphira said it breaks after one use, so we had better make this count.”

An eerie quiet settled in the motionless room. This seemed too easy.

Vesper turned from the glass case and a click reverberated through the chamber. The ticking intensified to a shrill blow and her stomach dropped as their gazes collided.

Howls obliterated the silence.