Page 105 of The Throne Seeker (Vallorian #1)
He pushed the door open to a black abyss. She braced herself as a chilling breeze swept over her face. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized she’d be expected to enter the void.
She buried her instincts to flee as Roman held his hand out, leading her down to what felt like the very core of Vallor.
“Do you remember the story of the first king, Argarion?”
Her mind flashed back to the statue they’d just seen. “Yes, of course. Argarion was the king who split Vallor into seven provinces. Every child in Cathan knows. We celebrate it every year on the solstice.”
“He also defeated the greatest enemy that mankind ever faced.”
Rose nodded, remembering from their history lessons.
“The leader of the revolution—he was the one who tried to conquer Vallor for himself. But Argarion proclaimed he was never to be mentioned in any book, wishing for his name to be forgotten, that a man that evil did not deserve to be remembered in history.”
Roman nodded. “And how was he defeated?”
She shrugged. “No one knows exactly, only that he was rendered powerless by Argarion and killed for his crimes.”
“I thought so, too… until what I read today.”
Rose skidded to a stop. “What could you have possibly read that could make you question centuries-old history?”
Roman turned back to her as he reached into his cloak, pulling out an old, worn leather book. “Because I read Argarion’s journal.”
She stared at the tattered book, its worn edges secured with a leather strap. “Where did you get that?”
“The same place I got this.” He held up the key he’d used. “My father gave me this key with a locked chest the night we returned to the castle. I found the book in the chest and started skimming it. I didn’t know how much meaning it held until I realized what it was.”
Her eyes widened with intrigue. “What does it say?”
“A lot. But most importantly, Argarion explains how he fought against an ancient enemy. He still refused to use his name; however, he does refer to him by a nickname—the Blood King.”
Rose’s chest seized.
It couldn’t be.
“Do you think…”
“That it’s the same Blood King the seer and the snawfus foretold of? It’s entirely possible,” Roman responded gravely.
Her heart plummeted through the dust-filled air. “How could that be? Argarion killed him thousands of years ago.”
Roman shook his head, holding up the journal. “Not according to this. He destroyed his powers, yes, but the Blood King escaped. Argarion spent the rest of his life trying to find him but never succeeded. Everyone else presumed he was dead, but Argarion was the only one who knew the truth.”
Her mind scrambled to put the pieces together. “But if he’s still alive, that would make him thousands of years old. How could he live that long? Unless he was…” Rose’s voice trailed off again as the realization set in.
“A siren,” Roman finished. “Argarion even confirmed it in an entry.”
The eternal flame in his hands flickered, casting a dark shadow across his face. She swore the tunnel itself was closing in on them, attempting to swallow them whole.
She started to walk again. “But even for a siren, that’s an incredibly long life,” she pointed out.
“He must have figured out a way to survive all these years.”
“So you’re telling me I’m supposed to defeat the most powerful siren of all time?” she whispered into the shadows.
Anxiousness crept into his eyes. “It’s a theory.”
She bit her bottom lip as she fiddled with her fingers. She was going to be sick.
“Luckily for us, Argarion wrote about how he destroyed the Blood King’s powers,” Roman said.
Her eyes whipped to his. At last. Hope. “How?”
“Argarion stole a powerful talisman that belonged to the Blood King,” he explained.
“A personal item always in his possession said to contain unlimited power. It was made of a rare sunstone that fell from the sky centuries ago, shaped like the same sun symbol that fills Cathan’s walls.
Which leads us to why I’ve brought you here. ”
The end of the tunnel opened into a small, dark room. The faint rushing that reached her ears intensified into a roar—an underground river, she realized—a swift and forceful one at that.
A strong presence came over her. A wave of… energy . Powerful and ancient.
Not a moment later, a deep buzzing noise filled her ears, drowning out the roaring water. Rose’s vision sharpened even as she entered the dark.
Roman locked his eyes on hers, startled.
Her brows pinched. “What is it?”
“Your eyes are glowing,” Roman said, staring at them in awe.
Her fingertips brushed the soft skin under her eye.
Another heightened ability to add to the list. She didn’t have time to dwell on it as her gaze settled on the source of the humming: a small, shiny object perched on a rocky pedestal at the room’s center, matching the talisman Roman had just described.
A snake-like feeling slithered in her veins, threatening to take over her limbs?—
She recoiled from the power, taking a step back.
“Is that the talisman?” she whispered as if it could hear her.
Roman seemed unaffected by its aura. “Yes,” he said, then looked at her, noticing her hesitation. “What’s wrong?”
“Can’t you hear that?”
“Hear what? The river?”
“No, that humming sound.”
He shook his head.
Rose’s gaze returned to the talisman, resting innocently on the gray stone pedestal. Its intricate golden chain held a glorious sun-shaped red stone. She initially thought it was a solid color, but upon closer inspection, she discovered flecks of yellow, orange, and red shimmering within.
She heard it… calling to her, whispering, urging her to come closer, to touch it—to wear it. It drew her siren in like a moth to a flame.
It scared the living hell out of her.
She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, preventing them from doing something they shouldn’t. “I feel like it’s… like it’s alive somehow,” she whispered.
“You can feel it?” Roman asked in surprise.
“Yes. Whatever it is, it’s powerful, dangerous, and incredibly dark.”
Roman took a few steps towards the talisman, unaware of the danger it held within its ruby depths.
“I think I’ve connected the dots.” He turned back to face her.
“When my father sent me and my brothers to Corrin, I lied to you. It wasn’t just to train troops.
It was to protect this, though I didn’t know it at the time.
Not long after you left last year, my father told us about an important object that had long been hidden.
Said it was vital to Vallor’s survival. I didn’t know what it was or why it was so important.
Only that it needed to be protected at all costs.
When my father discovered a group of men were looking for it, he made a decoy—a fake replica.
He ordered my brothers and I to take it to Corrin to see if it would draw this mysterious enemy out of the shadows, and it did.
As soon as we left the city unprotected, they came.
They burned it to the ground, only to find the fake talisman. ”
Goose bumps raised on her skin. And not from the cold. “The same men looking for me ?”
“We can’t know for certain,” he replied, “but I’d bet my life on it. It’s all too much of a coincidence, and I don’t think they are men. I think they may be sirens, too.”
“So all this time, you think the Blood King has been searching for the talisman? To be reunited with it?”
Roman nodded slowly. “And for some reason… you.”
Rose suddenly felt small. “What do we do?”
“I’m not sure. But at least we finally have an idea of who this enemy is and what he wants. We just need to find out more.”
It was all so much to take in, but she finally had answers.
So why did it only give her a thousand more questions?
“Perhaps we could use it?” Roman said, studying the talisman. “If the Blood King’s after it, perhaps it holds the power we need to defeat him?”
No, a mystic voice said firmly in her mind, alarming her—the feminine voice sounded like the snawfus. Don’t even touch it, it warned.
Why? she spoke back into the void in her mind. Why? Please, can you hear me?
But there was no reply.
“No,” she said after a long moment, heeding the warning. “Whatever it is… something is telling me not to go anywhere near it. Are you sure it’s safe down here?”
He nodded firmly. “Yes. There’s nowhere in Vallor safer than these tomb walls. Only royalty and the high councilmen know of its existence. And now you. But I’ll see to it there are more guards on duty, just in case.”
The tension left her body. She was glad to be reassured. She glanced at the talisman one final time, the magical object calling to her siren once more.
She shut it out.
“Come on, it’s getting late. We’ll need to be ready for tonight,” she said, anxious to be above ground again.
After all, they still had a ball to attend.