Page 128 of Shattered Jewel
“Axton! Look!” she squeals, her tiny hands cupped around a flickering light. Her eyes, lit with wonder, meet mine. “It’s magic!”
I move closer, pretending to inspect her catch. “You’re right! The school of witchcraft and wizardry will enroll you any minute.”
I ruffle her hair, and she giggles, the sound pure and light.
“Will you always protect the magic, Axe?” she asks, suddenly serious.
“Always, Mari.”
“Will you always protect me?”
I kneel down, meeting her gaze. “I promise.”
The room spins and my vision blurs, the world narrowing down to a single point of pain. My bonds rattle against cold stone as I pull against them, each jingle a harsh counterpoint to the thunderous beat of my heart in my ears.
Screaming. Marianne’s screams pierce the air.
I’m running, too-short legs pumping, too-small lungs burning. Corridors stretch endlessly. Where is she?
A flash of her pink pajamas disappearing around a corner.
“Mari!” I yell, my voice cracking.
I’m eleven, gangly and terrified.
Rough hands grab me from behind. I thrash, kick.
“Axe!” Marianne’s shriek echoes. She sounds so small, so far away.
A door slams. Silence.
The tang of blood in my mouth. Did I bite someone? Was I hit?
Darkness closing in. A prick in my arm.
As consciousness fades, one thought screams in my mind:
I failed her.
“Stop it.” I yank against my chains.
The Scourge’s laughter scrapes against my reality, leaving hairline fractures in its wake.
“Too much?” he taunts, tracing the blade’s icy tip along my jawline. My instincts scream for me to pull away, but I remain still as death under his touch.
This is not about me. It’s about them.
The High Sovereign looms over a workbench shoved against one wall they must have ordered constructed here for exactly this purpose, his hands moving and manipulating the two ruby fragments with heat and pressure using a specialized device, its mechanisms glowing with an eerie blue light as he fuses the pieces together.
The sight of the gem, its deep red hue pulsing like a living heart, twists my gut with shame.
I gave the Heart to them.
The ruby’s other half, concealed in Sarah Anderton’s long-lost vault, was our ace. When I stumbled upon Maverick’s letter to Elara revealing its whereabouts after she left his bedroom, I should have guarded that secret with my life. Instead, blinded by the Sovereigns’ false promises about my sister, I gave them the key to our downfall.
Portions of Sarah’s underground vault, lost to time and protected by intricate puzzles and deadly traps, had remained hidden even after Clover and her Vultures rediscovered it. And according to Cav, they guard it carefully.
But the Sovereigns’ obsession knows no bounds. Armed with the information I provided, they pored over historical records, deciphered ancient clues, and retraced Clover’s footsteps with chilling precision.