Page 51 of Lethal Souls

“Mother!” he cries. “Our creator! I’m here! You will be saved!” Vassilis’ eyes flicker my way.

It’s now that I see how hollow his cheeks are and the dark rings around his eyes, as if being in this temple is draining him slowly.

Perhaps that’s why The Council refused to come here themselves at first. They’ll likely wither and die. The Regals must have made it this way.

Knowing that didn’t seem to stop Vassilis though. It’s clear he wants to see this through, even if he dies in the process.

He springs forward.

“No!” Korah shouts, flying across the room.

But she’s too late.

Vassilis already has me in his grasp. Pain rips through me when he stabs me in the abdomen.

He slams me down on top of the body inside the coffin. Blood drips onto the ivory cloth covering it.

My blood.

THIRTY

CAZ

A grunt and the crack of bones is all it takes for the weight of Vassilis to be removed from me.

Korah screams as she pins him to a wall and penetrates him with a bold stream of light. She doesn’t relent until she’s snapped his neck.

I stumble backwards as Vassilis’s body drops to the ground in a weak heap.

“A shame,” I mutter, grunting. “I wanted to be the one to kill him.”

“He’s not dead,” Korah pants. “This state is temporary. He’ll hurt for a while but recover because he’s protected by her.” Korah jabs a finger at the coffin. “She now has your blood, Caspian!”

I blink, watching the blood spread across the ivory sheet. It continues spreading, and I’m not quite sure how because there wasn’t that much blood to begin with. Most of it is on me now, spilling through my fingers.

I dig into my pocket for one of the vials of healing elixir. It slips from the blood on my hands but I catch it, removing the lid and chugging it down. I wince, watching as the blood spreads throughout each thread and soaks the sheet.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the blood disappears.

I stare with bated breath as Korah backs away, eyes wide and hands wrapped with flames.

“What should we do?” I ask, clutching my side.

“Nothing,” Korah snaps. “There’s nothing we can do now.”

Her eyes, though glowing, are full of fear. What is she so afraid of? She and Hassha both seem to fear Selah, and I don’t get it.

As powerful as they are, they should fear nothing. Yet here I stand, watching Korah with all her billowy white hair glare at the coffin with all her defenses raised.

The ground rattles beneath me, and Rowan pulls himself into a stand. “What’s that?” he asks.

I can’t answer, not only because I don’t know what it is, but because the ground is now splitting apart. Korah scopes the room, glances at me, then vanishes.

“Shit,” I mutter. “This place is going to collapse. We have to move.”

I run, clutching my side as I flee the tomb. Rowan is right behind me, panting as his boots thud on the ground. The ceiling crumbles and I don’t know where the fuck I’m going because it’s so dark but I don’t stop. I slam into a wall and reach to my left. The space is open. When I feel for an opening, I take it.

I keep running, spotting hazy red light leaking from the temple’s ceiling a short distance away. When we’re beneath the jagged hole, I notice the red, cloudless sky.