Page 38 of Vanquished Gods
“We’re out of time!” I shouted.
“Loose!” boomed the Magister.
Sion’s head snapped to me, and he leapt off the ground, grabbing me in a bear hug as the twang of the bows rang out. His strong arms wrapped around me, and the next thing I knew, we were plummeting into the well. We hurtled down for what seemed like an impossibly long distance. Admittedly, I started to have some second thoughts. But there was little we could do about it now, was there?
We hit the river’s surface with a bone-juddering smack, and Sion lost his grip on me. I plunged under the ice-cold water, tumbling deeper, my legs aching from the impact. I managed to swim to the surface again and gasped for breath. Sion wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close to him again.
“Are you okay?” His deep voice echoed off the stone walls of the well.
I glanced up at the circle of sunlight above us, where soldiers were shouting at each other, arguing over whether they shouldfollow after us. I looked down to meet his eyes and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “We need to go. Can you swim quickly with me in your arms? Because I won’t be able to hold my breath that long underwater. We need your vampire speed to get out of here.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “I’mreallynot a fan of the water.”
“I’m sorry. We’re committed now.”
“How do you know where this comes out?” he asked.
“I saw the opening when I was drinking water from the stream. It’s not far from the gates, just on the other side of the wall. Where we hitched up the horse.”
He pulled me more tightly against his muscled chest, and we plunged beneath the surface. I held my breath as we swam. We were going in the same direction as the current, so it helped us along, but I could also feel the shocking speed we were gaining from Sion as he kicked his legs, sending us hurtling through the stream. The darkness seemed endless, and my lungs started to burn.
Was this one of the dumbest fucking ideas I’d ever had? Was I about to die down there in the dark, trapped, choking on stream water? Panic started to sink its roots into my mind, and I clutched at Sion, willing him to go faster.
At last, up ahead, I saw the glorious rays of light piercing the water.Oh, thank fucking gods.Gripping me in his powerful arms, Sion somehow gained a burst of speed and rushed through the water toward the light.
Finally, we breached the surface, the stone of the tunnel still arching over us. I gasped for breath, filling my lungs. Oh, thank thegods,I could breathe…
Sunlight filtered in from the opening, speckling the water with gold.
I sucked in fresh air, still clinging to Sion’s neck. I stood on the cold stone as the water rushed over my soaked white dress. As I heaved in ragged breaths, I melted into the steel of his chest.
After a moment, Sion pulled away from me. His midnight gaze was locked on me, and a fierce intensity burned behind his eyes. Then, without warning, he slumped forward on his arms, leaning on the damp stone.
Only then did I notice the two arrows jutting from his back and the blood staining the fabric of his shirt a deep crimson.
My heart skipped a beat. “Archon above. Let me get these out. Are you okay?”
“Get to the gates,” he rasped. “Get them open. I’ll be fine. It’s not my heart.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key.
I hesitated for a breath, but I could hear them, even from there. Screaming, pounding on the city gates from the inside. I grabbed the key, hesitating for a moment as I looked at Sion, and then I rushed out of the tunnel and sprinted for the city walls. I pumped my arms, flying over the cobblestones. The sound of hammering fists against wood boomed through the air.
A line of three soldiers stood before the gates, swords drawn, muscles tensed. But they weren’t facing me. They were so focused on the door, on the pitiable sound of the screams piercing the wood, that they didn’t pay a lick of notice to the assassin behind them.
Death-hunger rose in my stomach, and my fingers twitched in anticipation. I stopped sharply behind them, and time seemed to slow. The Serpent’s power pulsed under my skin. I brushed my fingertips over the backs of their necks, poisoning them with my magic.
Your open graves wait for you…
One by one, they crumpled to the hungry earth like withering foxgloves. Purple veins raced over their skin as their bodiestwitched, growing gray. I closed my eyes, breathing in the scent of death, craving more. I licked my lips.
Revere me. I’ll deliver you into the soil’s waiting embrace…
All those bodies on the other side, sparking with life.
I wanted to claim their lives for myself, to steal their breath and watch the gray creep over their skin like twilight shadows sliding over the grass. I wanted my hand around their throats, to watch the light leave their eyes.
BOOM.