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My eyes narrowed behind the visor of my silver helmet, and I pinned him with a hard stare. Xavier adjusted his posture, coming to attention and clasping his hands in front of himself. “I’ll shut up now.”
“You’re both lucky you aren’t on filing duty until the end of time. I can’t believe that you would dare to put her in danger by taking her back to Onuna. You will still be punished for it. I just have not thought of the perfect one. Yet,” I said, my tone ominous.
The room went silent, not even Vincent daring to speak up. Satisfied that I had made my point, I continued. “Logan.” I nodded at the largest engraved rune on the floor, and he strode forward. His hands rose, tracing a pattern in the air like a conductor before a symphony, directing The Hand to the center of the room. Cerulean light shot up, spiraling toward the ceiling with a counterclockwise twist, forming a column around us. One minute we were on the remains of Rashearim, and the next, in a large, stifling, hot cavern. The light from the cerulean runes died as we landed, shrouding us in darkness. One by one, The Hand formed a ball of lit energy in their palms. Rough rocky walls loomed on each side, and a small ledge jutted overhead.
“This is where we entered Yejedin,” Logan said, pointing toward a smooth rock wall. I held my hand out, pushing power into the stone. A low humming rumble echoed through the cavern, and a silvery outline formed, pulsing with the remnants of a portal. It looked like a still healing scar, a thin veil setting it apart from this world and the next. That’s why she’d needed the map.
“I had hoped the residual energy would still be around.” Imogen stepped forward, Vincent at her side. “Sorry, it took so long to get the calculations right.”
“Do not apologize.” I looked up, trying to gauge how high the rift went. “You did exceptionally well.”
Those calculations were what we worked on during our meetings. We were trying to find a way to create a rift into Yejedin while at the same time not creating a vacuum that destroyed Onuna and all who lived upon it. It had helped that there was a witch downstairs craving forgiveness. Vincent had managed to convince Camilla to help. I did not ask why she’d listened to him, only caring that she had. I called a silver blade into my hand. Imogen opened the large journal she carried, and I glanced at the handwritten formulas. I had already memorized them, but I wanted to be sure.
“It is time for a simple lesson in what the mortals call physics.” Every eye turned toward me as I raised my hand over the spot where the energy still pulsed. “My father taught me several things during my teachings. Had I known the importance of the realms, I probably would have paid more attention. While the realms may be locked away by my life force, there are tiny areas outside of them that are not.” I lowered my hand and turned toward them. “My father made a pocket dimension for Roccurem to keep him safe, but they have existed long before my father was ever born.”
Cameron raised his hand, and I nodded. “If that's the case, why haven’t we run into more of them?”
“Simple. Only the most powerful can create one or manipulate them. They are, in the simplest terms, a backdoor to all realms. My father learned how to manipulate some, but there are stories of creatures far older than he or I that had the ability. If that is the case, if that's where this leads, it means that Kaden is not just an Ig’Morruthen but also a very ancient, very powerful threat.”
The room grew quiet as they looked behind me toward the rift.
“With all due respect.” Vincent seemed to shuffle on his feet before glancing at me. “Your father had a lot of enemies, my liege. This, while unnerving, does not surprise me.”
I nodded. “Nor I.”
Imogen was the next to speak, glancing at her journal scribbled with notes. “If what Camilla said is true, your blood would still be the key. If the runes we forged work, it will only open what has already been opened.”
“Well, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Cameron said.
“You ready, boss?” Neverra asked.
I stepped in front of them and slid the knife across my hand. The wind howled through the cavern, and everyone shifted restlessly. I dipped my fingers into the blood pooling in my palm, and Imogen held the journal open for me as I drew the runes onto the smooth rock. The wall trembled as I completed the last symbol, small pebbles raining from above. The Hand stepped back, and I curled my fingers into a fist as my palm healed.
Call it pent-up anger, frustration, or sleep deprivation, but I was tired of waiting. I was tired of Kaden hiding. After everything he put Dianna through, how he had broken her, if he were here, I would bring his head back to Rashearim on a spike for her as a gift.
A deep, hollow clang echoed through the cavern, and it began to shake. A swirling mass of flame opened before us. The silver chain bracelet on my wrist lit up as a three-pointed silver shield formed. The width protected the major points of my body, and I shifted to protect The Hand, wanting to take the brunt of anything that might come through.
When nothing but oppressive air rushed forward, I lowered the shield and raised my hand, signaling them to wait before stepping into the portal.
On the other side, jagged rocks fell hundreds of feet into the cavern, landing with a crack and thunk. Smoke billowed in every direction, reminding me of Winngurd, the world of nothing but volcanoes. I stared at the pure and utter destruction. The stone buildings I could see were barely standing, with rubble and broken limbs littering the ground. The vast destroyed landscape stretched as far as the eye could see, all of it destroyed by a powerful Ig’Morruthen.
My Ig’Morruthen.
I waved The Hand forward and heard them step through the portal one by one.
“Ugh, it smells like sulfur,” Cameron said. The air was thick and hot. I walked to the edge of a monstrous cliff and beheld Yejedin.
“She didn’t hold back, did she? Onuna was lucky if she is capable of this. This is utter devastation,” Xavier whispered.
“Logan said—” Imogen started.
“But I never saw it, just heard,” Logan said, flanking me on my left. “Also, this wasn’t where we entered when we came.”
“I imagine when they opened the portal, they directed it right where it needed to be. We will have to search for the place you two entered.”
“This is going to be fun,” Cameron said jokingly, placing a hand on Xavier’s shoulder.
* * *
