CHAPTER SEVEN
Sorin’s hand folded around mine and despite the calmness flowing into me, it did little to assuage the righteous fury boiling within.
Prophecy or not, giving me a fair chance would have been nice.
I carried that resentment through the nothing, the suffocating blackness only feeding the pit of anger in my gut. But the moment we arrived in the Shifter Realm, the moment I laid eyes on the scene before me, that stone of bitterness and outrage melted away.
“Whoa.”
Sorin smiled as I took in the sights of his home.
Jadzeera’s icy gaze found mine, and she gave me a quick wink. To Sorin, she said, “I’ll stay here and fortify your warding while you show off your cave.”
Sorin bristled but only until he caught the playful glint in the Arcana Queen’s eye.
He had every right to show off.
Like the grotto the Arcana Realm hold shoved into my head, this structure was natural, untouched by anything resembling modern architecture. I couldn’t resist reaching out to caress the slate planes and craggy surfaces of the main entrance.
“How can such a place exist?”
“Shifter magic is that of transformation and homeostasis. This fortress was carved with great care taken to preserve its natural beauty.”
We stood on the sheer side of a mountain, wind blowing my hair and stomach lurching the instant I dared look down. The same mountain, I presumed, I saw in the earlier vision with the former, bustling Arcana Realm.
Jadzeera shimmered out to where ever she could best strengthen the Shifter Realm wardings and Sorin took my hand, leading me inside.
“Master artisans, the highest skilled in shifter magic created our mountain fortress eons ago,” Sorin said. The care and time taken to create such a place was evident around every corner, with every detail—the slow rise of the smooth stone ground, the glittering mineral walls, the lack of any ornamentation that wasn’t strictly of the earth. As we ascended into the heart of the mountain fortress, the ground drew my attention once more. Cobbled together of indigenous slices of agate in varying shades from brown and green to rich purple and red, they formed a mosaic of colors, leading us through the corridors.
This fake psychic knew her rocks and crystal formations. Strega once tried getting me to sell fake agate made of resin at real agate prices. When I refused, he threatened to up his cut of my fortunetelling profits. I chucked a slice at his head and told him to sell that trash himself.
Sorin walked taller here, his chest puffy as my gaze lingered on every corner, every glittering rock in the fortress. “This place is....” I struggled to find the words to express how much I loved the aesthetic of his realm.
Jadzeera’s palace was decadent and Gothic and not at all my style, and I hadn’t gotten the chance to see much of Callum’s realm before the Blood King blew it up.
Even if I had, I doubt I would have loved it as much as this place.
The Shifter King smiled, broad and wide. “Wait until you see the courtyard.” Sorin tugged me onward, upping his pace to a quick trot through the caverns which, upon further inspection were only lit with natural light. “How is it so bright so far into the mountain?”
Sorin smirked at me, golden eyes filled with joy. “Careful planning.” He stopped and nodded ahead. “The courtyard, my queen.”
My mouth went dry at the sight of the grotto, its tiered falls and jewel-toned rainbows arcing across the slick gray stones.
I stepped back, clutching at Sorin’s tunic.
“I—I,” my voice broke as fear crawled up my spine, making a home in my marrow. “I can’t be this close to the hold.”
“Nonsense. The courtyard has served as a gathering place for centuries.”
My hands shook, eyes still fixed on the beautiful, dangerous hold. Sorin touched my face, turning my head to meet his gaze. “The hold won’t hurt you, Zurie.”
I shook my head and pulled away. “It might,” I whispered, breaking free and running back the way we came.
At least I thought I had. Nothing looked familiar. The agate floor glinted a different shade, the corridor seemed narrower. I ran into the first room I found, closed the heavy stone and wood door behind me, and tried to figure out where I made a wrong turn.
“You haven’t made a wrong turn,” a silky, feminine voice that seemed to come from all around me teased.
I spun around the room—a large but dusty pantry—trying to see who’d spoken. “Who’s there?” My gaze darted from shelf to shelf, bin to bin, but the pantry was empty save a few long-forgotten baguettes collecting mold. “Who’s here?” I repeated when laughter echoed in the empty room.
“It’s just me,” the voice said but this time instead of coming from everywhere at once, I could pinpoint the origin. My gaze shot to the corner where a thin, wiggly, feminine outline appeared in front of the shelves. The outline thickened slowly until a woman about my height with bronzed skin and smiling, upturned eyes stared at me. “I was wondering when my brother would bring you by for a visit.”
Jaw set and eyes narrowed, I hoped that feigning anger covered my embarrassment at being watched.
Her full, painted lips formed a pout. “Oh, don’t be mad. I only wanted to have a minute with you in private. Sorin tends to dominate social encounters. But, I guess that’s to be expected with the Shifter King for a brother.” The demon stuck out her ringed hand, jewel-toned bangles clattering with the movement. “Let’s start over. I’m Raksha, Sorin’s sister. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
The demon didn’t share the same golden eyes as her brother. Instead, she gazed at me with deep brown eyes. But she did share his taste in colors. Her shiny charmeuse dress draped over her curves like a purple and gold liquid. I wondered how she accomplished anything in such slinky, albeit beautiful attire.
“Go on, I won’t bite,” she said when I didn’t take her hand.
“Zurie,” I said as I gave her hand a perfunctory shake. Before she could say anything more, I turned on my heel and left the pantry.
“Hey! Not so fast. You’re not getting away that easily.” Raksha followed at my heels a few paces before I spun around to face her.
“I just need to get out of here, okay?”
“Why? You only just arrived.”
I sighed, not wanting to waste time explaining to this stranger what I’d already been through today. And yet, as she stood before me, smiling, warm mahogany eyes glinting in the inexplicable shaft of light streaming into the corridor, words fell out of my mouth. All the words. Way more words than I wanted. Word vomit. That’s what it was.
Raksha put her arm around my shoulder as I explained everything—prophecy girl to Emma getting kidnapped to the hold violating me with magic to my body’s inability to sustain the magical demands on my energy. She turned us around and walked us back in the pantry. Except now it wasn’t a dusty, empty storeroom but a fully stocked one with a small table and two chairs right in the middle. She sat me down and piled dried meats and fruits and something that looked like primitive crackers in front of me as I unloaded on her.
“It’s just, it’s a lot,” I said, slumping into the back of the chair as I ripped off a hunk of jerky. I met Raksha’s gaze, surprised to find her demeanor entirely changed. The playful, cheery light in her eyes had been replaced with ferocious concentration and something I couldn’t quite….
“That stupid brother of mine! He should have brought you directly to me.”
Anger. It was anger.
I shrugged. “He was excited to show me the realm.”
Raksha shot me a withering glare. “He knows better. He should have brought you straight here. Eat.”
I didn’t argue.
“Until I’ve puzzled this out, that’s your only job—consuming calories. Got it? Fill your pockets with hardtack if you have to. The food in this realm is more nourishing than you’ll find anywhere else.”
I didn’t know what hardtack was and I didn’t have any pockets but I kept chewing as Sorin’s sister paced the length of the storeroom. Raksha wasn’t only pacing, she muttered to herself as well. I could only make out the occasional phrase—“That won’t do,” or “Not the same circumstances” or “Too risky.” When she turned back to face me, I resisted the urge to recoil. Her mahogany eyes were clouded over with thick, milky cataracts.
“I know it looks creepy but don’t worry. I’m the Shifter Realm’s Archive.” She tapped on her temple. “After the Arcana Realm decided to burn all our ancient texts, we painstakingly went about collecting memories from anyone who’d read them. I keep them locked up here. Sometimes it takes me a while to find what I’m looking for though. It’s not like there’s a librarian on duty.”