Chapter 30: The Blood Rituals
The tunnels beneath the lower dungeons smelled of damp stone and old iron.
Evan moved carefully, his injured arm strapped tight against his chest. The venom had receded somewhat, but the flesh remained an ugly purple, the skin peeling away in places. Every step sent jolts of pain through his body, but the dagger's warmth in his good hand helped ground him.
Behind him, Isolde navigated the twisting passages with unsettling certainty, her new silver-flecked eyes gleaming in the torchlight. She'd refused to stay behind, insisting the dreamwalk had left "echoes" in her mind that would guide them.
Aria took point, her knives making short work of the occasional venomous vine that slithered from cracks in the walls. Rowan brought up the rear, his earth magic keeping the tunnels stable behind them.
Selene was conspicuously absent—gone to "distract" Caine, though none of them wanted to imagine what that entailed.
The tunnel opened abruptly into a circular chamber. Unlike the rough-hewn passages, this space was meticulously constructed, the walls lined with black marble veined in red. At the center stood an obsidian altar, its surface stained dark.
But it was the walls that made Evan's breath catch.
From floor to ceiling, names were carved into the stone—thousands of them, some so old the letters had worn smooth. Fresh inscriptions stood out sharply: the three students from the Silent Court, their names still gleaming from the knife's edge.
Isolde traced one with trembling fingers. "They're all here."
Aria cursed softly, her usual bravado gone. "This is why enrollment drops every fifty years."
Rowan moved to the altar. His massive hands hovered over the dark stains. "This isn't just blood magic. It's binding." He looked up, his earth-brown eyes wide. "They're not just killing students. They're trapping their magic in the stones."
The pieces clicked together with horrible clarity. Evan stepped forward—and his dagger flared to life, the blackened runes glowing crimson.
A section of wall slid aside with a groan.
Beyond it lay a smaller chamber, this one lined with mirrors. And in the center, her crimson hair bright against the gloom, stood Mira Solene.
She turned, her smile widening as she took in their shocked expressions. In her hands, the book of forbidden spells pulsed like a living thing.
"Took you long enough," she purred. "Let me show you how it's really done."