Warriors were scaling farther down the walls in their bid to attack us. All my plans were going to implode, right here, unless I could think of something. I scanned my head, desperate for any solution.
Sadly, my mind was as empty as my veins.
With a series of thuds like drumrolls, the first of the warriors reached the chamber floor, their boots hitting the wet ground with a sloshy thud. I should have been planning my escape, but I could only scan the oncoming faces.
Was Rowan in the first group?
I didn’t see my mate, but I did spot Kade and Amelia, both wearing their Caster leathers. Kade wielded a Sword. Amelia had some kind of cannon contraption winding up her arm. Both of their mouths were contorted into angry snarls.
Was it only a day ago that I laughed with Amelia in her laboratory? Or the Casters reached for my fingertips, wishing me well as their best chance to win against Viktor? And now, they all glared at me with outright hatred.
Curse you, Mlinzi and Walinzi.
I was hobbling closer to the edge of the platform when I saw him. Rowan. He was everything strong and majestic as he scaled down the wall, a single loop of vine around his right arm.
Then his gaze locked with mine. Nothing but pure rage shone in his green eyes. The sight cut me through, more deeply than any knife.
I had to get out of here.
The only way to get my Rowan back was to find that damnable Sword, and Kila Kitu had it. I rounded on the mage. “I understand that you don’t trust me, but you don’t trust anyone but your Elea, do you?”
Kila Kitu slowly swung his head from side to side. No.
“Well, I’m the closest to her that you’ll ever get. And I look like her, don’t I?” I gestured toward my face. Kila Kitu winced.
With that, I knew exactly how to get him to give me the Sword.
“Can you really let me go now?” I asked. “Leave me to die like she did?”
Kila Kitu didn’t answer, which was a response in itself. He wouldn’t leave me to die.
I leaned in closer to him. “If you give me the Sword hilt, I will not betray your trust.”
“You do look so much like her,” said Kila Kitu in his deep whisper.
“That’s right. So give me the hilt. Now. After that, I’ll need a way to leave this place safely along with Nan and Mrefu.”
Kila Kitu frowned. “You ask too much.”
“The hilt is no good to me if I’m imprisoned. Plus, you should want to rescue Nan and Mrefu, they’re Zaidi.”
All of a sudden, it looked as if the entire cavern were lined with Caster warriors. They raced toward us in a single wave of brown leather and angry faces. I tried to ignore Rowan’s glare in the mix.
Kila Kitu gave me the barest of nods. “You are worthy. Barely.” With those words, the mage burst back into a swirl of tiny particles. Another vortex appeared on the round platform. Someone gripped my arm through my Necromancer robes. I looked over to see Rowan standing beside me.
“Where is Jicho?” His voice was tight with fury. I could only gape at him in agony and longing.
My Rowan. My mate.
Before I could reply, long tendrils of moss, leaves, and wind wrapped around my body, pulling me into the vortex on the round stage. Rowan was untouched by the gale. Nan and Mrefu quickly became caught in the same whirlwind as well. As the winds moved faster, the stone platform opened up, pulling all three of us underground.
Rowan glared at me from the edge of the pit as I spun lower. It didn’t seem possible that our pain and grief could still be so fresh, but it was. My eyes prickled with tears as I spun into the abyss below. In truth, I didn’t know where I was going, but at least I was alive. And something even better had come to pass as well: a metal hilt had magickally appeared in my palms. It was made of silver and encrusted with a swirling pattern of tiny amethysts. Kila Kitu had kept his word.
The first part of the Sword of Theodora was mine.
Chapter Nineteen
I don’t know how long I tumbled through the darkness. My fall ended with a jolt. It took me a moment to realize that I’d landed on my feet, in a jungle, and during daytime. Nan and Mrefu were nowhere to be seen. The Sword hilt stayed in my grip, though. After so much pain and loss to get this far, there was no way I was losing it now.
But where was I, exactly? Was this the same place where I’d left Jicho and the MAJE?
A voice cut through the dense jungle, answering that question for me. “Elea? Elea?”
My heart soared. That was Jicho.
I could have danced for joy. Kila Kitu had used his magick to drop me off in the jungle right where our metal vessel had been docked. The mage had even made sure I landed on my feet. As magick went, that was rather impressive. I had arrived without Nan or Mrefu, though, which sent pang of loneliness through my soul. It seemed I found friends only to lose them, time and again.
I cupped my hand by my mouth. “I’m here!”
“Don’t move,” cried Jicho. “I’ll get to you.” The joy in his voice was unmistakable. It also sounded as if he was speaking from somewhere above my head. I frowned. Had my little friend gone back to climbing trees?
I slipped the hilt into one of the deep pockets of my Necromancer robes. The jungle around me seemed deserted, but I knew enough to realize that was an illusion. Someone could pop out of the shadows at any moment.
Rubbing my neck, I scanned the high branches around me. All of them dripped with vines. There were about a million places a young boy could hide. I tapped my foot, anxious for Jicho to appear. The Casters knew that I’d escaped the cave. It wouldn’t take them long to find where I’d gone.
“We’re almost there.” This time, it wasn’t Jicho who was speaking. It was Nan. A weight of worry lifted from my bones. If Nan was with Jicho, then the boy couldn’t be in too much trouble.
“I’m ready when you are,” I called.
The crackle of magick filled the air. Red mist curled around my feet. My stomach sank. Someone was casting a spell with Caster magick. There was no question who was following me. Rowan. He always was quick with transport spells. And thanks to our mate bond, he could probably cast a tracker spell quickly, too.
A moment later, Rowan materialized before me. “Don’t bother trying to run again. You have the Sword hilt, so I’m not letting you out of my sight until I get it.” He loomed above me, every muscle in his body coiled with barely held-in fury. “Now, where is my brother?”
My mouth answered before I could stop it. “He’s on his way.”
“Have you hurt him?”
“Never.” I hated how my voice warbled with grief.
Rowan stepped closer. If I leaned forward, I could rest my cheek against his chest. “It’s bad enough that you’re going after the Sword of Theodora. Who knows what evil you’re really up to? But kidnapping my brother? That was a mistake you’ll regret.”
“I didn’t take Jicho. He insisted on helping me find the Sword. He said he had visions—”
“No, you’re lying. You must have cast a spell on him to make him follow you.”
“Me, a liar? What about you?”