Deviant Descendants (Descendants Academy #2) - Belle Malory Page 0,53

a piece of wood inside, waiting for me to answer.

“The tablet,” I said, bouncing on the balls of my feet. “I must’ve stared at this thing a thousand times, memorizing every detail and crevice.”

“So?”

“So, there’s a crack that wasn’t there before.”

Her eyes brightened. “Really? Let me look.”

I handed it to her. For the first time in what felt like years, she smiled. Genuinely smiled, with nothing but warmth and delight in her gaze. “It’s working,” she breathed out. “It’s really working.”

26

Our first few days in the Underworld passed uneventfully. Riley and I didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We played a lot of cards, every game we knew. We tried exercising, a hard task in tight confines, even harder to do it quietly. But mostly, we just stared out the window to people watch and commented on the passersby. The intoxicated patrons exiting the pub were always very entertaining; they were usually stumbling, shouting, or singing. The other mages and creatures went about their business in a boring fashion.

Days two and three passed with painful slowness. On day four, we were both restless. Riley paced back and forth as I continued staring out the window. She was worrying me. If she was already feeling this antsy, I wasn’t sure how she would get through the rest of our time.

“Didn’t Petra mention something about going outside once per week?” Riley said, running a hand through her newly darkened locks.

I nodded. “For an hour.”

“Well, it’s been nearly a week. Where is our hour?”

“Be patient, Riley. I’m sure we will be able—”

“No.” She shook her head. “I can’t do this anymore.”

She threw open the front door and marched down the stairs. I jumped up—what was she thinking? I ran after her, afraid that she might notify the entire block of our presence.

There, at the bottom, waiting to meet us, was Grey. He stared straight past Riley to me, those yellow eyes of his sending a shiver up my spine. Being this close to him again took me right back to the night Jett abducted me. As far as creatures went, he was pretty intimidating. Scaly skin, pointy black nails, and yellow eyes that reminded me of a snake made up an overall terrifying exterior.

“Go back,” he said, his tone full of warning.

“We’re supposed to get an hour outside,” Riley argued. “Petra told us—”

“Aye, I know what she said. Not today.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not safe.”

“What’s new?” She snorted. “It’s the Underworld.”

“There are creatures in the area who feed off young mages such as yourselves.”

That was enough information to make me want to turn back, but Riley stubbornly put both hands on her hips. “I don’t care.”

“You would, if you encountered one.”

“But—”

“Are you arguing with me, miss?” Grey took a step forward, staring my sister down.

Riley wavered, swallowing in her hesitancy. After a few painful seconds of silence, she finally groaned, giving up. “Do you think you could at least get us a few books to read—we’re bored to tears up there.”

“Better bored than dead.”

Riley scowled, and Grey let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine, I’ll look into it. Now back upstairs, both of you.”

We did as he asked, but Riley stomped the entire way, pouting like a child.

“It’s a prison sentence,” she said, closing the door behind us.

I clenched my hands into fists at my sides. What she almost did, and only on day four of all days, was enough to boil my blood. “That’s exactly what it is, Riley. You knew that.” I spoke carefully, trying to reign my anger back.

“I didn’t know it would be like this.” She gestured to our surroundings. “Did you?”

I took a step toward her, my whole body shaking. “If it will break us free of this curse, I don’t care if they throw us into a dark, empty hole for six months.”

She sniffed. “There has to be another way.”

“Don’t you get it?” I said, trying to keep myself from shouting. “No matter what, it will come with a cost. At least this way is better than the sacrifice I nearly made.”

Riley tilted her head to the side, right as I caught my slip. “Better than what sacrifice, Sheridan?”

For several seconds, I debated telling her about Twilight Island. It was my secret, something I wasn’t sure I wanted to share. But I needed her to understand what it took to break magic this strong.

“Before you came to Arcadia, I went to see a man called the Curse Breaker.”

She carefully squared her shoulders, going still. “I’ve heard of him.”

“He needed