Of Thorn and Thread (Daughters of Eville #4) - Chanda Hahn Page 0,75

the roots, which led deep into the earth. The stone steps were broken and destroyed, and the earth all around the tree had been disturbed.

“Here. This is the source.” I pointed down into the darkness.

“Of the blight?” Liam asked.

I nodded, feeling sick to my stomach with the feelings that were rising up to me. An echo of the past ringing into my soul. “I need to go down there. I need to see more.”

“No, it’s too dangerous.” Liam grabbed my arm as I was about to head into the passageway.

“I’m not afraid,” I said.

“You should be.”

I smiled reassuringly at him. “Not when you’re with me.”

Liam nodded. He released my arm and pulled his sword out of his sheath, moving down the steps first. He motioned for me to stay behind. The sunlight only shone on the first few steps before he was swallowed up by the gloom.

I waited expectantly and heard him call for me. “All clear.”

Bounding down the steps, I came up to his side and shook my head.

“I guess you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, there’s no one down here.” I pushed past him and hesitated as the light didn’t penetrate farther. I spotted the burned-out torches lining the walls.

Fiergo.

With a flicker, the torches came alight, and we could see that most of the tunnel was still intact, but sections had collapsed.

“Are you getting stronger?” Liam asked, taking a torch from the wall.

“I think it’s because of where we are. It’s boosting my magic. I’ve never been able to conjure more than a mere flicker of fire, but here . . . it’s almost more than I can control.” I tried to hide my concern.

We followed the cave. There were sections where the entire ceiling had collapsed, and the ground was illuminated by the setting sun. Other areas of the tunnel were blocked, and Liam had to clear giant rocks and boulders before we could go on.

“How much farther?”

“Not far.” I could feel my stomach roiling with anticipation.

The ground leveled out, and all around us the packed dirt and walls were marked with deep grooves that ran parallel to the floor.

Running my finger along the indention, I followed it to an archway and stopped.

“There.” I pointed to the arched door made of roots. “The source of the blight came from within.”

The door had been destroyed and lay buried in the earth. I inspected it, reading the sigils and the warning along the door.

Liam came back outside. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s a curse,” I said, reading the history that was embedded within the iron door. “One that had been cast on the king of Rya for a great wrong he committed.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No, and it was a deadly curse. One that was sealed away inside this vault. But someone broke the lock, and the curse is free to run its course.”

“What does the curse do?”

I shook my head. “Death and destruction.”

Liam gestured for me to stay put. He held out the torch and entered the room while I studied the locks and wards placed on the door. There was something familiar about the wording and handwriting.

I was scared to investigate further, but I felt compelled to find the truth. Kneeling in front of the door, I used my magic to search for the telltale signature of the castor. My heart thudded loudly in my chest, and my hand trembled.

“It was Mother,” I whispered.

“What was?” Liam stepped back out of the room.

“She was the one who bound the curse in this vault. I recognize her spell work.”

Liam shifted his weight and wouldn’t make eye contact. “Aura, there’s something you should see.”

“What?”

He ducked back into the darkened room and held the torch up high, casting a circular glow along the walls. The light caught hundreds of crystals that glittered in the wall, each in a very specific pattern.

“They’re the constellations,” I said in awe.

“Aura, look.” Liam drew my attention away from the sparkling wall and to the object in the center of the room.

A stone dais, and upon it, a bed with a pillow and red sheet lay discarded on the floor. Scratched into the dais and all over the floor were various spells, but the one repeated over and over gave me a clue to what had really happened here.

Somnus—sleep.

“This isn’t a vault. It’s a prison cell,” I gasped.

Looking around with fresh eyes, I took in the prison with the bed inside.

“My mother mentioned nothing about this.”

“She probably didn’t want you to know.”

“It’s a person,” I cried. “Mother Eville imprisoned someone in here,