I turned in a slow circle. Ryllae stood near the tunnel waiting for Daegal, while Maiela and Kysha murmured nearby, digging through their packs.
Still, I felt eyes on me. My skin crawled, and my magic churned in my veins, adding to my growing sense of trepidation. My queasiness was back, but this time I was certain it was because of our surroundings.
“We shouldn’t be standing out in the open,” I murmured, rubbing my arms. “This city is… wrong.”
Xander looked at me quizzically. “Do you feel something?”
Nodding, I met his golden gaze. “It’s not right. You don’t sense something off about this place?”
He shook his head. “I don’t, but I trust you.” Lacing our fingers together, Xander squeezed them tightly. “If you feel that this place is wrong, then something’s wrong.”
Less than a minute later, Daegal’s pack landed on the ground. The Fortune Elf swiftly followed, landing on two feet. He raised a brow, pulling Ryllae in for a one-armed hug as he looked around. “This is… interesting.”
That wasn’t the word I would have picked.
“There’s a wrongness here,” I said, not willing to waste any time.
Daegal’s hand went straight to the hilt of his sword and his shoulders stiffened.
“What do you mean?” Ryllae asked, her blue eyes widening as she clutched Daegal’s arm.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head as a shiver ran down my spine. “It’s just… it’s too quiet.”
As soon as the words left my lips, echoing around this empty, cavernous space, I realized that was the problem. Silence reigned in this mountainous tomb. Even the earth’s song was muted, and the humming of the magic in my veins was dimmer than before. Everything was too quiet.
The only sound was that of my heartbeat, which was far too loud in this place of death.
Then I heard it. A tapping, skittering, crawling sound seemed to come from all around us. It was quiet at first, barely audible, but soon it was the only thing I could hear.
Maiela and Kysha grabbed their bows, straightening. Ryllae shifted away from Daegal, pressing her hands against her ears. “Do you… does everyone hear that?”
I swallowed. “Yes, I hear it.”
“Me too,” Kysha added.
The sound grew louder and louder.
“This is bad.” Xander had to shout to be heard over the skittering.
Bad was an understatement. This was wrong.
“Daegal, what do you See?” my mate asked.
The Fortune Elf’s eyes turned silver. We waited for him, the intense feeling of wrongness growing until the air felt like an imposing weight pressing down on my lungs. Everything was too tight. Too much. Too heavy.
“Arm yourselves,” Daegal said in a rush, the silver clearing from his eyes. Panic was written all over his face, and he grabbed his pack off the ground, hurriedly throwing it on his back. The rest of us did the same.
The skittering matched the pounding of my heart as I withdrew one of my daggers.
We were still alone… but not.
My chest squeezed, and I swallowed a lump in my throat.
The eerie silence was better than this.
Horrible anticipation grew as our group moved toward each other. I called green ribbons out of me, and they swirled, their hum discordant in this place of death.
Purple, red, and green surrounded our six. The males drew their swords, and both Kysha and Maiela nocked arrows.