As we descended a sloped hallway, it grew colder and colder, as if the castle were built into a hill of ice. Carrow shivered. “We’re close, aren’t we?”
“Yes. Those were the last guards, I believe.” I’d never come down here much when I’d lived in the castle, but I was fairly certain.
“It also feels like hell.” She rubbed her arms.
She was right, I realized. A prickling sensation raced across my skin. This whole place was foul with dark magic.
6
Carrow
A moment later, we reached a heavy wooden door at the end of the corridor a dozen yards past the last guards.
“To my knowledge,” Grey said, “we’re at ground level. This should lead us to the seer’s cavern.”
The magic that pulsed from the door made my insides churn. I pressed a hand to my stomach and breathed deeply. “Is this why the guards were positioned so far away?”
Grey nodded. “It’s impossible to stay long in this spot. Come on.”
He reached for the iron door handle and pushed inward. As the heavy door swung open, the magic became more repulsive.
I drew in an unsteady breath. “This is awful.”
“We just need to get through, then it will be better.” He entered the dark corridor, and I followed.
Immediately, stairs descended. We took them two at a time, hurrying into the darkness. Every three meters or so, torches on the walls burst to life as we passed. Their glow was faint but welcome.
It took us at least five minutes to descend the entire way. We had to be a dozen stories underground. The air grew icy and damp, and I rubbed my arms, wishing my jacket hadn’t been ruined. The wet, blood-soaked shirt at my back turned hard, freezing in the air. My teeth chattered.
“Almost there,” Grey said.
We reached a huge room at the base of the stairs, a cavern carved right out of the black rock. Icicles hung from the ceiling, and a white mist filled the otherwise empty space.
“Who could possibly live down here?” I asked.
“The seer is not actually a person,” Grey said. “It’s a shadow from the past. The collective memories and knowledge of all turned vampires.”
“Wow.” I’d had no idea that was even possible.
“Come.” He reached for my hand, but right before our fingers could touch, he drew his hand back and clenched it into a fist. He shook his head. “Not safe. Follow me.”
I searched his face, looking for the beast that so terrified him. What was it like to have a monster inside you that would force you to do its will?
Terrible.
Normally, he had it under control without issue. But with this curse growing stronger by the day…
He turned and walked toward the center of the cavern. I followed, moving deeper into the mist. It flowed around me, icy cold, and I felt its touch everywhere. Almost as if it were trying to know me.
“Stop here.” Grey’s voice was soft.
We stopped.
The mist swirled, kicking up a breeze, then coalesced in the middle of the cavern, growing thicker and whiter right in front of us. It reached critical mass, then fell to the ground in a splash of opalescent water that lapped gently toward the tips of our boots.
Grey stepped back, and I mimicked the movement.
Breath held, I watched the water. It rose upward, forming an ethereal figure with no gender or race. The features were indistinct, but a sense of wisdom emanated from it.
Grey bowed, and I copied the gesture, not able to take my gaze from the strange form. I’d seen a lot of weird stuff during my time in the magical realm, but this might take the cake.
We straightened.
“Why have you wakened me?” the seer asked, its voice echoing with power that shook my bones.
“Thank you for appearing,” Grey said. “We are here for help, if you are so inclined.”
“Of what sort?”
“We are Cursed Mates,” he said.
The figure tilted its head, then drifted forward, so close that I could see through it to the other side of the cavern wall. The seer reached out an indistinct hand, hovering it over my chest, then over Grey’s.
“Yes, I can feel that. It has been a very long time since I have seen a pair of you. I assume you are here because you want to break the curse?”
Grey nodded. “We’d both like to survive.”
“Do you want to break the bond as well?” the seer asked.
Shock raced through me.
Break the mate bond?
I’d assumed it wasn’t possible. After we’d tried with Cyrenthia’s magic and failed, I’d assumed it was something that would always be there.
Did I want to break the bond with him?
Did it matter?
Even though we’d temporarily severed it, I’d still felt so strongly for him.
“You are uncertain,” the seer said. “Which is not unexpected.”
I said nothing. I’d never been quite so out of my depth as I was then.
“Is it possible to break the curse?” Grey asked.
The seer raised a shoulder in a shrug. “Not that I have ever seen.”
“So there is no hope?” Grey asked.
“A moment, please.” The seer drifted toward me, its form moving quickly.
My heart leapt, and I moved to step back, but I was too slow. The seer’s entire ethereal body flowed right into mine, freezing cold.
Suddenly, my soul felt full to bursting, like energy was blasting around inside my body, inspecting every inch of me.
I gasped and reached for Grey. He gripped my arm, helping me stand upright. My head spun and my vision went fuzzy as the energy grew and grew.
Finally, it exploded out of me. I sucked at the air, my body suddenly empty and warm.
Normal.
Panting, I looked up.
The seer stood in front of me, looking the same as ever.
“A little warning next time,” I said, panting.
Grey kept me on my feet until my limbs stopped shaking. Looking at him, I asked, “Did you know that would happen?”
He shook his head.
I looked back at the seer. “What did you see?”
“Cursed Mates almost never survive. They aren’t powerful enough. But you…I think you might be.”
“How?”
“The answer is inside you. Inside your power. You doubt yourself and your ability to lead because you don’t understand what you are. But knowing your past will help you know your power.”
My ability to lead. My mind flashed to the leader’s chair I’d been unable to sit in. To Mac’s words. But how was I even qualified? “What power?” I barely understood my magic.
“The answers are in your past, but you must find them yourself. This is something I cannot see.”
“What about my past? Where in my past?” Again, I wished I’d known my mother. I couldn’t stop thinking of her lately, wishing that she’d survived so I could know her. Learn from her.
“That is for you to discover. Once you know what you are, what your true power is, you will have your answers. You will be able to save him.”
“I’m a seer.”
“No, you aren’t.”
It was right. The Seer’s Guild had never claimed me. Though I had a gift similar to a seer’s, I wasn’t actually one of them.