Chapter 481 (1/2)

Chapter 481

Chapter 479: One Last Word

CECILIA

The sound of Agrona’s quick, confident steps blocked out all other noise in the halls of Taegrin Caelu, timid even, as I floundered in his wake Atattention to where his steps fell Twice, he stumbled on an unexpected stair, but still, his eyes pressed into the side of my face like two iron pokers hot froers clenched and unclenched as his teeth gnawed at the inside of his lip Several tirona’s back, closed hishis lip He couldn’t haveif he’d etched the fact in runes across his forehead, but he clearly couldn’t say whatever he wanted in front of Agrona

Whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait, I thought,to Dicathen To kill Grey

Tessia had buried herself down deep Throughout rona, I had felt flickers of her emotions—mostly the relief she felt every ti her thoughts from me

So much has happened so quickly Tessia had releasedrona I tried not to think about the proret?

There was no response, but I didn’t expect one

We reached a teleportation chamber that I had never visited before I kneere still in Agrona’s private wing, so I assuonal cha rooms, studies, and other such spaces thatthat I had seen

Light beaht a teranite pillar in the center of the room Even as we entered, the te its sides Though having the sarona’s teer than most I had seen

“Gather round,” he said perfunctorily,to the far side

Nico stood to his left and I to his right Deep inside le around, and I couldn’t be sure if the nerves I felt were rona provided no warning as the three of us were suddenly pulled out of Taegrin Caelum and carried across the face of the world There was a distant sensation of passage, but the transition was so s an uncanny valley of rass, I actually stuhter than necessary and peered at me orry “Cecil? Are you—”

“I’ around us

We were standing on the edge of a small stand of trees In front of us, there was a cluster of rocks that formed a narrow cave entrance I searched for any interruption of the“Are you sure he’s here? Could Ji-ae have been wrong?”

The ornarona looked at me, his brows raised incredulously “Cecil dear, don’t be a fool”

I blanched, rona smile as he turned away and started toward the rocks

Nico took rona’s back He waited a et a few steps ahead, then leaned toward rona said, his s in my chest

I squeezed Nico’s hand, then pulled away and hurried after Agrona I sensed Nico’s pause before he followed hesitantly

Agrona stepped into the crack in the rocks and floated slowly down into the darkness beyond Just before he left rabbed ht, I stepped in after hied down into the darkness, but the falling sensation evaporated as I grabbed hold ofdown

I landed on rough, bare rock beside Agrona A second later, Nico alighted on my other side Before us was a barren cavern The only noticeable feature was the rements scattered across the cavern floor Still, I sensed no disruption in the ns of an aetheric presence To all my senses, the cave was empty If Grey really was there, there had been no chance Nico could have located him without assistance

“I turned this place inside out looking for hidden tunnels or chahis hands on his hips, he stared up toward the very center of the cave As far as I could tell, he was staring at nothing “Don’t worry yourself about it, little Nico It isn’t your fault After all, Arthur is just…so very much smarter than you”

Nico flinched as if he’d been struck and looked at his feet I felt like I should intervene, butplace “So hoe find this…pocket dimension? Isn’t that what Ji-ae called it?”

“The aspect of aether called spatiu physical space,” Agrona said, his tone changing Instead of the cold, goading sarcas a favored topic “Such pocket die artifacts so coned based on a sis that are, today, seen by rona walked in a circle around the cavern, his eyes always focused on the same point “When bound into an item with runes, such spaces are relatively stable But when projected as such…” Agrona stopped pacing and took a few steps back Although he stood in a relaxed posture, waves of dark an to radiate forward from him Dark striations appeared in the air as his hout the cavern

A transparent, ethereal bubble became visible, revealed by the waves of ht that was so it It was small, only a few feet across, and hovered fifteen feet in the air Only then, looking at it with so ht have revealed its presence

One part of me was embarrassed that I had failed to sense it before, while another was amazed—and a little afraid—that Ji-ae had found it from across the ocean and with the Alacryan search forces so far away

I was also curious by how easily Agrona seeether, it rona’s jab at Nico had been When I glanced at Nico, I realized he was still watching ave hi that he understood

The rona intensified Lashes of void ere striking the bubble over and over again, growing slowly stronger The edges of the bubble were fraying, and space see thewith his hand

Nico and I quickly shuffled away froed lines of darkwith more power

With a rush of air, the bubble popped Inside was…difficult to understand A three-dier than the bubble had been folded up inside it I saw the space that had been hidden within as if looking at it through warped glass, its proportions entirely out of whack, the physical attributesexcept for the presence of a soft glow

Further confusing the sight was the fact that it was rapidly unfolding itself as it spilled out into the cavern, transitioning from the pocket dimension back into nor

With the grinding of stone and a sluggish splashi+ng noise, the hidden space settled in the center of the cave Glowing liquid sloshed back and forth in a small pool, partially hidden by a pinkish mist that surrounded the pool in san to disperse

Sitting in the pool, eyes closed, was Grey A girl with his same wheat-blond hair sat across from him I had never seen her in this form with my own eyes, but I knew fronature that this was Sylvie, his dragon bond in her humanoid form

A dark cuboid relic floated in the air between the with violet jolts of aether

Both had their eyes closed Neither ainst their clothes ceasing

They don’t even knoe’re here, I thought Despite being buried deep within me, Tessia trembled