The vault? I froze, my heart plummeting, that place was supposed to be untouchable, sealed by oaths older than even Elder Rachael's staff.
Lupus's face darkened, more than rage, more than fear. "Which vault?" he demanded, voice low, lethal.
The soldier coughed, blood staining his lips, his eyes lifted, wild, desperate, as if he already carried death in his chest.
"The one beneath the temple," he rasped. "The one with… the bloodstones."
My breath caught, cold slammed through me harder than any wind. Elder Rachael's words returned, sharp and haunting: Kaelith doesn't waste her gaze, if she has chosen Kaida, there is a reason buried in the old bloodlines.
And now the vault... the bloodstones... unsealed, Lupus's grip on my hand tightened until it almost hurt, his jaw set like stone. "You're certain?" His voice was low, deadly.
