Down the Levidan you spiral,
where truth is poison,
so painful and vile.
Remain sound of mind,
and watch your step.
The prisoners beneath the earth can hear your every breath.
It played on repeat, sung by withered voices that coiled in my ears and silenced my thoughts. Notes of pain and bitterness, betrayal and rage. They were laced within the words, within the stones embedded into the walls that scraped my fingertips as I fell.
Faces flashed behind my eyes, youthful versions of Nadia and Callum. The Game Master was there as well, but even past versions of himself were blurred. Nadia's curse hadn't just spanned the future, but it had also obscured his past.
The three of them had always been close, laughing and playing together the moment they could wobble on two legs. My eyes rolled and fluttered as the light and images continued flipping through my head like a photo album.
One image stood out among the others,
For those of you who love Iridian as much as I do, thank you so much for stepping into the world I've created! Also, this is NOT the end of this book!! You guys know how much I love cliffhangers :)
It wasn't his looks that made me tear my hands from his and stumble back, even though they had rendered me completely speechless.It was the sensation I had only heard about from word of mouth, by people who experienced it differently each time. Some described it as a gradual feeling of bliss, creeping up before smothering you entirely. Others described it as a rush of emotion and feeling, though that wasn't what I was experiencing at the moment.Ice and heat washed through me, starting at my hands where they had touched his. During those long seconds where my hands remained in his grasp, I could feel the magic I now had rising up, shimmering like rays of sunlight as they fought to reach his darkness. I had felt the Game Master's magic rise up in response, sucking the air from the room and making my chest feel heavy.What made me pull back ungracefully, was how incredible it felt. Every nerve ending was seared by heat, covered in velvety darkness that felt all t
‘When he said specific, he definitely meant it.’ I grimaced, trying not to inhale deeply when the intoxicating scent of black cherries mixed with something rich and purely male flooded my senses. I clearly hadn’t experienced his scent before, because I surely would have remembered how it made me weak at the knee’s, my mouth watering for something—something I couldn’t put my finger on. The first time I had been here, during that memory with Apollo and Day, I hadn’t had time to truly look around. His room, though similar in size and layout to my own, was covered in shades of ivory and obsidian. Darkness clung to the corners of the room, lingering in heavy shadows, despite the fact that sunlight streamed in from all corners. His also looked much more lived in, with papers and books scattered across the table, and various items on a dresser beside his bed. It was one of those items that caught my attention. A box of pure obsidian, the ston
I had little experience in all things related to boys, and even less when it came to men. Everything I learned had been from growing up alongside Aidan. Knowing all of the other children in town made it difficult to develop any lasting crushes. Especially when we all knew from a young age that most of our mates would be out in the world, living lives of their own. It was his face I memorized during my pre-teen years, over analyzing the small gestures he made that showed his true feelings. Holding open a door, bringing me small gifts to school; it was those things Aidan did that let me know our friendship was turning into something else. Aidan was straight forward, telling me his feelings mere moments after he discovered them himself. We were just starting high school, on our daily walk home when he finally gave in and told me what was bothering him. He had been quiet all day, still walking me to and from class, but with a thoughtful expression on his
My heart was a stuttering mess as I jogged to keep up after the Game Master. I made no move to have him slow down, in just as much a hurry to see what it was he did not want to show me. The look on his face, the worry and irritation--I wondered what the source had been, and my curiosity only grew with each twist and turn we made through the castle. I almost stumbled into him when he stopped abruptly, turning towards a set of wooden doors. They were ordinary compared to some others I had seen, but what was inside, that was what picked at the corners of my brain. The Game Master placed his hand on the curved metal handle and paused, looking back at me with guarded eyes. "You must understand why I didn't tell you--" He began, but I heard a voice call out from the other side of the door. "Rachel?!" Aidan's voice, raspy from shouting and full of desperation, sounded from behind the door. I knew without a doubt that it was Aidan I was hearin
I turned towards the Game Master, a question burning in my eyes, one that would have singlehandedly changed the way I felt about him...if I hadn't been carrying a secret of my own.His eyes met mine, making my stomach both drop and flutter. They were unapologetic and strong, framed by dark lashes and arched eyebrows.He didn't need to use words to confirm what Aidan was saying, not when his eyes held a whirlpool of stars in their depths that shifted and changed whenever he didn't bother concealing his emotions.Embarrassment washed through me, searing hot to the touch as my face and neck flushed a crude shade of red. I clenched my fists at my side, hating the way he just stood there, all but agreeing to his motives from the start.What I hated more was how I couldn't say the words. Even though pain rippled across my skin and embarrassment stung my insides, I couldn't make myself reject him."I can't stay here, Rachel. She can use me to hurt you." A
I scurried into the walk-in closet, feeling his eyes on my back. Opting for something that covered just a bit more skin, I found an emerald-colored blouse that wrapped around my waist and exposed an inch of midriff. The jeans I snatched carelessly, slid over my hips with ease and formed to my pert bottom and thick thighs. I tried not to glance in the mirror, smothering that piece of me that cared what the Game Master thought. Where I normally would have swept the frizzy curls from my face, I was able to let my hair fall freely down my back. When I emerged from the closet, I had the strong urge to avert my eyes. If there was a reaction within the depths of his eyes, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see it. Thankfully, when I looked up there was nothing to be found. The curtains were closed tightly, shielding any emotion from slipping through those bedroom eyes of his. As I strolled five feet behind the Game Master, I took the time to look freely. It was becoming a ha
Marble pedestals sat clustered around the room, hidden in an alcove where only slim rays of sunlight reached. They hit the smooth wall, sending beams of shimmering colors reflecting onto the floor. The near-silent scuffle of my feet followed by the rustle of paper as a breeze drifted through, was all that could be heard. On top were an arrangement of objects, some mundane and others practically oozing what I assumed was magic. It made my hands tingle, spreading up my arms before fading. Some were vibrant and beautiful, and others seemed more cursed than magical. ‘We’re not here to touch anything, right?’ Rayna eyed some of the strange items warily. ‘Of course not.’ I scoffed, wounded she would suggest such a thing. ‘The magic in some of these feels so strong. I wonder what their purpose is.’ A rather plain looking ceramic bowl and spoon sat atop one of the pedestals, looking so out of place that I wanted to laugh. I would have, if it weren’t for the m
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I questioned, surprised to hear the words coming from my own mouth. “The only times I’ve been table to tap into my magic were in life-or-death situations.”It was strange calling it my magic, but that was where it had come from. The red-haired couple on the scroll flashed in my mind, along with the three others.Apollo answered with a reassuring grin, but the light that danced in his eyes reminded me of the Game Master’s madness. Like they thrived on the danger, letting it fuel the deepest and darkest parts of themselves.“Of course, Rachel. You’re perfectly safe here, I assure you.”We stood on the circular platform that overlooked the cliff and churning sea. We were far too high to feel the spray, but I could still smell the salt in the air. Etched deep into the stone were patterns, large circles that all surrounded the very center.Apollo stood with his bac