bChapter /bb76 /b

The sun hasn’t risen yetb. /bThe world is quiet when I wake, still, softb, /bheavy with the kind of silence thates after a stormb. /bFor a moment, I don’t move. My body aches. Not in the usual way, not in the after–a–fight way. It’s a deeper kind of soreness, like my bones have been hollowed out and stitched together again with fire. I sit up slowly. Someone’s thrown a nket over me, and there’s a weight at my feetb. /bNoahb,/b‘ sprawled out like a feral dog who refused to leave his post. His brows are furrowed even in sleep. I rise carefully, stretching. My legs protest. My ribs ache. But I’m whole. I’m breathing.

Layah stirs inside me.

You iready /ifor ithis/ii?/ib” /b

i“/iiNo/i”

“iGood/ii. /iThat imeans /iyou iknow /iit imatters/i.”

The packhouse is quiet when I step into the hall. But the bond tugs toward the kitchen, warmth and magic and calmness thrumming like a distant heartbeat.

Levi’s already thereb, /bsleeves rolled, herbs spread across the counter like an apothecary’s altar.

b“/bYou should still be resting,” he says, without looking up.

“I did,” I reply, voice rough. “Now I’m ready.“.

Levi finally meets my eyes. He nodsb, /bslowly, like he knew this wasing before I said anything. “I’ve prepared what I need. Noah will anchor your mind. I’ll work through the locks in thereb./bb” /b

He hesitates. “It’s not going to be niceb…/b”

“I don’t need gentle. bI /bneed the truthb./bb” /b

Footsteps approach behind me. Noah. Shirtless and barely awake.

“Luna,i” /ihe bsays /bsoftly. “You sureb?/bb” /b

“No,” bI /badmit. b“/bbBut /bI’m doing it anyway.

We clear out the center room in the old library, thick stone walls, magic–heavy air, windows sealed tight against the outside world. Levi draws sigils in salt and soot bon /bthe floor. Noah ces a single obsidian mirror at bthe /bnorth end. I sit in the centerb, /bcross–legged, with a thin ring bof /bblood around me. Mineb, /b

My mates line the room. Haiden crouched, staring intently. Noah leans against the wall, eyes narrowed, ready to rip the bworld /bapart if something goes wrong. Xavier watches from the far sideb, /bbstill /band cold like ba /bde in shadow.

Noah moves to kneel behind meb, /bpalms gently resting on my shoulders. His voice is a balm, “You’ll feel bthe /bmemory break first. Then it’ll pour through you. Let it. I’ll hold you together.”

Levi stands before me. b“/bReady?”

“Do it.”

His hands hover over my head like he does when he’s entering someone’s mind. Magic hums around him with intent as he hums lowly in thought. Then the paines, Not sharp, not sudden. It builds pressure behind my eyesb, /ba twisting at the edge of my mind. Like ws scraping at the seal of a locked door…and then bthe /bdoor cracks. I fall inward. Into her. Into me. Into ibefore/ii. /i

bMemory /b

I’m in a stone room, iShackled/i. iCold/i, iBlood /ion ithe /ifloor, not minei. /iMarcus stands above iher/i. Salira chants beside him, her eyes iwild /iwith magic,

“iYou /iiwill /inot rememberbi,/i/bb” /bishe /iiwhispers/i, magicshing out like threads. “You are too dangerous. We will make you sleepbi./i/b”

“No, no, please!” bI /bsob.

Do you like this storyb? /b

bADD /bbTO /bLIBRARY

bChapter /b76

“iShe /iwill idestroy /iieverything/i,i” /iiSalira /ibisays/i/bb. /bi“/iiShe’s /iitoo /imuchb./bb” /b

“iThat’s /iithe /iipoint/ii,/ii” /iiMarcus /iisnaps/i. “We control iher/i; ithe /iiworld /iis oursb./bb” /b

biI /i/biscream /ias ithe /iispell /istrikes me. iMy /imagic itries /ito fight iback/ii, /iilight /iiexplodes /iifrom /ime, blinding, ifurious/i, holy. iI /iishriek /iiin /irage, ibut /iit’s not ienough/i.

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iFelix/i, ihe’s /iiin /ibithe /i/bdoorwayi. /iiWatching/ii. /iiSilently/ii. /iiFace /iipale/i. iHe /iturns awayi. /iHe lets iit /iihappen/i.

bBack /bbin /bthe present.

I scream. My body arches. My hands w at the salt line. Noah holds me tighter, whispering sweet nothings. Levi is humming againb, /blouder now. Blood drips from my nose, my eyes, a thin stream down my chin, and then, it stops. I copse into Noah’s arms, gasping like I’ve been drowning.

“Fuck,” Haiden breathes.

Noah’s at my side in secondsb, /bbrushing hair from my face. “What did you see?”

I shake my headb. /b“Not yet,” I whisper. “Not yet. Just… give me a second.”

Xavier watches bme/bb, /bjaw locked. “Was it him? Marcusb?/bb” /b

I nod once. Then I open my mouth and sob, because the worst part wasn’t Marcus. It wasn’t even Salira. It was Felix. Standing there. Turning away. He knewb. /bHe always knew.

b“/bI’m not done,b” /bbI /brasp.

Levi blinksb, /bsweat on his brow. “Doll, your nose is bleeding, your magic’s fraying at the edges. You need to rest.”

“No.” My voice shakes, but the fire behind it doesn’t. “There’s more. I felt it. That wasn’t everything.”

Noah holds me tighter from behind, grounding me. “She’s rightb. /bThe lock broke, but there are more doors inside. Someone buried her under byers/bb./bb” /b

Levi hesitates. b“/bIf we go deeper, there’s no way to know if we go too far. We could awaken something that shouldn’t be touched.”

“Then let it wakei./ibi” /i/bI lift my gaze to his. “bI /bneed all of it. Every stolen second. Every lieb. /bEvery piece of what I lostb./bb” /b

There’s a moment of silence.

Then Levi kneels before me again. “Hold onb, /bbthen/bb. /bAnd if you bfeel /byourself slipping,e back to us.”

This time, the magic doesn’t crack; bit /bshatters. Like a mirror dropped from a bgreat /bheight

Memoryb. /b

A iflicker/i. A ish/i. Screams in ithe /iidark/i. A iritual /iicircle/i. iMe /iiat fifteen /ion my kneesbi, /i/bipower /iiwing /iat my ithroat/ii, /iibleeding /ifrom the ieyes /iias /iiMarcus /iiwatches/i, ifascinated/i.

Marcus: “bIt’s /biworking/i! Her imagic /iis iseeping /iiout/ii; /iiwe /ican use iit/ii! /iChannel iIt/ii! /iiWeild /iiit/ii!/i”

iSalira /ilooked uneasy at ime/ibi, /i/bwincing iin /iipain/i. b“/bIt’s notplete, not iyet/i…We’re missing something.”

iMarcus/i: “iI /iiwant /ibithat /i/bgate iunlocked/ii, /iwitch. iMake /iiit /iihappen/ii!/ii” /i

iAnother /iiflicker. /iiFelix /iiis /iin a corridori, /iiwhispering /ito someone in the ishadows/i.

iFelix/ii: /ii“/iiShe /iican’t /iknow iwhat /ishe is. bIf /bithe /iiothers /iifind /iouti…/ibif /bithe /iprophecy iis /iireal/i…”

iShadow /iivoice/ii: /i“iYou /iifear /iiher/ii?/i”

iFelix/ii: /ib“/bbI /bifear /iiwhat /iiMarcus /iiwill /iido /iwith iher/i. iWhat /ibihe /i/biwill /ido to the world.”

Another flicker. A bcage /bmade bof /bsilver and bone. I’m bten /byears old, vomiting blood.

iDo /iyou like this story?

bADD /bbTO /bLIBRARY

1:02 PM p bp /b

Marcusb: /b“When she breaks, she’ll tear the veil between realms. We just have to control the copse.”

Salira: We’re taking this too far. This wasn’t what we agreed uponb./bb” /b

Marcusb: /b“She’s a key. My key and I’ll use it however I want.”

bBack /bbto /bbthe /bbpresent/bb. /b

bI /bbscream /bagain, but this time, it’s not fear. It’s fury. Magic explodes outward from my chestb, /bcracking the salt lines, blowing candles to smoke. The walls tremble. Lightning races across the floor.

bXavier /bsnarls and lunges forward to anchor the warding again. “Levi, she’s destabilizingb…/bb” /b

“She’s venting,” Noah saysb, /bvoice quiet but sure. “Let her.b” /b

This work, Goddess of the Underworld by Sheridan Hartin, is an exclusive intellectual property legally contracted with NovelSnack. Any reproduction, distribution, or upload outside NovelFlow, AnyStories, NovGo, and Readink is unauthorized and constitutes copyright infringement.

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