Free Web NovelChapter 404: Chapter 404
The magic at the cave’s entrance was overwhelming, pulsing incessantly in Circe’s ears like the steady beat of a war drum. It tugged at her and nudged her forward, guiding her step by step as though she were nothing more than a fish caught helplessly on a fisherman’s hook.
Each step closer to the mouth of the cave seemed to tighten that invisible line around her, drawing her deeper into its grasp. But the moment she reached the opening, a violent wave of power struck her squarely in the chest. The force of it made her stagger. The magic here was far stronger than she remembered from her dreams, far more potent and concentrated than anything she had anticipated. For a brief moment her vision blurred, the world around her dissolving into a haze of shifting shapes and dim light. A dizzy spell washed over her, leaving her lightheaded.
She swayed where she stood and quickly braced herself, pressing both hands against the rough stone walls of the cave’s entrance to steady her balance. The rock was cold beneath her palms, but the moment her skin made contact with it, a sharp jolt of energy shot up her arm like a sudden bolt of lightning.
Ragnar was beside her in the next instant.
His hand came to rest firmly against her back as his worry-lined face appeared within her blurred field of vision.
"Princess?" he said quietly, his voice filled with concern as he studied the strained expression on her face. "What’s wrong?"
But his words barely reached her over the thunderous pounding of her heart. Still reeling from the sudden surge of magic, Circe clenched her teeth against the lingering discomfort. With a slow breath, she lifted the barrier she had placed over her own power and reached inward, drawing from the deep well of magic that resided within her. She allowed it to flow outward.
Her magic seeped into the cave like a silent tide, slipping into the very web of energy that curled around the place like a living shield. It spread through the jagged rocks, winding deeper and deeper until it reached the hidden heart of the cave itself.
Her power hovered there, searching. And then she felt them. Souls.
More than a hundred of them. They flared brightly beneath her senses, lighting up like torches in the darkness as her magic pushed further into the depths of the cave. Their presence burned against her awareness, each one a flickering spark of life trapped within the cave’s suffocating magic. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Her hand remained pressed against the stone wall as she felt them all. A sudden rush of elation surged through her. She had found them. For a moment, the realization felt almost unreal. She could hardly believe it was true.
She had been right. Right about Dena. Right about the missing vampires. They had been here all along, hidden deep within this very cave. Months after their disappearance, Circe now stood only a few steps away from bringing them home to their families.
Yet even as relief flooded her chest, one question echoed insistently through her mind. If the missing people had been inside the cave this entire time... why had she never sensed them before? Had Dena done something to conceal them from her magic?
The thought lingered uneasily in her mind.
And then, just as the thrill of success began to settle over her, a sudden chill crept down her spine. Danger, her instincts screamed at her.
The warning was sharp and urgent, clawing at the edges of her mind and urging her to listen. But the threat was not meant for her alone. If anything, the danger seemed directed toward the people who had accompanied her here. They were the ones truly at risk if they stepped foot inside.
Behind her, Cornelia took several cautious steps away from the entrance, as though she too could sense the malevolence seeping from within the cave and wisely wished to place as much distance between herself and it as possible.
Circe slowly lifted her hands from the cave wall. The moment she broke contact with the stone, the connection to the trapped souls vanished instantly, severed as abruptly as a snapped thread.
She turned to face Ragnar fully. He was still watching her with the same troubled look in his eyes, clearly unsettled by the distress he had seen on her face.
"Circe?" he tried again.
She swallowed, forcing herself to listen to the warning ringing inside her mind.
"I don’t think any of you should follow me in there," she said quietly. "It isn’t safe."
Ragnar studied her face carefully, reading the seriousness written plainly across her expression. Yet the idea of allowing her to walk alone into a place filled with such dangerous magic was something he simply could not accept. His mind raced through countless possibilities, each scenario darker than the last.
Before she had even finished speaking, he was already shaking his head.
"That’s even more reason for me to accompany you," he replied firmly, gesturing briefly toward the others behind them. "The rest of them can stay back if they want. But I will be coming with you. No matter how dangerous it is, I will follow you."
The conviction in his voice stunned her. Then, slowly, she nodded.
However, the men Ragnar had brought with them proved to be just as loyal and just as stubborn as he was. One by one they refused to remain behind while their leader walked into danger alone.
After several tense minutes of discussion, a compromise was finally reached. Since Cornelia showed no desire to venture any deeper into the cave, she was allowed to remain at the entrance with two other members of their group to guard her. The rest would accompany Circe and Ragnar inside. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Together, they stepped into the cavern. Its interior opened into a vast maze of winding passageways. The tunnels twisted and branched endlessly, their stone walls rising high above them like the ribs of some enormous sleeping beast. Tiny flickering lights glimmered along the ceilings of the tunnels. They resembled stars scattered across an inky night sky, hovering softly above the group as they ventured further away from the entrance. Their faint glow illuminated the path ahead just enough to keep them from walking blindly into the darkness.
Yet despite the beauty of the lights, an unsettling feeling lingered in the air.
It felt as though something unseen was watching them from the shadows.
