Page 96 of Sinful Curses
“Yes. I’ve checked it in every town we’ve gone through.”
“I slept in this room when I first arrived in the Cursed Realm,” Zeth said as he stared at the room in disbelief. “And I never knew it existed.”
“Beldadidn’t know it existed until we showed her,” Orin said.
“Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Elsa demanded. “We’ve slept in the pub with you throughout all these towns. What if something had entered through this door while we were sleeping?”
“I placed a protection spell over it in every town we’ve gone through. It would have alerted us if someone tried to enter through here,” Sahira said.
“You still should have told us but didn’t trust us enough.”
Sahira hated the sadness in her friend’s tone and eyes, but she couldn’t do anything about it. She probably should have told them; they were all still alive because they’d relied on each other to get through this. They were more than friends now; they were family… even Orin… sort of.
“I’m sorry.” She rested her hand over Elsa’s shoulder and squeezed. “I trust you; I do. After what happened with Radagast, I didn’t want anyone else to know about this… except Belda and Orin.”
Zeth lifted his head, and his eyes narrowed on Orin. “Youknew about this?”
“Of course. I was there the night Radagast tried to kill her, and I wouldn’t tell anyone else about it.”
Zeth studied him with a furrowed brow until he glanced at Sahira; his forehead smoothed as understanding descended over him. Sahira didn’t know what that understanding was, but when Zeth looked at Orin again, they held each other’s gazes until Zeth nodded.
“I don’t blame you,” Zeth said.
Sahira had no idea what kind of an exchange they’d shared, and she didn’t care. They had more things to worry about.
“Why are we getting to learn about it now?” Elsa demanded.
“Because something is different,” Sahira said.
She ignored Orin’s questioning look; he didn’t deserve any answers. Lifting her chin, she descended into the darkness.
With her knees knocking a little, she crossed the room to the back wall and ran her trembling fingers over the rocks while she searched for the right stone. When she found it again, her hand stilled on it.
“This door should open onto the field behind the pub,” she said as she pressed the rock.
Holding her breath, Sahira chewed her bottom lip while she waited for the door to open. For all she knew, what she’d seen before had vanished and now the field lay beyond.
She’d look like an idiot, and they’d all probably hate her for closing the door on their possible freedom, but she’d done what she believed was right. There was also the awful possibility she reallyhadhallucinated it.
Except, when the door swung open, the skulls and bone-lined stairs greeted her. Her breath exploded from her as she stopped biting her lip. Relief and dread roared to the forefront while she gazed at the laughing skulls.
CHAPTEREIGHTY-THREE
“What the fuck?”Orin whispered.
“Where do they go?” Pip inquired.
“I have no idea,” Sahira said. “I’ve never seen this before. It’sneverbeen there before. This is all new.”
“There’s finally a difference in the realm,” Loth murmured.
“Do we go down there?” Elsa inquired.
None of them spoke as they pondered this question, but Fath finally answered. “We don’t have a choice. Wemustsee where this difference leads.”
He never spoke much, but he was right.
“It looks like it leads to Hell,” Elsa said.
