Page 33 of Shadowed Bond

“Not now, Arden,” I growl as I keep walking.

“It hasn’t healed entirely, has it?” she asks icily.

“Congratulations, Sherlock,” I reply sarcastically.

“You are an alpha favoured by Poseidon, Ares. A scrape should not still be hurting you.”

I don’t answer because she’s right, and I’m not in the mood to give her that satisfaction when the water is pulling us deeper into a place that feels like it was built to swallow up whoever enters it. Up ahead, the tunnel curves to the left, the water hitting the stone wall violently, but that’s not what’s caught my attention.

We continue cautiously, taking a few more steps as we approach the bend when I suddenly stop, and Charlotte bumps into me. I ignore her mutter, my eyes fixed on the crack in the veil, peeking out from behind a collapsed pile of stones, but the glowing crack is unmistakable.

I step closer, my eyes narrowing. It’s not the biggest I’ve seen, but it’s far from the smallest. Nothing larger than a human could fit through, but that’s dangerous enough.

Charlotte steps beside me, tablet lowering slowly in her hand. “So that’s it.”

It’s not a question, so I don’t bother responding.

“Send our location to Leo; from here it’s on him to get it sorted,” I say. She nods as she marks something down on her tablet.

“I’ll mark the location just in case, and then I’ll send our location to Leo,” she replies.

I nod as I observe her; she didn’t argue this time about who’s in charge.

“Thanks,” I say. She looks up, and I narrow my eyes; she’s smart enough not to say anything right now.

She tilts her head as she steps back. “Do you feel that?” she murmurs.

“Feel what?” I ask.

“Ill?” she says quietly.

I pause, the pain from my leg rising through me, but aside from that I feel fine, maybe a little off… I frown.

“Kinda, I guess,” I say. She looks at me with that look that means she’s very unimpressed by my answer.

“It feels worse the closer to it we are; maybe whatever’s on the other side is bleeding into the water.” Her gaze then dips to my leg. “That’s probably why it’s taking so long to heal.”

“Brilliant.”

She looks like she wants to argue, but decides against it. She reaches for her Schattensicht to send out the signal to Leo. A strong ripple rushes through the water, and we both turn to the crack, seeing something dark spilling out of it.

I step in front of her without thinking, and she huffs in irritation. “Don’t try to protect me,” she says icily.

“Too late,” I murmur, my eyes fixed on the crack.

Charlotte makes an irritated sound. “This is supposed to be a partnership,” she remarks. I can feel the subtle aura of her power as she keeps it at the ready.

“Yeah, and right now your partner is being considerate as fuck and protecting you.”

Before she can throw a snarky answer back at me, I point to the walls. “Look, those scratches are pretty deep…” I murmur, inching closer to the pulsing crack.

“And there’s blood; it doesn’t look that old…” she adds. I scan the walls; it’s as if something or someone was desperately trying to stop itself from being dragged into it.

Most likely the victims that those things have been taking.

Suddenly, I sense the shift in the air and step back just as something dark begins spreading from the crack in the veil, rushing through the water towards us, tendrils spreading as if trying to grab us. One strand of darkness darts towards Charlotte’s leg. I grab her by the waist and pull her close, blasting it back with a wall of water.

She hits my chest, one of her hands flying to my arm, her heart racing. For a split second, all that matters is the feel of her against me, the way her body stills beneath my hold, the sudden hitch in her breathing that she can’t hide even when she tilts her chin and gives me a glare sharp enough to cut stone.