Page 188 of The Last Guardian

“No dream is unattainable if you dare to pursue it,” Haedeon declared, standing tall beside Zaid. “Had you heeded my advice years ago, I would have guided you towards achieving everything. Even having her.” Haedeon pointed at me. “She’s a beauty, I can’t deny it. Even I myself had this burning desire when I saw her…”

Zaid spat on Haedeon, right into his face. Haedeon chuckled, wiping away Zaid’s spit.

“Pity really…” Haedeon added. “This is close to having everything. If only you had joined us years ago…”

A haze of smoke and darkness danced around my body, a warm power spreading through my fingers… where the patterns had carved themselves last night.

“You pray to a god who will condemn us all!” Zaid shouted, his black flames swirling around us.

“You address deaf gods, child,” Haedeon shouted. “Gods who banished the Lord of Death from the heavens, dooming him to rot in the Seven Hells. He’s ready to take back what belongs to him.”

Hot blackness exploded around us. Red and black flames danced, burned everything in their wake. Haedeon screamed. The creatures—Goblins, which had been motionless since the beginning—groaned, wailed.

The black flames danced around my neck and wrists. The red ropes snapped and burned into ashes. Zaid’s power. A surge of power coursed through my veins as I glanced at my fingers, where there were black flames.

How? I didn’t have time to ponder.

The flames released us, then attacked Haedeon and the goblins behind him.

Zaid’s hand found mine in a hurry and took his sword from the ground as we fled from the ruined Celestium. “Don’t let go,” Zaid urged, tugging at my hand.

We ran through the pathway, the corridor where the relic had wanted us to go earlier. I felt it buzzing in my pocket as our footsteps clacked rhythmically in the cramped space.

“You can’t get away from me!” Haedeon shouted behind.

My lungs were burning. My legs sped up, forcing my strength to come back.

“Don’t look back, keep running,” Zaid shouted. “Keep running as far as you can!”

“Can’t we use the amulet to go back to the ship?” I panted.

Zaid shook his head. “No. Haedeon can track your blood. He will find us again. We need to find the Sankyanoia.”

The corridor ended at a large black door.

Echoes of little claws against the stones warned us of the goblins’ arrival.

The door was the only way. I grabbed the doorknob, and my pocket jingled at the same time. Was it a good or bad omen? I wasn’t sure.

The door swung open, welcoming us into a dark room, only to face tiny crystalline spheres of light suspended in mid-air, lighting the way.

This place—I knew it.

The cave. A cave carved into the mountain’s core, hidden within the castle walls. I couldn’t see much, even with the little gleaming orbs.

“Zaid,” I whispered. “It’s the cave—from my dreams.”

Shock crossed his features as he glanced at the end of the cave, assessing the distance.

The cave extended far into the heart of the mountain, the ceiling stretching impossibly high.

“I can still smell you, Your Highness,” Haedeon’s voice echoed down the tunnel like a nightmare, like a whisper from the world’s dead.

The sound of claws clashing against stones echoed in a cacophony; the mountainside trembling beneath our feet. The mountain’s heat weighed heavily above our heads, rocks crumbled, and dust rose from the stones.

Zaid’s hand found mine again as we exchanged a glance. In haste, we raced as fast as we could. My heart was hammering in time with the goblins’ claws.

The shards kept glinting to guide us, forming into a floating rope.