“She’s here all right,” Armannii said, answering Diomedes’s unasked question. “If by here you mean a couple of bones and some nice pearly whites.” The elf must’ve leaned over the edge of the grave because he grunted at the same time something jingled. “And then there’s this.”
Diomedes gripped the edge of the grave. “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific,” he said, his voice carrying the glare he was giving beneath the blindfold.
“Hold your hand out,” Armannii ordered.
Rolling his eyes, Diomedes did as he was told. Something cold landed in his palm, and as his fingers closed around the object, a grin spread across his thin lips. It was an item he knew well—he had one around his neck.
“Then it really is Raylee’s grave,” Diomedes said, his thumb rubbing over the coat of arms on the front of the medallion.
“I suppose R. M. could be someone else’s initials,” Armannii said with a voice that conveyed a hint of a smile. “But I’d say it’s a pretty good guess that these bones belong to the person we’ve been looking for.”
Diomedes clenched the medallion in his fist. “This is a good first step. Grab a bone or whatever we need to complete the spell to speak with her, and let’s get out. I’m done with this place.”
“I think we all are,” Armannii said, his voice dipping again. Fabric swished beside Diomedes, and he guessed that Armannii was placing Raylee’s remains in his bag.
“I certainly am,” Blanndynne said as she guided Diomedes’s hand back up to her shoulder. “This is absolutely awful. I hope I never see a dead body again.”
“There’s not much of a body here, B,” Armannii said from behind them. “Should I leave the pen?”
“Don’t care,” Diomedes said, rubbing his finger over Raylee’s initials on the medallion. A smirk crossed his lips. “Got what we came here for. The pen is worthless now.”
Blanndynne led him back across the bridge first this time, although Diomedes still held his breath with every creaky footstep. He listened to the sound of Armannii’s long stride as he followed them. The elf passed them and took the lead as they left in the direction Diomedes assumed to be the exit of the oasis.
After another minute of cautious walking, Armannii informed Diomedes he could take the blindfold off. Diomedes couldn’t see anything until he put on the rectangular glasses, which Armannii had placed in his hand.
“Honestly, the blindfold was unnecessary,” Diomedes said as his sight adjusted, becoming less blurry with every blink. “I can’t see without these anyway.”
“Yeah, but the runes on the stones in the water glowed, and you probably would’ve been able to see them without the glasses.” Armannii stood in front of Diomedes with his hands on his hips.
“I don’t remember any runes,” Diomedes said, folding the cloth and handing it back to the elf.
“That’s because you were too busy trying to kill yourself by drinking poisoned water.” Armannii snatched the cloth and placed it in his bag.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Blanndynne said, waving a hand. “We’re out of there, and we got what we were looking for. Now can we please leave?”
“Ladies first,” Armannii said, leaning over in a deep bow. His head tilted up, and a broad grin spread across his lips.
Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she strode past Armannii, taking the lead. Armannii and Diomedes fell in step behind her, and they scanned the maze for the traps laid just out of sight. They took every right they came upon, knowing they’d eventually find their way out just like they’d found their way in.
“This has gone a little too well,” Diomedes said as he avoided a rune on the wall Armannii had triggered on the way in. Diomedes had no desire to empty his stomach as his friend had, and an acrid smell still rose from the side of the maze where Armannii had vomited.
It was no surprise that Armannii had found some way to make a positive spin when it happened to him on the way in; he had said something along the lines of, “At least I’ll be ready for a big meal when all of this is over.”
“That’s because I have a good memory,” Armannii said, grinning back at him. The elf had taken the lead, pointing to runes they had encountered on the way in with the end of his bow. “And since we only went to the left on the way in, it should be relatively easy finding our way—”
The ground beneath Armannii crumbled, cutting the elf’s words short. In less than a second, Armannii disappeared out of sight. All that remained was the reverberating echo of his scream. There was now a bottomless pit where he had stood.
Despite the adrenaline spiking in his body, Diomedes’s reactions had not been fast enough to grab Armannii’s hand, to save his friend. He stumbled away from the widening hole, his eyes wide and his hands shaking.
“No!” Diomedes hollered, peering over the edge as soon as the hole stopped growing.
Something moved next to him, and before he could stop her, Blanndynne dove into the darkness like it was nothing more than a refreshing pool of water. He could not understand why. She was no harpy, had no wings. And neither did Armannii.
He’d lost them both.
He was alone.
Diomedes collapsed to his knees, which were no longer able to support his body weight. His whole body shook. Rubbing his hands over his trousers did nothing to remove the sense of clamminess in them. It felt like his stomach had been wrung out with the laundry, and for the third time since they’d entered, he thought he would vomit even without the nauseating rune or the one that had made him go deaf for a few minutes. Each movement of his eyes sent his body lurching, and he bent over, clutching his gut. He squeezed his eyes shut, but even he knew the small action would not change his circumstances.
How was he supposed to face his father’s council without the knowledge that Armannii was supporting him? How was he even supposed to find his way out of the Dark without Armannii? And Blanndynne had been so eager to start her new life of freedom only to have it yanked away. He couldn’t comprehend why she dived in after Armannii. She herself had said how complicated flying was. And with no practice, what chance did she have?
He clutched the top of his shirt, clawing at the fabric that seemed to be choking him around the neck. His chest tightened even more as he opened his eyes and peered over the edge. Darkness stared back at him. Gaping. Empty.
Until it wasn’t.
From far below him, a light flickered, and as it grew brighter—grew bigger—Diomedes recognized it as two people. His two people. He scrambled away from the edge, backpedaling as Blanndynne and Armannii collapsed on the opposite side of the hole. It must’ve been a hallucination. Maybe another rune playing tricks with his mind. His friends could not be across the pit, not when Diomedes had watched them plummet toward death.
“How—” Diomedes couldn’t organize his thoughts enough to put more words behind the first.
“B caught me,” Armannii said, brushing off his tunic as he pushed himself to his knees. His voice held the slightest tremble, and Diomedes doubted Blanndynne had even picked up on it. But Armannii’s face gave off subtle hints that he was completely shaken up on the inside. His eyes flicked between Diomedes and the hole, and he compulsively straightened his vest three times.
“You flew.” It wasn’t a question. It was a statement Diomedes said as he scrambled to his feet, ignoring the residual waves of nausea ricocheting around his head.
Blanndynne, still on her knees next to Armannii, nodded. She panted and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “I didn’t know what else to do. He went down, and I just—”
“Saved me.” Armannii put a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you,” he said when she glanced at him. His eyes softened as he looked at her, but he straightened up when he returned his focus to Diomedes.
“You look awful, Didi.”
“What?” Diomedes said, not registering the joke amidst the confusion still traveling through his brain.
“Well, for starters, you’re pale enough that I’m pretty sure you could be your own light source. And—”
“Stop joking for a second.” Diomedes shook his head, wiping his hand across the back of his neck. Sweat dripped off it, and he used his trousers to dry his skin off.
“All right.” Armannii tilted his head in Blanndynne’s direction. “B is stronger than she has given herself credit for.” Without Armannii’s notice, Blanndynne and Diomedes exchanged a glance. There was no doubt she was stronger, and after the enchantment in Bayan, Diomedes had a feeling Blanndynne was beginning to realize it.
“Clearly,” Diomedes said, brushing his knees off. “I thought—I thought you were both done for.”
“And you can’t be gladder than I am that you were wrong,” Armannii said with a smile the size of the Elemental Mountains. “She even caught my bow too.”
Diomedes noted Armannii’s bow, which his friend had across his chest. He didn’t know what to say. However, he did know what he wouldn’t say. He wasn’t going to tell Armannii how worried he had been; apparently, that was clear enough by his physical reaction. He wasn’t going to say how, for a second, he had considered jumping in after him. And he especially wasn’t going to say that, for a moment, he had thought all was lost.
“Well done, Blanndynne,” Diomedes finally said. He ran a hand through his hair, fixing it from whatever state it had been in.
“Think you could get him over here so we can get out of this maze?” Armannii asked Blanndynne, who was slowly rising to her feet. “This place just isn’t holding the same appeal it did at first.”
Blanndynne ignored his joke, and she pushed her braid back. “I’ll try to carry him, but I’m exhausted just from flying you out.” She sent a hesitant glance toward the hole.
“We could wait,” Diomedes said. “Or I could try to find another way around. Or I could try to jump and you could catch me if I slip.”
Blanndynne shook her head at the same time Armannii laughed.
“I’ve seen you jump, Didi. You couldn’t jump across a creek, let alone this giant hole.”
Blanndynne must’ve recognized that as her cue because her feet lifted off the ground. She levitated there for a second, panting heavily. Diomedes kept his gaze on her, doing whatever he could to keep the curiosity and awe he felt from reaching his face. But it was not easy. She was floating.
And a second later, she was flying toward him. She carried with her an unnatural amount of grace, like a feather floating in midair. She kept her ankles crossed, and Diomedes wondered if she did it for balance.
She flew behind him, and he spun around to keep his gaze on her. It was incredible, truly incredible, and he wished he could see her better. Even with the glasses, it was just too dark.
“Ready?” she asked, holding out her hands.
“Yes,” he said, offering his own.
They gripped each other around the wrist, and though it pulled at the injury on his arm, he didn’t complain as she lifted him off the ground. Just like a minute earlier, his stomach twisted, especially as she carried him over the hole. He couldn’t help but look down. How far had Armannii fallen before Blanndynne had caught him? Diomedes shivered, grateful when they reached the other side and his feet found the surety of solid ground.
“Isn’t that incredible?” Armannii asked as soon as Diomedes stood next to him.
“Certainly remarkable,” Diomedes said, nodding. “Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go.” He tilted his head back, looking up at the woven branches above their heads. How long had they spent in the maze? How long had they spent in the Dark? How had time become more difficult to determine than the fate of his country?
“Still,” Armannii said, a grin remaining plastered on his face. “She can fly.”
“I should’ve been practicing,” Blanndynne said with her arms crossed over her chest. “I need a few minutes to rest.”
“Of course.” Diomedes nodded. “Take as much time as you need.”
“Right,” Armannii said in agreement. “And then we can go find something for a late dinner? Or an early breakfast.” Armannii nodded toward the direction they’d been walking.
Despite the adrenaline still coursing through him, Diomedes chuckled. “Good plan.”
He hated to admit it, but Armannii’s presence helped him breathe easier. And that was something Diomedes would never tell him. The elf’s ego was big enough already.