Secrets of the Forbidden Land by Marina Ermakova

Author:Marina Ermakova
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure fantasy, emperor, mage, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, high fantasy, new adult
Publisher: Marina Ermakova
Published: 2023-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

TIME STRETCHED OUT into an eternity of positioning and repositioning the copper sheets. The storm raged around them, expect for the narrow path where they stood, opening up above them to a slight view of a sky that darkened as the sun began to set. That was the only indication they had as to how long they’d spent traversing the wasteland, crawling forward bit by bit. Well, that and their dwindling supply of water.

The sailors had grown increasingly nervous, but they refrained from arguing or complaining. Perhaps they realized this was their best chance, surrounded by crackling electricity or no.

Cyrele ignored the sting of blisters forming on her feet as she placed the sheet down again, pushing it into the storm and laying it on the ground as she’d done a hundred times before—except this time, rather than hitting soft earth, the end of the sheet clinked against a harder surface. Cyrele held her breath as she placed the next artifact...and then the sparking cloud in front of them faded, leaving them with a view of the half-buried stonework that covered the ground.

“Does this mean we’re close to our destination?” Aralath asked. “Or did we stumble over some unrelated ruin?”

Cyrele didn’t know—and in all honesty, she didn’t care. Finding Kamene felt less and less likely the more time they spent in the wasteland, but all that thoughtless labor had given Cyrele the opportunity to consider that they didn’t have to find Kamene. Anything they came across in this wasteland to help them escape would be enough. It wouldn’t save Kamene, but the princess wouldn’t be the first or last person in the world to suffer a fate they hadn’t chosen for themselves. There was no reason to prioritize Kamene’s life over the four people here now—the sailors, Aralath, herself.

“Either way, we should determine whether anything here could be of use,” Cyrele said. “Though I’ve no notion how to look for an entrance.”

“I do.” Aralath stepped forward. “The old temples were designed to allow anyone to enter them, far before the first Maelstrom decided to keep them restricted to his family. Or at least, their outer chambers were designed to be entered. All of the stonework on the outside of the building should lead to the nearest entrance. See those lines carved into the surface? We should follow them.”

“Would the storm have buried any of these entrances?”

Aralath shook her head. “The Maelstroms wanted to hide these temples, not make them inaccessible. The storm may have damaged some of the outer façade, but I doubt any of the Maelstroms would have allowed much worse than that.”

They followed Aralath’s direction until Cyrele pushed one of the copper sheets into the storm and met resistance. As soon as the air in that space cleared, they found themselves looking up at a tall but narrow opening into a darkened room, built from stone and covered with a layer of moss along the recesses.

With one of the wastelands’ structures standing before her, Cyrele felt the weight of what they were about to do.

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