The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“What is in this book? I have a feeling I’d be interested
in it,” Vonetta said, and I heard Kieran groan. “What is—?” A
loud crack cut off her words, and then the entire floor of the
cavern seemed to rumble beneath us.
I spun around just in time to see Vonetta step to the
other side of the wall and then disappear in a plume of dust.
Horror seized me.
“Netta!” Kieran shouted, his fear sticky against my skin
as it mixed with mine.
“I got her!” Emil yelled back. “Sort of.”
Whatever relief I felt from his words was short-lived.
Delano moved forward, holding out the torch. The orange
glow cast light over the partial collapse and the floor around
it. Emil was on his stomach, one arm stretched into the
opening. How the Atlantian had been able to move so fast
that he’d caught Vonetta was beyond me.
“I’m still here,” Vonetta called out as her brother
scrambled to the other side. “I think.”
Casteel caught the back of my shirt as I started toward
them. “Too much weight on that section,” he cautioned as
Delano scanned the floor. The wolven stepped to the side
that remained intact.
He was right, and I hated it because all I could do was
stand and watch as Kieran reached inside.
“Give me your other hand,” Kieran ordered. “We’ll pull
you out together.”
“If either of you two drops me,” Vonetta’s voice trailed
out of the darkness, “I’m going to be so pissed.”
“Netta, if we drop you, I’m going to throw myself in after
you,” Emil advised. “And then we’re both going to find out
what’s below these tunnels.”
“We’re both going to be dead then,” Vonetta hissed.
“Semantics,” Emil replied. “I’ve got you. Let go of
whatever the hell you’re holding onto.”
“I think it’s a root.”