Lilac Child Chapter 18

The cell door groaned as it opened to reveal Son'dali silhouetted by the glow of a lantern. The light seemed piercing after the profound darkness, and Zini squinted, lifting her hand as a shield. She was awash with an unnerving sensation, as though she’d left a piece of herself in that eternal void.

“How long has it been?” Zini asked in a hollow voice. “The sun’s rising,” Son’dali said. “Are you okay? I wanted to check on you several times but couldn’t risk disrupting the harmonisation.” “I’m alright, I think.” In the dark her hands and limbs had felt larger, but now she looked at them in the light, they seemed foreign to her. “How did we do?” “Let’s find out.” Son’dali crouched beside the box and unwound a wire from a bolt at the back before gently picked it up. The emerald wobbled on its golden net but gave off no sign as to its inner harmony. Zini forced herself to stretch, a low groan slipping past her lips. The ghostly sensation of pins and needles danced along her left leg, pulsating with each stroke of her hand. “I could’ve gone longer.” “It was enough.” Son’dali nodded for her to follow him and carried on speaking as he retreated into the tunnel. “Keller agreed that the night would be sufficient. Just as well, since the red queen and her followers have taken over the temple floor. It’s only a matter of time before they enter the crypt.”

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