I didn’t have time to remark on those blue-gray eyes as the beast pounced.
Certainly not with the ridge of dark scales down its back. Not a beast designed to hunt in these mountains. Its enormous paws were near-silent on the floor, the fur on them a blend of black and gold. Some guardian of this place, some creature that had crawled in through the cracks. Did not let it scent a tendril of my fear-whatever it was. Sleeping.Ĭrawling down the snow-kissed wall, a massive beast of claws and scales and fur and shredding teeth inched toward the floor.
Up close, the surface of the Ouroboros was like a gray, calm sea. I shuddered against the cold, rubbing my arms. But there was only the devouring head of the serpent, its maw open wide, frost sparkling on its fangs. I scanned the mirror for any signs of … something to push or touch with my magic. Watched the arm I had upraised against the wind and snow, the pinched expression on my face. The mirror itself was black as night-yet … wholly clear.
And the metal around it had been fashioned after a massive serpent, the mirror held within its coils as it devoured its own tail.įrom across the room, with the snow … I could not see it. It was a massive, round disc-as tall as I was. Moonlight peered in, bright enough that I vanished my ball of faelight, bathing the entire chamber in blues and silvers.Īnd there, against the far wall of the chamber, snow crusting its surface, its bronze casing … The snow glittered over the walls and floor, slithering over my boots with the wind gusts. I gritted my teeth against the bitter cold, the wind howling through the cracks like wolves raging along the mountainside beyond. The chamber must have lain beneath the palace of moonstone-shafts in the rough rock leading outside, welcoming in snowdrifts and moonlight. I kindled a ball of faelight over my head and began my ascent. Only you can decide what breaks you, Cursebreaker. That was how many steps stood between me and the Ouroboros. I stood at the base of that stairwell, peering up into the impenetrable gloom, my breath clouding in front of me.Ī thousand stairs. It led to only one place: a chamber near the uppermost peak. There was a winding stair, deep within the mountain. So I rallied the dregs of my power and winnowed away-winnowed north.
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