The Lost Queen (Book 1 of The Lost Queen Series)

Chapter Forty-Three

Seraiah didn't question Lonan as they took off sprinting down the tunnel.

Instead of turning back toward Metrius, they continued running forward, deeper into the mountain. As they ran, the tunnel opened up until the ceiling was high above their heads and bathed in shadow.

Seraiah tried not to imagine what else could be skulking up there, waiting for the moment they would run by.

More pebbles rained down on them, and Seraiah was sure she could hear a faint clicking sound echoing down the tunnel behind them. She slowed to look over her shoulder but couldn't see more than a few feet.

There was no question a beetle was chasing them, but was there more than one lurking out there in the dark? Were they being herded?

She didn't want to find out.

Lonan scrambled ahead of her with the light bobbing up and down in time with his steps, and Seraiah couldn't help herself from looking back again. She was waiting for the moment she would finally see the thing that was chasing them, but there was still no sign of it.

It was probably better that she couldn't see it, she reasoned, because if she could—they were as good as dead.

Suddenly, Lonan jerked to a stop in front of her. It was so unexpected she almost tripped over him.

"What is it?" she asked breathlessly, unable to keep the terror out of her voice. She could still hear the noises of the beetle coming from behind them, and this time Kai wasn't here to save her like he had with the Varanem.

Lonan lifted the lantern higher, revealing the gaping hole in their path where a section of the tunnel floor had fallen away.

"Oh, gods," Seraiah murmured at the sight. "What are the chances we could jump across that?" She knew even as she asked that there was no way they could clear it in a single jump, and if they could—it wouldn't stop the beetle from chasing after them.

Lonan mutely shook his head and lowered the lantern again.

There was a skittering sound against the rocks.

"We have a few minutes before the beetle reaches us. With any luck, it will be alone. They rarely hunt in groups." Lonan sounded surprisingly calm for someone who was about to be eaten by a beetle.

He outlined his plan, and Seraiah, unable to come up with anything better, agreed.

They would use the hole in their path to their advantage and lure the beetle in close—hoping it wouldn't see the hole until it was too late.

There was a small outcropping of rock high above their heads that Lonan wanted to loop a piece of rope over. He thought they could swing over the hole and land safely on the other side while the beetle would fall to its death below.

It would have to be timed perfectly for the plan to succeed.

Lonan got to work on securing the rope to the rocks while Seraiah held the lantern for him. The clicking of the beetle approaching grew louder with each passing second.

For one beetle, it sure made a lot of noise.

"Are you sure it's not more than one?" she asked Lonan nervously, casting a look back down the tunnel.

"Almost positive. They don't like to share their prizes," Lonan reassured her as he finished tying off the rope. He gave it an experimental tug before declaring it ready.

"Now, then," he said, taking the lantern back from her. "You lure it closer, and when I give you a signal, we will swing off on this rope."

Seraiah scowled at once again being relegated to bait. "Why am I the one that has to lure the beetle in?"