Unearthed

Read Unearthed for Free Online Page B

Book: Read Unearthed for Free Online
Authors: Rachael Wade
color coating them at all.
    Gavin leaned closer, extending a hand toward her face.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Searching for fangs.” His fingers cautiously pressed against her cheek first, before floating down to her lips. “Cold,” he said, shivering. “Freezing.”
    “Fangs? Are you serious?”
    “That’s the only thing that would explain why she looks so alive.”
    I closed and opened my fists, keeping them balled at my sides. There was no way he’d find fangs. The frozen soul curse had been lifted. We’d seen it and experienced it for ourselves. Many of the villagers we now lived with were once vampires, either because they were former guards, or because they were from the resistance, stuck here in our realm after the war, after I’d plunged the dagger into Gérard’s heart and ended his reign. They were fully human now, as were we.
    There was absolutely no way.
    “Either that, or she never really escaped Amaranth with Arianna that day,” I said.
    “But she did,” Gavin insisted, his tone utterly disbelieving, “we know she did. Even if that theory were true, why would she by lying here, in this stone box, buried in some hidden tomb?”
    “Well, I don’t know. Hurry up and look…I want to get out of here.” I knew the answer wasn’t to run. The Book of the Ancients brought us here, and the second we walked out of this tomb, an entire realm of people would be waiting to hear exactly what we found inside this secret passage. But right now, my mind was trying to process the fact that Samira was lying in that coffin, alive and immortal looking, not to mention the fact that the Book of the Ancients led us to her.
    I begged silently to please let this whole thing be a hoax, a crazy dream, anything but this. Anything but another nightmare that would threaten to steal Amaranth’s hard-earned tranquility.
    Gavin’s fingers carefully grazed Samira’s lips. No fangs. A deep gasp made him stumble back, his hand recoiling at the sound. Samira’s onyx hair began to rustle softly, a mysterious wind coaxing her locks into magical waves. Gavin gripped his dagger tightly and positioned himself in front of me. Another desperate gasp sounded from Samira’s body, her eyelids suddenly dancing. They flew open, her back arching as she drew in a ragged breath.
    That’s when I saw them.
    Rich emerald eyes. Not blue. Deep as jade and absolutely spellbinding.
    “That’s not Samira,” I breathed, retreating backward until my heels made contact with the wall. Gavin remained in front of me, lantern raised in one hand, dagger in the other.
    Samira’s doppelganger slowly rose from the coffin, her arms gripping the sides of the casket to pull herself up. Her eyes clouded over for a second, as if she were lost, trying to focus on something. She suddenly spoke, her tone light and smooth, Samira’s familiar Russian accent present. “This isn’t a dream,” she said, with a hint of disappointment. “I was hoping this was all a dream.”
    “Who are you?” Gavin asked, flexing his knuckles over the dagger handle.
    Her head turned, her knowing eyes falling on Gavin. “Anastasia. You are Gavin Devereaux, and that is your lover, Camille, yes?”
    “Wife,” he corrected her. “Why are you here? What are you doing in Amaranth?”
    “Oh God,” she cried, cringing and bringing her hands to her chest. Tears spilled down her cheeks and her head rolled forward in anguish. “I really am here.”
    I stepped forward. “What do you mean, you hoped this was all a dream? Who are you? You look almost identical to—”
    “Samira,” she gasped on a sob, a hand moving to rest on her forehead. “Is Samira here? Or is she still on Earth?” Hope swelled in her eyes as she looked to Gavin and me for an answer.
    “What?” Gavin lowered his lantern. “No, she’s…wait, how do you know her? And how do you know who we are? How long have you been in here?”
    “I…I don’t know.” She sniffled, lifting her chin to look around.

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