43. Cavernous Blue
43
CAVERNOUS BLUE
" A re you certain?"
The question was whispered into the crown of Luella’s hair, Az keeping her tucked into his side as they skirted the edges of the shadowed halls of the castle.
"Yes."
The demon’s hand was on her shoulder, steering her the way he saw fit.
A puff of air against the side of her cheek where the hood of her dark cloak fell back slightly as she looked up at him. "I’m positive," Luella affirmed.
"The tunnels are no place for you," Az hissed but led her on all the while.
They had been dancing this choreography of stubborn wills since they left her room.
Az hated the idea of taking her through the underground tunnels, but she knew the risk.
Death here, or death there.
At least with Az, she would have a greater chance. Demons did well underground, after all. The Below was one great underground realm.
She fixed her hood, pulling it back up to obscure her golden hair; it would stand out starkly in the darkened halls. Az clutched her hand. Her body practically melded to his as they rounded the corner to head down the lonesome hall leading to the library. The doors stood up ahead, looming. Waiting.
Just as Az tugged her from behind their hidden spot, flush against the wall, and down the hall, the sound of footsteps made them pause. Az jerked back into Luella, making her stumble. She righted herself with a hand lodged against his broad back.
"Quiet," he warned.
She tried to stifle the sound of her breathing. Her forehead fell to his back, lips pressed against it to suppress her shaking breaths.
When the footfalls grew louder, coming toward them, Az stepped back, Luella following suit. he turned, then crowded her back, back, back the way they had come, stopping at a tiny nook carved into the wall. It held no windows, and a golden sconce was fixed to the wall, blessedly unlit, keeping the space obscured in shadows and darkness.
He pulled her into the tight space, their chests flush against each other as he half-hid her body with his, making sure he would be the first to fall if they were discovered. Luella pressed her face into his chest as they waited for whoever it was to pass by.
Please, let them pass by.
Freedom was so close she could taste it, feel it at the tips of her fingers.
And just when Luella thought it would all be over—the footsteps would discover them and send her back to the cold underground to rot for the rest of her days—they retreated, footfalls growing fainter and fainter as whoever it was left back down the halls.
She couldn’t understand it, but she wouldn’t dwell on it too much. Luck had never been a friend of hers, but perhaps, just this once, it would sway in her favor.
Az notched a finger under her chin, silently asking her if she was okay; she could only give a soft shake of her head in response. The tremble to her fingers and the quiver to her lip told the truth, however.
Urging her forward, Az mouthed, Come .
The demon led the way, Luella staying in his shadow as they quickly trekked down the remainder of the hall. She moved around him to place a hand on the doorknob, and without giving into the hesitation that welled up within her, making her wish she could crawl under her covers and never come out, she pushed the door open.
"This way," Luella whispered, turning her head to beckon Az as her booted feet tiptoed on the floors of the library.
Now, it was her turn to lead the way.
Water trickled into the fountain, a faint murmur of rippling droplets, but otherwise, it was silent. The sound of their shared breaths and footfalls made her lips curl in unease, searching in the moonlit cavernous space for the flash of a golden crown or white hair pulled back with thick braids.
She couldn’t forget the last time she had been in here—something Luella conveniently left out when she had shared her plans with Az…
Fingers skimming over the spines of books, Luella expertly walked the maze of towering shelves. Just as she rounded a corner leading to the small alcove, she sent up a small prayer to the gods that Nyx wouldn’t be there. Her plan was the furthest thing from foolproof, but the sprite was the only part Luella felt uncertain about. Nyx knew her as Lu and held allegiance to Tharen; all it would take is one little wrongly said word, and everything would go up in smoke.
The air grew more and more stale the further they went into the depths of the library. The dripping of the small pool grew faint with every step they took away from the main space. Az stayed at her back like a sentinel—it reminded Luella so much of Graves she could have sworn the two were secretly in league.
She stayed on her tiptoes, silently padding along the stone floor, but her heartbeat was in tune with the sound of her harsh breaths, echoed by Az behind her. Just as she prepared to round the corner, she paused and held her breath, so desperate this would all work out.
Fingers reached behind her to intertwine with Az’s hand, and he latched onto her in an act just as searching and desperate as she felt inside. Az’s pinky hooked around hers, a thumb stroking the back of her hand, and with that anchoring touch, Luella walked forward.
She and Az stepped into the alcove, the demon at her back having to stoop and bend slightly to fit. A boot splashed into a small pool of water underfoot, but she paid it no mind, golden eyes surreptitiously looking about the space for a glimpse of the tiny, verdant-hued sprite.
It was quiet and still in the alcove, untouched as far as she could tell from the last time she had been here. Salty air wafted from the hidden cave entrance tucked behind the tallest shelf, and Luella shivered, fingers clenching in Az’s grip as she resisted the urge to stumble back into him.
The demon braced a hand on her shoulder, head lowering as he murmured, "It’s here?"
"Yes," she breathed. It all seemed far more terrifying now that she knew she would have to enter the midst of inky darkness. She lifted a shaking finger and pointed toward the shelf. "Behind that."
Even when she had been alone here, it hadn’t seemed quite so daunting, but unease rippled through her like the near-constant breezes floating about. A curl brushing her cheek blew as a firmer gust swirled.
"There’s an exit," Luella managed, looking toward Az. "Right?"
He pulled her behind him, notching his body in front of her as he took short steps to the shelf, rounding the corner to where it was half-hidden. He raised a hand as he walked, stilling her from following further. She had the intrinsic urge to jump forward and pull him back where it was safe, fearful that reaching, clawing hands might snake from within and drag him down, down , where she may never see him again.
She could not let him face it alone.
Luella followed, leaving the flimsy protection of the shelf as she came to stand right before the cave entrance.
It was a hollow escape, beckoning with finger-like shadows and the promise of salty, pine-tinged freedom.
She watched the back of his head, fingers fluttering to her lips in her fear. Brown curls blew back as Az stuck his head in the crevice, a shoulder knocking against the stone wall. He wouldn’t fit like that. He would have to go sideways, and even then, it was a gamble if the tunnels would let up and grow larger as they walked on.
"Yes, there must be," Az finally announced. He turned to face her, and she swallowed down her fear of him having his back to the tunnels. A few long strides, and he was before her, hands on her shoulders as he lowered his face right before hers.
Luella was entranced by the exact shade of his eyes.
"Listen to me, Lu, and listen well. If we go, and I see there is no clear way out, we come back. I will not risk you."
Luella nodded. He cared for her. And she would be bereft once he realized she was too much trouble and left.
"Say it. I need to hear you say you agree, or this"—he waved a hand behind him—"will not happen."
"I understand," Luella croaked. She cleared her throat, eyes shifting down to his chest and the little clasp that held his cloak together.
He tilted her face up with a finger underneath her chin. "I… care for you, Lu. And I will not have you harmed because of me." She melted at the softness in his gaze, features smoothing out to an inviting warmth, wholly at odds with the persona he showed in court, a hardened demon capable of the most vicious violence. But not with her. Never with her.
"I understand," she said instead of sharing what she really felt. She cared for him, too, and she didn’t want him to leave her. That she felt like it was imminent, no matter how dearly she tried to hold on to these little stolen moments.
One day, he would grow tired of her. Find out that she was as burdensome as her parents and tutors told her she was. Luella feared that when that day came, she would already be a shell, shriveled up inside and unable to mourn. She was mourning him now, and he hadn’t even left her yet.
He gave her a soft smile. In the dim of the alcove, the shadows danced off his tanned skin, making the curving shapes of his horn turn into long points across his cheeks.
Az didn’t speak, merely offered a palm, patient, as he let her make the first move. The entrance behind him seemed to stretch, going so far and so deep that Luella couldn’t even fathom where it ended. Where it went.
But she would find out.
Placing her palm in his, Az pulled Luella to him, both of them facing the caves and whatever awaited them there.
Her attention caught on the rough stone under her boots and the moss-covered bricks of the walls. Then, she remembered. Gaze falling to the smallest little corner, tucked so far back between the shelf and the wall—a haphazardly placed stone brick. So tiny and insignificant that one would never realize what lay nestled behind it.
Luella pulled away from Az, and before he could berate her, she dove back toward the place where she had hidden the book, clothed knees thudding on the rough stone as her hands dug for purchase against the stone.
"Lu," Az hissed.
She did not look at him, solely focused on what lay behind the brick. With a huff, she pulled it free. The book was still there, and she reached for it with cold fingers, tucking it in the folds of her cloak.
Standing, Luella steeled herself as she righted her cloak, making sure the book was safe. "I’ll explain," she told Az. "Later. I promise."
He gave an imperceptible shake of his head, dark brow furrowed. But it seemed he was satisfied by her promise. For now.
Once more, the demon offered the captive Princess a hand, and she took it with glee.
A breath blown between pale and anxiously bitten lips, and Luella followed Az as they entered the depths of darkness, forgotten stories held within the long-lost tunnels, but within her grasp, a book that contained just as many arcane secrets.
The walls were closing in around her.
Luella’s breath came short and quick in her chest; her head was light and fuzzy as she single-mindedly focused on keeping one foot in front of the other.
One step.
Then the next…
Grounding herself with the slide of the roughened cave walls against her shoulders, the sound of her boots on the ground, the feel of Az’s fingers wrapping around hers as he led her down, down, down, winding around, this way and that, while they followed the maze of the cavernous depths.
Thankfully, it was only one narrow passageway. Otherwise, Luella feared they would become helplessly lost here.
I’m okay, I’m okay , she repeated like a mantra in her head.
But it didn’t help much.
Fingers squeezed against hers. "Are you alright back there?"
"I’m fine," Luella mumbled, her voice bouncing off the walls.
It was dark. So dark every time she blinked or closed her eyes, it felt the same as keeping them open. It made no difference either way…
Even with her fae senses—inadequate as they may be—she felt like she had died and was hovering somewhere between, stuck in the darkness. With his demon eyesight, Az prowled like a feline, easily finding his way and leading her onward. She didn’t notice him stumble once, even though she had tripped over rocks or rough ground on multiple occasions.
Luella’s booted foot hit a particular jagged rock, and she fell into Az’s back, chin knocking against him.
The demon stopped, reaching back to feel her. He couldn’t turn fully, and from the way his back felt contorted under her hands, he was stooped over in what must have been an uncomfortable position, but as his arm twisted to pat along her shoulder, she found it was enough.
"It’s okay. Keep going," Luella urged.
With every step they took, the scent of salt air and the tangy freshness of pine trees grew stronger. They were getting closer. She just had to bear it a little while longer.
Luella liked to think anything was bearable for just a short amount of time, and that time grew and grew with every passing second, and before long, it was over.
"Almost, Lu. Hold on for me," Az said, hand giving a small pat to her shoulder before his touch left her altogether. "Grab my cloak, and do not let go."
Luella did, fingers fisting into his cloak so tightly she imagined it would nearly rip from her fear-propelled grasping.
The walls lowered, her head suddenly brushing the ceiling, and Luella was forced to bend, huddled up as close to Az as she could manage. She heard him let out a deep sigh of discomfort. If it was hard for Luella to bend, she could only imagine how he must have felt trapped as he folded himself smaller.
A sharp curve, the air growing rich with the scent of stale earth and cool rock. It smelled like water, strangely inviting to her.
Luella would give anything to sink her sore feet into a bath.
"Az," she called. "Do you see anything?"
He rumbled, "It looks like it opens up ahead."
" Good." She nearly sighed with relief.
Tiny pinpricks of light broke up the everlasting dark, and slowly but surely, Luella started to see again.
It was a blue-tinged light, making everything shimmer like the evening sky. Rays quietly illuminated the dark stone walls around her.
Everywhere was grey and brown, like boring earth. Jagged pieces interspersed with smooth walls. The ceiling was low, and her back hurt from bending, but she peered around Az’s arms, seeing how it let up ahead, growing larger and larger with every footstep they took. She straightened, relieved to stand normally.
Az stumbled out first, Luella following with her hands still gripping the back of his cloak to keep them connected.
"Wow," Luella breathed out as she took in the space.
It was a cavern.
Stalagmites stood tall from the ground, groups collected near the walls, while stalactites fell in cascading points from the ceilings. The air was musty, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It smelled of clean mud and damp earth, and the air rippled with chill.
But that wasn’t what made her so awed.
Blue orbs of light stuck to the ceilings, a constant glow that cast everything in beautiful aquamarine shadows. A small pool of water was at the very center, reflecting the glow from the ceiling. The two shades bounced off of each other, and it was resplendent.
"What is this?" Luella asked, hands held up in front of her as if waiting to catch the blue orbs.
Az turned to face her, saying, "I’ve never seen anything like it before." The blue light made his tanned skin appear pale, a faint aqua shimmer in his amber eyes as he looked from the water pool back to her.
Ripples of the water reflected on the walls, and Luella brushed a hand over it. "Beautiful," she commented.
"Very," Luella heard Az say with a low tone—only she looked at him to find that his attention was on her and not the hidden beauties of the cavern.
She blushed, wondering if he could see the faint pink on her cheeks in this world of blue they had stepped into.
Spinning in a slow circle, Luella simply took it all in. The most free she had felt in ages, underground and tucked away.
She came to a stop in front of the demon; he watched her with a soft smile, the shadows of the water moving against his face.
Luella pushed back her hood, freeing her golden curls from where she had tucked them inside the cloak. Her head tilted back as she breathed in the damp air.
"Lu," Az chastised.
"We’re the only ones here," she said, rising on her tiptoes to push his hood back. Before she drew away, she playfully tugged on a dark strand of his hair, an impish smile on her lips.
This place made her feel like when she was young, the world at her fingertips as she pretended to be on an adventure.
As much as she would love to stay, curl up by the pool of water, and take a nap, she knew they could not. The twinge of salt in the air did not come from this cave but from somewhere other .
Somewhere outside.
The main cavern branched off into four different pathways, not including the one behind them they had exited.
Luella eyed the paths of darkness. All identical.
Az grumbled. "Remember what I said, Lu? The first possibility of danger, and we go back. I don’t care if I have to take you right back to your bed. If King Vale finds out… I’ll take the blame." He laughed bitterly. "I don’t care what they do to me. Let them try to kill me. They’ve been trying for years and haven’t succeeded yet."
"I care about you. I care what they do to you."
Az firmly stroked a hand down her hair, gripping her nape as he forced her to look at him. He appeared to want to say something, mouth opening as he thought, but the demon merely sighed and pulled away from her, giving a soft shake of his head as if to dispel the thought that had threatened to fall from his lips.
He faced the darkness of the far wall, the four paths that led who knew where. "Fuck," he cursed. A hand raked through his hair, making the soft curls stand up in disarray. He looked at her, dark brow arching in question. "We only try once," he reminded her. "Which way?"
Luella bit her lip. Her boots echoed on the stone floor as she walked toward the tunnels, careful to keep her distance. The air seemed to vibrate around her, faint humming seeped out from the depths.
Cool air misted across her face as she took time standing before each of the four paths. All the while, she never thought to question why Az had asked her .
Her eyes fluttered shut, head tilting back as she allowed herself to just feel .
It was from the very last tunnel that Luella felt a tug, pulling her down and up and across, winding around—all to lead outside.
She could almost feel the grass under her bare feet, smell pine and cedar, and hear the leaves rustle in the breeze. Feel the moonlight against her skin.
A finger pointed toward the tunnel, and Luella opened her eyes.
"This way," she said. Her voice sounded odd to her own ears, faint and thready as if she had just woken up from a deep sleep.
Az did not reject her conclusion and did not ask how she felt drawn to that particular tunnel. And Luella did not question it, either.
She was beyond understanding what kind of old magic had befallen her in this place. Ripped from her home where she was made to believe she was nothing—had nothing—only to feel a tingle in her soul where her magic would have resided.
In the library, leading her to that small, forgotten place and in the tunnels. Luella felt that same tug when she first met Az, an almost imperceptible nudge from her soul, as if whispering, go to him.
Luella had never opened up so quickly to anyone before, but it was like their souls had known each other. Been crafted from the very same fabric.
She tried to ignore how that same call seemed to echo when she was in the presence of the others …
Az stepped around her, turning to offer a hand. The blue light of the cavern made him look ethereal. She wished they could stay.
His palm was warm under hers as their fingers intertwined, the demon leading her onward.