Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ryder’s rough hands fiddle at the back of my head, unravelling the tight knot that secures his blindfold to my head.
He is surprisingly gentle in untying it and manages not to pull a single strand of auburn hair on my head.
A faint dripping taps in the back of my mind, and the overwhelming smell of stale water overpowers my nostrils as my lack of vision encourages my other senses to investigate my current location.
He finally loosens the material, and my vision blurs as my eyes adjust to the new and unknown scenery of the secretive place he has led me to.
Strong formations hang like frozen tears from the ceiling, and water slowly rolls down each one before dripping on the stone floor, leaving tiny puddles on the ground.
They sparkle as moonlight pierces through the entrance of the cave, which is wide and half-mooned like the open mouth of a beast. The ground is uneven and rocky.
It looks as though it is made from a dark orange stone and is suffocated in a thick layer of dust. Footsteps mark the floor in sandy images that resemble the bottom of Ryder’s boots.
My eyes follow the trails that proceed further into the distance and then back out again.
The imprints are all the same, leading me to believe that he is the only one who knows about this place.
“You know you can trust me. I don’t know why I need this blindfold on my face.” I gesture to the flimsy material in his strong grip.
“It’s not you I worry about,” he says as he stuffs the black handkerchief into his pocket.
“We are in Moon territory, Asha. Every precaution must be taken. You never know when a Deceiver could be lurking around. Secrets are like drugs to them; they crave them.” He pauses.
“Not that I would ever let them lay a finger on you.”
His knuckles whiten as he clenches them shut, I’m no stranger to the damage he can cause when he is angry, especially when it comes to me. Images of Alex’s beaten face form in my head, and I squint my eyes at the thought and shake the vision from my mind.
“I know how to block them out, but you don’t, it is a lesson I am yet to teach you.”
I nod my head at him, trying to focus on the words he is saying. It makes sense. The haunting stories of Deceivers are definitely not for the faint-hearted.
I notice some etchings on the dampened cave wall that pique my interest. The dusty floor crumbles under my trainers as I wander over to them. My fingers trace over the indents, feeling every ridge of the ancient carvings. All of them tell a story.
“Do you know who did these?” I ask Ryder without taking my eyes off them.
“Your guess is as good as mine, they have been here for centuries.”
He stands beside me, our shoulders faintly brushing together, making our tiny hairs stand to greet each other.
“Look at this one.” He points his hand up higher than his head, gesturing to an image above me I had not noticed.
Hundreds of miniature stars are engraved on the ceiling, and a diagram of someone who resembles Oriah is seen floating amongst them. She is wearing an ethereal dress and holds a glowing orb in each hand, one significantly darker than the other, with two sky serpents bowing behind her, guarding her.
“I didn’t know what it meant before I met you. I thought it was just a figment of someone’s imagination, but it’s not. I think that’s Oriah and see those there.” He points to the crowd of people below her. “I think those are your people.”
“Wow,” I gasp in awe. This must have been drawn when my people were alive and roamed free.
My eyes gaze across to another image, further craving information about the lost race.
Sky serpents glide through the sky, and a sun and moon stand tall on opposite sides of the landscape, watching over the land.
This is truly amazing. One of the last real pieces of evidence that isn’t fabricated.
“How did you find this place?”
“I don’t know really, I can’t explain it.”
He runs his rough fingers over the drawings, taking in every detail before turning to look at me. “It was almost as if it called out to me.”
I tilt my head at him in awe of his reasoning.
I don’t doubt that it did, I just can’t wrap my head around why.
I feel a certain kind of magic to this place, but I can’t quite figure out what is conjuring it.
Maybe these are the remnants of my people, who once stood right where I am standing.
Or maybe it is the way the light hits the rock pools, creating diamond-like shimmers in the midst of the darkness.
“Are you ready to see the rest?” He smiles widely at me, and I peel my eyes from the images in front of me.
“There’s more?” I ask, anticipating his response.
“You didn’t think I would blindfold you just so you could look at some ancient carvings on a wall, did you?” He laughs faintly, and I smile, shrugging my shoulders. Clearly, there is something else in store for me.
“Come on.”
My stomach flutters with anticipation as he beckons me with his hand to follow him, treading deeper into the cave’s darkness.
The walls start shrinking beside us, forming a narrow tunnel.
We have just walked past the point where the last shred of light can be seen, and now we are walking in complete darkness.
The only way I know Ryder is in front of me is by the heavy sounds of his black boots against the stone floor.
I become uneasy in the unknown and manifest an orb on my left hand, which sends a flickering gold glow around the tunnel.
“Not scared of the dark, are you, stalker?” He laughs, and I shudder at the nickname I had hoped we were past.
“Unlike you, I wasn’t brought up in the shadows,” I jab at him, making another laugh escape his lips.
“Fair enough,” he mutters with a chuckle as I guide my orb around, painting the tunnel as we tread through it.
A few minutes pass, and I see a small, dimly lit archway glowing a pale blue ahead of us. That must be the way out of the tunnel. Ryder’s footsteps increase as I work at keeping his pace, anxious at the rocks scattered obnoxiously along the walkway.
“Almost there.” Ryder looks back at me, and I flash him a quick smile.
We reach the opening at the end of the tunnel, and moonlight burns my eyes as they readjust to its illuminating rays, my feet still walking blindly into its presence.
“Careful,” Ryder snaps, making me gasp as he holds a steel arm across my chest, halting me from taking another step.
I look down astonished, and pins and needles travel up my body.
I am glad he stopped me when he did because not an inch away from my dust-covered trainers is a terrifying drop of at least fifty feet.
“What is this place?” The question is quiet and breathy from pure shock as I hesitantly peer over the edge. I find myself gawping at the vision below.
“I call it Kamaria,” he exclaims with his arms, welcoming the space, then stops to stare at my star-struck face.
A miniature forest exists at the bottom of this sudden drop, surrounded by high walls mirroring the material of the cave, thinning as they rise closer to the top.
An almost perfect circle bleeds moonlight into the atmosphere, which oozes over the isolated area.
A waterfall runs with the clearest blue water out of a gap in the mountain wall opposite us, falling to create a stream that sparkles in the moon’s glare as it winds through the space and reflects the landscape.
Mist fills the air where the water meets the stream, and fireflies dot the sky with a fiery yellow glow, blinking effervescently and giving light to the darkness.
Kamaria was said to be a sanctuary made by the Gods thousands of years ago. An isolated place, both immortal and immune to the destruction of humans.
“Kamaria…after the ancient stories?” I ask, causing him to cock a brow in my direction.
“You have heard the stories too.” He looks at me with adoration, fascinated at the copious amount of knowledge stored inside my head.
“Yes, but I didn’t think it existed.”
I furrow my eyebrows as I look at him for answers.
“It doesn’t — well, not here anyway.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I just thought the name was fitting,” he adds, and I smile at him.
“I think it’s a volcano, inactive of course, because if you place your hand on the floor, you can still feel its warmth.”
He takes my hand, crouching down and rests it on the stone by our feet.
He’s right. Heat radiates off my palm and absorbs into me.
The feeling of his hand against mine sends shivers down my body, and our eyes lock momentarily as I raise mine to look at him.
The rest of the world quiets as his gaze hypnotises me, and I feel the pulse in his palm as it beats into my hand, drawing me closer to him.
A flutter in my stomach warms my body. Before I discovered how he truly felt about me, I would have averted my gaze to avoid an intimate moment, but after our bodies fused in sweet desire, I can’t help but blush, my eyes smiling his way as he smiles back.
He takes to his feet, and I copy him and wipe the dust off my hands against my leggings.
“How do we get down there?” I ask, filling the silence.
“Do you trust me?” He throws a smile my way, and I slowly nod my head, slightly afraid he had to ask that question.
“I suppose,” I drag out my words, adding to my hesitance, but reassuring him that I do, in fact, trust him.