Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
The path narrowed as they dropped lower than she had ever been allowed.
Past the storerooms, stone pressed close on either side.
Pulling her forward, the slope forced her boots to land heavier than she liked.
Her calves burned as her breath caught thick with damp mineral grit, and still Mira’s braid swung in that measured rhythm just ahead.
She tried to match Kaelith’s silence, but her heart betrayed her, a constant thud in her ears. Down here, whatever was coming, whatever reason had brought her to this world, felt closer than it ever had before.
Soon, the tunnel spat them into open space, revealing a pavilion sitting in its center with a ring of stairs coiling down the inside like a spine.
And at the bottom, a door nestled deep into the far wall.
The surface glowed red in restless waves, veins of color dancing as though something within stirred, trying to break free.
The heat of it reached her across the cavern, not enough to burn, but enough to make her skin prickle with sweat.
This place is brimming with elemental energy. Harnessed and organized. Kaelith’s hand found the small of her back. But no Source. How can they control that much power without the Source?
She slowed, chest in a knot. The energy sang through her skin, a resonance both beautiful and raw, like a thousand voices chattering just beneath the surface of her flesh.
Descending, Mira’s hand skimmed the wall, casual, familiar, and Rynna’s fingers twitched with the urge to do the same, drawn by a feeling she didn’t understand.
Instead, she kept them curled in her fists.
The stone was watching, and she wasn’t ready to let it know her name.
As her foot stepped off the final stair, heat rippled from the door where molten veins crawled and throbbed across its surface.
Mira halted before it. “The Mistress has advised that any words beyond this barrier be spoken aloud.”
Spoken aloud?
Her throat went dry as Mira added, “There can be no deception in the Heart. Is that understood?”
How did she know? Mind-speaking had been theirs alone. Her heart stumbled against her ribs before Kaelith’s hand skimmed her arm.
“So we will finally meet the mysterious Mistress in person, then?” he asked, redirecting her unease into words.
“Great Elements, no.” Mira barked out a laugh before turning back to set her palm on the stone.
Red light bled out from under her fingers, and fire licked around the seams of the door before groaning open with a blast of scorching air that stung Rynna’s cheeks.
“The Mistress remains…elsewhere.” Mira glanced over her shoulder. “But you will hear her will.”
“Great,” Rynna muttered, wiping at the sweat already dripping from her brow.
The other woman ignored her as the door split wide, and the world beyond stole every word Rynna might have said.
A perfect dome opened before them, floor paved in seamless red marble, walls curving into a high arch.
And above—Rynna’s mouth fell open—stars blazed, impossibly close, suspended overhead as if the heavens themselves had bent down to look into this chamber.
They shimmered with a clarity no sky should allow, brighter and more piercing than she had ever seen.
Mira strode through the threshold, her form blurring at the edges as if reality itself distorted around her.
She looked back at them from the other side. “Come.”
It was not a request.
Kaelith’s hand slid down her arm until his fingers laced with hers, and they stepped through together.
The instant her foot crossed the line—sensation—itching, crawling, as if every pore had been set alight. Her ears popped as sound collapsed inward. The second foot followed, and the ground caught her even as her perception reeled, shuddering before settling again.
“Great Phoenix!” Kaelith lurched, bending at the waist, though he kept hold of her hand even as he dry-heaved against the strange air.
“Indeed.” Mira’s lips curved, clear enjoyment flickering in her eyes. Then her regard moved to Rynna, and it softened, just enough to unsettle her more than the heat or the stars. “Welcome to the Heart.”
Rynna turned in a slow circle, her fingers slipping free of Kaelith’s grasp.
The chamber swallowed her in its vastness, stars glinting overhead like they had been trapped under glass and set on display.
She pivoted again, her boots scraping against the hard surface beneath her.
It felt unreal, as though a wormhole had exhaled and left them suspended in its hollowed-out lungs.
“What is this place?” The words escaped in a breath.
“The Heart.” Mira’s lips pursed as if the answer were obvious. “Is that not what I said?”
Behind her, Kaelith groaned, drawing himself up by Rynna’s arm.
“Mira.” Rynna rolled her eyes, bracing her stance. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“It’s what you get.” The woman shrugged, stepping aside with a sweep of her hand, revealing a circle of villagers, adults only, shoulder to shoulder and layered three deep.
Their faces were half-shadowed by the glow above, expressions unreadable, and though Rynna recognized some, too many remained strangers.
“Why are we here?” The words tore through clenched teeth as Kaelith lifted a hand to cover his mouth.
Rynna glanced sideways at him.
Poor baby didn’t like portals. The words were on the tip of her tongue when the air condensed around them and a voice crashed through it, not from one throat but from all of them at once.
“The enemy returns,” it said.
And pain cleaved through Rynna’s skull as her hands shot up, palms pressing hard against her ears, though it did nothing.
The sound wasn’t sound. It ripped straight through her, reverberating against her bones in a roar booming against the inside of her mind.
Beside her, Kaelith doubled over with a grunt, matching her flinch.
“Oh! Oh my dear.” The voice broke through again, carried only on Mira’s tongue this time. “Much too loud.”
Rynna could have sworn she heard feathers stir, a faint nervous rustle at the edge of the silence, but the high-pitched ringing in her ears drowned everything else.
“There, how’s that?” The voice was quieter now—sweet, matronly, coaxing.
The world blurred when she tried to focus, her vision swimming as her fingers came away wet from her ears. Blinking at the smear of red on her palm, she shoved the blood into her mouth and wiped the sides of her head and neck with the other hand.
“How’s what!” The words sprang free louder than she meant.
Then—
A dull thud split the space. And her head whipped around just in time to see Kaelith sprawl onto the ground, blood trailing from both ears and his nose.
“What?” She scrambled to him, hands clumsy, as she hauled him into her lap. “Kae?”
No answer. Just the faint drum of his heartbeat against her chest when she pressed him close.
Anger surged low in her gut as her nails lengthened.
They had hurt him.
“Oh, no. No, no, my dove.” The voice came from Mira’s mouth, sing-song and gentle, even as it wrapped around her, smothering the rage pouring through her. “We shall have none of that. Not here.”
Rynna’s eyes snapped up, heart pounding as she chased after that dark power the other had doused so easily within her.
Protect him. The thought screamed through her mind as Mira knelt beside them, reaching toward Kaelith.
“Don’t you touch him.” Rynna jerked back, clutching his form even closer.
The hand froze, and Mira’s mouth opened. “And a piece long hidden has been found.”
The words drifted out, threaded with something too heavy to name.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Rynna scooted backward, stone biting her palm. “And who the fuck are you? The Mistress, I presume?”
He’s mine. The need to shield him rushed through her again, but quickly broke into a whimper.
“Please don’t take him from me. Not yet.” A single tear slipped loose, tracking hot down her cheek.
“Oh, my little Wise One.” Sorrow filled the voice. “So fierce, and so broken.” Her eyes glistened, light catching until it seemed stars flared and died in their depths. “I would never.”
Mira’s hand rose slowly, fingertip catching the budding tear from her own lashes. And without hesitation, she swept that wetness across Kaelith’s brow.
“Wise One—?” The word cracked from Rynna’s throat, but she cut herself short as Kaelith stirred. He blinked once, twice, eyes dragging across the vaulted chamber in quick flicks before settling on her.
“Kae!” She bent over him, tracking his eyes.
Then, her hands cupped his jaw, turning his face roughly from side to side. Seeing no blood rimming his ears anymore, she nearly fainted as the relief washed over her.
“Ahhh.” He groaned as she jostled him, twisting against her grip. “Stop, you fiend!”
Wriggling free of her hold, he pushed back, body rocking as he sat.
“Your tear healed him.” Rynna’s eyes darted from him to Mira, then back again as old whispers of fiery birds who wept life back into the world stirred at the edges of her mind.
“He was only hurt because of my carelessness.” Mira bowed her head, lashes veiling her eyes. “The People of the Hearth are used to hearing my song.” Her mouth tugged upward. “I can see now that perhaps visitors are not so well equipped.”
“An understatement, Mistress.” Kaelith coughed into his hand, the familiar edge of mockery in his voice. The sound faded, though, replaced by a low exhale as his shoulders straightened, and the teasing glint in his eyes dimmed, replaced by something older.
He dropped forward onto his knees, then, bending at the waist, his head lowered until it touched the stone in a disciplined bow.
Rynna blinked, caught off guard. Respect? From him?
“My daughter thinks it is because you are a…” The presence within Mira spoke, nose wrinkling in visible distaste. “A disgusting Hollow-born, with a body long corrupted by the use of the Source—one that crumbles naturally when it hears my voice.”