Chapter 24 #2
What if Carrow had been telling the truth?
What if I was wrong about Rhydian and he truly was planning to take over Avalea with Kharos’s help?
Could he really be that good of a liar that he had fooled me so completely?
But what if Carrow was the one lying, trying to keep Rhydian from breaking the curse for a different reason?
I put my face in my hands, confused, and Rhydian leaned closer, putting a hand on my knee. Even through the blanket, his touch sent shivers through me, only this kind wasn’t unpleasant.
“Maren? What’s wrong?” Rhydian’s voice was so tender, so different from the icy callousness of Carrow’s. It was the first time he’d spoken to me in such a gentle manner.
I wished I was back at the castle, that I could speak with Nico. Maybe he’d give me some insight into all of this, help me decide who was being truthful. Though Rhydian could have lied to him all these years too.
“N-nothing,” I finally stuttered out. “Just tired. I didn’t sleep much.”
Rhydian’s gaze roved over my face. It was obvious I wasn’t telling the truth.
I had sweat sliding down my temples. A deep frown curled his lips, probably trying to understand why I was lying to him, but finally he leaned back and stood.
“Take a few more minutes to rest, but we’ll need to leave soon. Your first task awaits you.”
At the thought, I bit my lip to hold back tears. What was I supposed to do? Fail the task like Carrow demanded, or trust that Rhydian was a better Fae than the Prince of Nefaroth and do my best?
Carrow had threatened all sorts of death to me, but at least I could say that Rhydian had done nothing but protect me, even if he did bring me here against my will.
Even though my body was buzzing, I forced myself to lie back down, pretending to rest as Rhydian went over to the wash basin. Water dripping filled the silence of the cabin for several moments before I spoke.
“Are you going to tell me what I’m supposed to do at the top of a volcano now?” I asked as Rhydian washed his face with the water in the bowl.
He didn’t respond right away, taking his time cleaning up and then drying his face with a tiny towel he found inside the cabinet.
Just when my nerves were about to explode, Rhydian finally faced me and said, “Across the mouth of the volcano, there is a lava cave. An artifact is hidden inside—a relic of sorts. Your task is to retrieve it.”
“That doesn’t seem so bad. Between the two of us, we should—”
“I’m not coming with you, Maren.”
“What? You’re going to make me do this alone?” Panic creeped into my voice.
“The curse requires that this task be completed by someone else. Magic forbids me from entering the cave myself.”
“You didn’t think to mention this before?” Had I known I’d be braving a lake of lava and a creepy cave by myself, I might have thought twice about it.
“It didn’t seem important.”
“I’ll remember that when I’m about to face my doom,” I muttered, frustrated. “You can’t even walk there with me?” I hated the desperation in my voice, but without him, my chances of dying went up exponentially.
Rhydian’s faint chuckle met my ears. “You can do this, Maren. You’ll be fine.”
I glanced toward the volcano, even though I couldn’t see it through the wooden walls of the cabin. “I’m supposed to somehow cross a sea of lava and find a cave in the dark, search said cave also in the dark, and find a relic I won’t even recognize? By myself?”
“That about sums it up,” he replied, his voice teasing.
“And how do you suggest I do this?”
Rhydian smirked. “Don’t die?”
Anxiety was a low buzz filling my body, making it hard to breathe. “Sure, I’ll just do that.”
“Come on,” Rhydian said, slinging his bag over a shoulder and heading toward the door. “It’s time to face your task.”
“You mean time to die.”
“Semantics.”
At the look on my face, Rhydian laughed before leaving the cabin and heading out into the cold.
My breaths were coming in panicked gasps, and each and every one of my bones locked up.
I couldn’t move. How was I supposed to do this?
He made it sound easy, but last time I checked, a human couldn’t survive a lake of lava.
It wasn’t like there was a heat-proof boat that I could use to sail across.
Despair settled into my muscles, weighing me down, and I fought to drag my feet forward after him.
Was this it? I’d get killed on the first task and leave my family forever? I’d never get home if I didn’t make it off this volcano.
“Just be careful,” Rhydian threw over his shoulder.
I scowled at his back. “Yes, I’ll just do that.” A frustrated breath escaped my lips. “That’s easy for you to say, Rhydian. You’re a magical being with super cold immunity and golden death rays.” I held my arms out at my sides. “I’m just a human. I’m nothing special.”
He was quick to respond, his caramel eyes swinging to mine. “Who said you needed to be special to accomplish something difficult?”
I blinked at him, taken aback by his response. Then he was suddenly in front of me, his face inches from mine as he stared down at me, those gold-rimmed eyes fierce. My heart stuttered again. Why did my body keep responding like this when he got close to me?
“Perhaps you’re stronger than you think, Maren. Don’t give up before you’ve even started.”
A breath shuddered through my lips, pooling in the cold air. The warmth of the cabin had been a nice reprieve, but now that we were back outside, the cold was even more bitter and biting than it had been last night.
Rhydian turned away before I could respond, walked a few feet, and then came to a stop. It wasn’t until I arrived at his side that I understood why.
We were at the mouth of the volcano. A huge crater-like shape sat in front of us, filled to the brim with glowing lava.
At least it’s not so dark now, I thought to myself.
“And how do you expect me to make it across a lake of boiling-hot liquid?”
“No one said you had to go across.” He pointed in the distance. “Just walk around the outside.”
I blanched. “Do you see how big this thing is? That would take hours!”
Rhydian’s shoulders lifted in a silent laugh. “Better get moving then.”
I mumbled a string of curses under my breath and stomped away from him.
At least this task didn’t seem too dangerous.
Sure, I was at the mouth of a volcano, but the lava wasn’t moving and hunting me like the Scorching Rivers, nor was it erupting, so I assumed I was relatively safe.
Or at least that was what I kept saying to myself so that my feet would keep moving forward.
The heat from the lake was just warm enough to take the bite out of the frigid air, and soon, I was sweating beneath my coat once again, a blessed relief after nearly losing my fingers and toes yesterday.
The ground was hard beneath my boots, crunching here and there. The passing thought that the lava might suddenly break and burn through my boots kept replaying in my mind, along with some very frightening visuals, and it had my steps quickening.
I swore the closer I got to the other side of the lake, the farther away it seemed. Time slowed, my legs growing more tired by the minute. At least I didn’t have to climb anymore. It was a relatively easy trek around the sea of hot boiling liquid, even if it was long.
The twin moons stayed exactly where they always were, but I knew they were moving like Rhydian said, even if I couldn’t tell a difference as the hours ticked by.
Speaking of hours, I had no idea how many had passed, but it had to have been several based on the way my legs were wobbling, the blisters on my ankles throbbing from the too-large boots, and the fact that I could no longer make out Rhydian’s shape across the lake. He was just a small dot on the shore.
I knew that I had to accomplish this task myself, but it still surprised me to find that Rhydian wasn’t behind me.
I looked back periodically and found him still standing there…
until he wasn’t. Had he gotten bored watching me go for a long walk on top of a volcano? Or maybe he’d lain down to take a nap.
The fact that the infernal Fae would just abandon me to this task had my steps falling heavier, angry huffs escaping my lips.
I probably should have asked if there was anything dangerous awaiting me in the cave. My eyes swung left and right, expecting some kind of creature to spring out of a hiding place and eat me whole.
Don’t let your imagination get away from you, Maren.
The only consolation I had was that Rhydian needed me to break the curse. If he thought I might die on this task, he would’ve warned me, prepared me a little more.
Wouldn’t he?
I kept my eyes peeled for a cave, but I had yet to spot one. What if this was all for nothing? What if there was no cave, no relic?
Well, at least you got a good workout in.
I rolled my eyes.
A strange bubbling noise came from the lake, but when I searched the surface, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I trudged on, my legs feeling heavier by the minute, and nearly stumbled over a large rock when I finally saw it.
A lava cave tucked between two large boulders.
Quickening my pace, I made for the cave, anxious to get inside. Surely if the cave existed, then the relic I was supposed to find existed too, right?
That bubbling noise sounded again, but it faded to the background of my mind as I fixated on getting to the cave so I could get off this volcano.
The opening to the cave was barely taller than me, though it was wide.
And it was pitch black inside. I wished I had a flashlight, or even a stick I could use as a torch.
Why hadn’t Rhydian sent me on this task more prepared?
It wasn’t like I had super-enhanced vision like he did.
I searched around the outside of the cave for something I could use as a torch, but there was nothing.
“Yeah, search a dark cave for a relic that’ll break a curse,” I mimicked in a whiny voice. “Piece of cake.”
A shuddering breath pooled out of my lips as I stepped inside. The glow from the lava behind me slowly faded as I went deeper into the cave, scooting my feet forward little by little in case there was something to trip on or worse—a hole I could fall to my death in.
After countless minutes of shuffling forward and begging my eyes to adjust to the dark, I rubbed at them when a faint blue light slowly came into focus. The closer I got, the brighter it became, illuminating the cave enough that I no longer had to tiptoe my way across the hardened lava floor.
There were loose rocks scattered on the ground, but for the most part, the inside of the cave was smooth and barren of obstacles that might kill me. The thought that this was too easy crossed my mind, but I was so tired, so relieved to have found it, that I didn’t question it.
I blinked against the blue light as I approached it, the sudden brightness making my eyes water after being in such complete darkness.
When I finally found the source, it was an object lying on a flat rock against the back wall of the cave.
It looked like a small golden diamond with glowing blue wings off each side.
I hesitated for only a moment before I reached out and gingerly gripped it between my fingers.
The moment I touched it, the light went out.
And then an ear-piercing, heart-stopping, monstrous shriek split the dark.