Chapter 21 #3
Kane could wield flame with enough delicacy to singe away the vines and moss in minutes. Once that was gone, she could try to figure out the code and release those bars around the door for good.
Another cold breeze brushed against the back of her neck, and she shivered. There was no time to wait.
She raced back through camp, her feet carrying her to Kane’s small thatched-roof hut. Without a second thought, she pounded against the door, heart racing from both exertion and anticipation. If this worked, they would be one step closer to their goals.
The door swung open, revealing a rather disheveled Kane.
He looked as if he was just about to sleep before Erinna came and rudely interrupted his peace.
Clearly, he had dressed in haste. His shirt was wrinkled and half tucked into dark trousers.
The top buttons remained unused, exposing a hard chest. His pants hung low on his waist.
Erinna swallowed and forced her eyes back to his face.
“This better be good.” Kane glowered, gripping the door handle so hard it groaned.
“I-think-I-know-how-to-release-the-bars.” It all came out in one breath.
Kane didn’t waste any time. He barreled out the door. “Show me,” he demanded, following hot on Erinna’s heels as they wound their way around the fort.
She pressed her fingers to the wall, following the path once more. Her boots kicked through dirt and plant life until she stopped just below the small indent of stone.
“There.” Erinna pointed above her. “Do you see it?”
Kane took a long moment, scanning the wall until he found the area. “Got it,” he confirmed. “Though I’m impressed you can see it so well in the dark.”
Erinna blinked in slow realization. The night sky was littered with stars, the only light coming from slivers of moonlight.
“I’m…perceptive.” Erinna tried to shrug off his observation. This was not what they should be focusing on. “We need to get rid of the moss and plants. I can’t reach it too well, and fire would be the best way to clear it without damaging the switch.”
“Understood.” Fire sparked to life in Kane’s hand. The flames were so bright Erinna winced at the assault on her eyes, but the warmth was inviting and welcomed.
“Careful,” Erinna mumbled as Kane directed the small inferno to the spot, hands moving intricately as he wove threads of arcanum with expert precision.
The smell of smoke and burning organic material invaded her nostrils as the fire made quick work of the vines and dirt. A few stone notches started to appear, and soon Kane had all but cleared it away.
“Perfect.” Erinna reached a hand out to his arm instinctively, offering a small pat of approval.
His gaze drifted to the spot where her palm made contact before turning back to the now visible stone knobs. “What’s next, Yarrow? Think you can get it to work?”
The flame snuffed out with a hiss, shrouding them in darkness once more. Without the heat, the cold returned, an icy breeze concentrated on the back of her hand. Talent bloomed beneath her fingertips, and Erinna had to wonder if someone from the Realm Beyond had finally come to her aid.
“Yes.” She nodded after a long moment. “But I need a ladder to reach it—”
“No need.” Kane closed the distance between them. “Spread your legs.”
“E...excuse me!?”
“I said, spread your legs.” He nudged her feet apart with his boot. “And hold on.”
Erinna had no time to react before she was on his shoulders, thighs pressed around his head, as he lifted her effortlessly off the ground.
“Gods, Kane! You could have warned me first!” She fisted one hand through his hair and tucked her legs around his back for stability.
He laughed, a throaty, rich sound that reverberated through her body. Heat rose to her cheeks and flushed her skin as his hands tightened around her thighs. “I’m not a patient man.”
She bit the inside of her cheek and tried, desperately, to keep her focus away from their far too intimate contact. The code, she reminded herself. If she could figure out the right combination, she could possibly release the bars and give them another shot at opening the doors.
Her fingertips brushed against the cold, damp stone, memorizing every bump and node. It was nearly identical to the one they used back on Tarth to access the underground passageways. The only problem: One wrong move and they could possibly be locked out forever.
Erinna gulped, her hands growing clammy with nerves.
Another cold touch, like something in the wind was guiding her hands. She could feel the mechanism slip into place as she worked through the puzzle. Her brow furrowed as she went, legs squeezing slightly tighter around Kane to keep from wobbling.
“You know, Yarrow,” started Kane, voice piercing through the silence. “I think your talents are wasted in Tarth.”
Erinna stilled, hands paused above the next piece she needed to move.
“What do you mean?” She chanced a look downward, her eyes locking with his as he peered up.
The intensity in his amber stare was a gravity she couldn’t fight, no matter how desperately she wanted to.
The way he so openly gazed at her was unnerving, like he was trying to peer straight through her.
“Your talents shouldn’t be wasted fixing boats for that sorry excuse for a kingdom.”
Erinna’s heartbeat quickened, the compliment landing somewhere deep in her chest. “And where do you think they fit best, then?”
His lips twitched. “You know the answer to that. There’s a spot for you on the Hellish Rebuke, if you want to take it.”
Emotion thickened her throat, unbidden. It was a ridiculous offer, she told herself. So far beyond the realm of possibility she could scoff at it. Still, her mouth ran dry as she answered. “I can’t.”
Disappointment flashed across his face so quickly Erinna almost didn’t catch it. Kane turned his attention to some inconsequential crack in the wall.
“Too bad.” He shrugged. The movement had Erinna tightening the hold in his hair as she wavered on her perch.
Kane chuckled as heat flushed through her body once more.
Erinna turned her focus back to the cipher, trying to calm her heart.
She didn’t expect such an offer. Couldn’t believe that happened.
Couldn’t believe she even wanted to consider it.
Her mind raced and the cold whispering breeze returned, guiding her hands as she shifted the remaining pieces.
“Don’t I annoy you?” She couldn’t help but ask, the silence feeling too awkward after the exchange.
“Annoyance can be tolerated. Brax frustrates me at least once a day with his complaints. Yet, I would take him over hundreds of more agreeable carpenters.”
Erinna laughed, noting his lack of denial. She moved the last piece into place. “Done.”
They stilled, unwilling to move, waiting for a sign that it had worked.
Crickets chirped, the wind whispered through trees, and the murmur of voices drifted from camp. Erinna was ready to crumble in defeat until she heard it.
A slow, powerful groan emanated from deep within the walls. Grinding vibrated through the stone and she could feel the powerful mechanisms beneath her fingertips. Then, a loud clanking filled the night, followed by the ear-splitting screech of metal.
The bars were moving.
“Down. Put me down.” Erinna scrambled off his shoulders, hitting the ground with a slight wobble. They didn’t waste another second before sprinting back to the courtyard.
A crowd had already formed, Afton front and center, staring at the doors with wide, tired eyes.
Slowly, the bars returned to their place, releasing their hold. With a loud, shuddering thud, the bars disappeared to their original resting place.
“Well done, Yarrow.” Kane reached his arm around Erinna’s shoulder and pressed her against his side with a squeeze. “Well, fucking, done.”
It worked. Gods, something had finally worked.
Relief hit so hard her knees buckled beneath her. If it weren’t for Kane’s steady frame, Erinna would have crumbled to the ground.
She steadied herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist for support.
Her eyes drifted from the doors to Afton.
The mage gave her a slight nod of approval, and she grinned in return.
People cheered behind her, but the sound morphed to a buzz in her ears as the weight of fatigue finally washed through her body.
“Excuse me,” she muttered, disentangling herself from Kane. He murmured something after her, but she was too tired to hear. She made it back to her room, barely taking the time to kick off her shoes before collapsing on the thin mattress.
Inez greeted her with a soft smile, a book open in her lap, firelight dancing across her face. “I told you they would need you,” she whispered.
Erinna sighed, fluffing her pillow beneath her head before closing her eyes.
As she let the comfort of sleep wash over her, she thought about the small, unbidden blooms of Talent, the cold air on her hand like a caress.
Something was guiding her. She was certain of it.
If something was trying to contact her from the Realm Beyond, perhaps it was time to try and reach back.