Chapter 27 #3
“What do you think it is?” I ask, forcing the words past the tightness in my chest. “Should we follow it?”
He studies the overgrown trail, trees leaning close, branches tangled like knotted fingers. It’s like the forest is holding its breath.
Thane studies the overgrown trail leading into the forest. The trees lean close, branches tangled like knotted fingers.
“We should,” he says, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. “Remember what happened last time I ignored the bond?”
I do. How it locked him in place, refusing to let him walk away from me.
He straightens in his saddle, voice carrying to the men behind us. “We take the forest trail. Something needs checking before we rejoin the main road.”
They exchange glances, but no one argues with the Warlord.
“What’s happening?” Valen asks.
Thane’s eyes go distant, like he’s trying to see what the bond sees.
“I’m not sure, but Amara and I feel the bond pulling us in that direction.” He points into the forest.
“Fascinating,” he murmurs, though the weight in his tone makes it sound like a warning.
That’s not the word I would choose. Maybe something more like ominous. Or spooky.
“Then we go,” Garrick says simply, and Rian and Jarek nod their agreement.
Just like I told Lyra—Thane must’ve filled them in on the bond earlier.
Thane nods once, then turns his horse onto a narrow trail without another word. We follow.
An hour into this small forest trail the undergrowth grows thicker, branches reach like grasping fingers. The path narrows to single file.
I ride behind Thane, who leads us, followed by our escort, these souls I have come to trust—Valen, Garrick, Jarek, Rian. These months together have forged something I never thought I’d have again—family.
A shift in the air pulls me out of my thoughts—not wind, not rustling leaves, but something deeper.
It curls at the edges of my awareness, like an unspoken whisper.
The temperature dips—just a few degrees, but enough to raise goosebumps along my bare arms. It’s summer, but suddenly the air carries the edge of autumn.
The kind of coolness that doesn’t belong—not yet.
My breath catches.
“Do you feel that?” Calryx asks, voice sharp.
“I do.”
A ripple moves through the air, weightless but undeniable. Above us, the dragons react—a series of low, rolling growls vibrating through the thick canopy.
Beside me, Thane tenses. I don’t need to ask—Xaroth told him just like Calryx told me. The others’ faces sharpen—the quiet shift that always follows when their dragons speak.
Thane reins in his horse sharply, signaling the others to stop. They follow without hesitation. A heavy stillness settles over the group, the only sound the soft huff of our horses’ breath in the cooling air.
Valen’s voice cuts through the hush. “What is it?”
Thane scans the trees, eyes narrowing. “I don’t know,” he says at last. “But something’s here.”
I feel it too. A pulse, deep and unmistakable, not in the air, but inside me. Thane stiffens atop his horse and I meet his gaze. The bond hums between us, a quiet thrum of energy curling under my skin, tugging me toward something unseen.
Then I see it.
The forest looks the same—dense, unbroken. But something’s off. The way the trees lean. The curl of moss over a jutting ridge of stone. It blends too perfectly.
My breath catches.
I turn to Thane. He sees it too.
I swing down from my horse before I can second-guess myself. “Here.”
Thane follows, dismounting in one fluid motion. The others stay mounted, alert, eyes tracking our every step.
Someone asks why we’ve stopped, but Thane and I are too focused to notice who.
To a casual passerby, it’s just stone, camouflaged by terrain. But the longer I stare, the more it clarifies. It’s well hidden. The way the vines twist, the unnatural smoothness of the rock beneath the moss—it wants to disappear.
Valen steps closer, frowning. “Thane, Amara—what is it?”
I don’t answer right away. This shouldn’t make sense. But it does. I don’t know how I know—only that I do. The bond is showing me, leading me.
I reach out, fingers trailing over the cool stone. At first, it’s solid—unremarkable. But then—a pulse. A hum stirs beneath my fingertips, faint but unmistakable, beating in time with the bond pulsing in my chest.
My heart stutters. This place is waking something in me—in us.
“The bond, Valen. It’s pulling us both here,” I say over my shoulder.
My body moves before my mind can catch up. Like I’ve done this before. The bond isn’t just leading me—it’s remembering something for me.
I press my palm firmly against the stone. The warmth beneath my skin intensifies, spreading deep, slow and steady, like something ancient stirring beneath the surface.
It feels right. Familiar. Like touching the memory of something I never lived.
Beside me, Thane’s fingers slide through mine, his grip strong, grounding. He lifts his free hand and places it beside mine, the space between us vanishing as the air hums with quiet energy.
The thrumming under my skin isn’t just mine. It echoes in him too. I feel it—through the bond, through his stillness beside me.
A low, deep groan rolls through the forest floor.
The vines tremble. Roots shift, drawing back like living things, revealing something hidden beneath—a sigil. Dim at first, then pulsing like a fading heartbeat.
Behind me, Valen inhales sharply.
The rock begins to slowly move. The moss-covered stone retracts, drawing inward, revealing the narrow entrance of a passage. The air that spills out is cold, stale, smelling of iron and mildew.
A stillness lingers there, ancient and waiting.
Garrick lets out a low whistle. “That’s subtle.”
Jarek exhales. “Gods.”
Rian grips his sword, eyes scanning the darkness beyond.
Valen exhales, gaze flicking between me and Thane. “Only you two could see that stone.” His tone isn’t accusing—just thoughtful, turning the pieces over in his mind. “The dragons sensed it, but they couldn’t see it from above. I couldn’t see it at all.”
The bond pulses stronger, insistent, like a tether wrapping around us both, pulling us forward. I feel it thrumming beneath my skin, a quiet force curling around my ribs, tugging me toward the darkened passage.
We turn to each other at the same moment and our eyes lock. We didn’t just find this place. It called us.
As we stand before the entrance, Calryx’ sharp voice slices into my mind like a blade of ice. “I do not like this.”
Her presence crackles through the bond—sharp, electric, full of restrained frustration. It settles low in my belly—tight, coiled. Different from the bond I share with Thane, which pulses higher, behind my sternum.
The two forces pull at different parts of me—unbalancing. Dizzying.
I shift slightly on the dense moss below my feet. “What don’t you like?”
“That I cannot join you.” A heavy pause, then, with even more disdain, “Puny humans and your tiny passageways.”
I huff a breath, though I feel the tension curling in my belly. “Not my fault you’re the size of a mountain.”
Her snort is unimpressed. “A necessary consequence of being magnificent.”
I can feel her annoyance like a storm gathering on the horizon. “We’ll be fine,” I assure her. “It’s just a passage.”
Calryx’s tone sharpens, “It is not just a passage, Virelya. It is ancient. And it was closed for a reason.”
“And it was opened for a reason too.” I retort. But even as I say it, the dread unfurls—slow and certain.
Before either of us can move, hooves crunch against the forest floor behind us. “What the hell is going on?” Lyra’s voice cuts through the hush as she rides up to the front of the escort. Her sharp gaze flicks between me, Thane, and the darkened passage, suspicion flashing in her eyes.
Lyra always sees more than she says.
Garrick exhales dramatically, shifting in his saddle. “Why is it always some sinister dark hole in the ground?” He gestures toward the entrance with a lazy wave. “Can’t it ever be a nice, inviting doorway with a sign that says, ‘Come on in, have an ale, nothing ominous ahead’?”
Jarek snorts. “I’d be more suspicious of that.”
Rian remains silent, his grip still tight on his sword, eyes fixed on the passage, then scanning the forest.
Thane turns to the others, his voice steady, leaving no room for argument. “We go in pairs. Weapons drawn.” Then he looks to the rest of the escort. “The rest of you, stay here and stay alert. If we’re not back by midday, head straight to the capital.”
A murmur of agreement ripples through the group, though no one looks particularly eager to let us go in alone.
Garrick and Rian dismount first, Jarek following a beat later.
Before I can take a step forward, Lyra swings down from her horse.
Garrick exhales dramatically. “Of course, you’re going.”
Lyra shoots him a smirk as she tightens the straps on her bracers. “What, worried I’ll show you up?”
Garrick raises a brow. “Worried I’ll have to drag your ass out of another disaster? Definitely.”
Lyra ignores him and steps up beside me, rolling her shoulders like she’s already bracing for a fight. Then, more seriously, she glances at me. “I go where Amara goes.”
I meet her gaze, something warm settling in my chest despite the uncertainty ahead. She’s always been reckless, but never careless. Especially not with me.
Thane doesn’t argue about whether or not Lyra is coming with us—just nods once. Garrick grimaces, but doesn’t say anything else.
I step forward with Thane at my side. Together, we cross into the passageway.
The others follow, footsteps muffled against the damp earth as the tunnel swallows us whole.
As the last of us steps inside, Calryx roars above—furious, unwilling.
The sound shakes the stone, echoing down the passage like a warning.
But it’s too late to turn back because the bond is pulling us forward.