Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
LYVIA
Enslaved by Nivisian elves in the second dawn.
– A Written History of the Itherians, by Olienna. Crystal Castle.
Lyvia – The Arx, Votruvia
Awarmth crawled from the entrance of the tunnel on the Arx.
Thick, stone monoliths lined the narrow path, the massive boulders squatting shoulder to shoulder, stretching twenty feet high.
The soft glow of our torches bounced off the smooth rock, and I ran my fingers over cool stone as we hiked into the heart of the floating mountain.
“Curious, there are no cave formations here,” I murmured after several tense minutes of silence, remembering the stalactites and stalagmites lining Enya’s burial chamber. Water gathered in small pools suspended above our heads before plopping down in quick spats and slickening the floor.
“I don’t think this place answers to Vael’s laws of nature,” Isla murmured from behind.
Certainly not, given the entire island floated above the waters below.
We followed the stone path until a soft gray glow began to stretch along the walls, the tunnel opening somewhere above as our footing angled upward.
My thighs burned as we climbed, my boots slipping against the wet stone and my knees nearly kissing the ground before a hand gripped the back of my jacket, steadying me.
I threw a grateful glance at Aeriden.
“Bet you thought you’d be more coordinated as an elf.” He chuckled.
I shoved out of his grip, but my lips tugged up. “I’m plenty coordinated. And I bet I could take you in an arm wrestle now.” I raised my brows in challenge.
“You’re on, Sis. Next time we make camp.”
My eyes caught on Kellan as I looked up. The gray light filtering in from whatever lay at the end of the tunnel cast a soft glow around his dark form. Shadows hid his features, but I thought I caught the hint of a smile on his lips before he turned.
My breath caught as we reached the top. The monolith tunnel opened to a massive, dark valley where thousands of tall crystals sprouted from the ground and walls, creating a forest of icy gems.
Aeriden let out a low whistle at the otherworldly beauty.
The centers of each crystal let out a soft glow. The ones nearest us ranged from deep silver to white, and as I craned my neck to see further, the colors shifted, transitioning to a deep blue-black. They illuminated the thick fog hanging above.
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” Isla murmured beside me. Her hand gripped mine and squeezed.
“Did you have any idea this was here?” I asked, turning to Kellan, whose eyes were already on me.
He shook his head, his face soft, eager.
We followed the only path through the crystal forest until the lighting shifted from a black blue to a deep, ominous crimson and opened to a small chamber with a shattered marble tomb in the center.
Chunks of rock and debris littered the sacred resting space, the bones of its occupant thrown across the room in savage sacrilege.
Kellan stilled as he scanned the jagged crystals creating the walls of the chamber. He took a cautious step forward and placed a hand on the edge of what remained of the demolished tomb.
I slipped forward, placing a hand next to his, and my stomach twisted as I scanned the bottom of the tomb. The only remaining bone in the occupant’s final resting place was a skull with a dagger shoved through the top, holding an old slip of parchment in place.
My leg slid over the wide stone edge, and Kellan gripped my forearm, lifting it and helping me into the cold space. I knelt next to the ancient skull and inspected the tightly rolled scroll and dagger.
Fractures spiderwebbed from the embedded dagger, leaving jagged, ninety-degree lines edging away from the weapon.
I ran my forefinger over the chipped bone, noting the consistent coloration.
My heart panged for Drystan as I examined the skull.
Where was he now? He’d gotten away when Renova and Ganmira had come through the gate, but we’d been cut off from Sultira for months now…
Kellan knelt beside me, angling his head to better look at the dagger and note.
“This damage was inflicted after death,” I murmured to the group. “Many years after.”
“Why would someone do this to him?” Isla asked as she trekked around the chamber, picking up bits of bone with the tips of her fingers and examining them.
“Her, I think,” I answered, running my finger along the delicate, sloping jawline of the skull, a wave of familiarity washing over me. I’d been here over a year and a half ago. The discovery of Enya’s burial chamber seemed a lifetime ago.
Kellan placed his hand on the front of the skull and reverently pulled the dagger out with a crack, holding it toward me. I gently gripped the edges of the old parchment, slipping it down the ancient dagger and pulling it free.
The crispy scroll cracked as I unfolded it as gently as possible. Isla and Aeriden’s shadows darkened the paper as they neared and peered over my shoulder.
“Traitor,” Isla translated the single, elven word marked on the parchment. It was etched in shaky lines, as if the hand holding the quill were bent and curved.
“Do you think this could be Lelyth’s resting place?
The Starling queen?” I asked, letting the parchment fall to the bottom of the dusty tomb.
A muscle feathered in Kellan’s jaw as he scanned the wreckage, a quiet anger seeping into the lines bordering his lips as he jerked his chin down once in agreement.
This was his ancestor’s grave.
“Who did this?” Aeriden asked, gesturing to the cracked remains that peppered the floor.
“Olienna,” Kellan answered as he stood. “When she came for the Celestyn Bone.”
Olienna was likely the only being capable of entering the Arx after the War of Ruin and the demise of the other Bellators. She was powerful, even as the Stone Witch.
“This must have happened after Daimos transformed her into the Stone Witch but before Saros trapped her in the Lumerians,” Isla agreed as she scanned the destroyed tomb.
“Yes,” I murmured. “Olienna had wanted them to use the Aeterna Bone to extend their lives for thousands of years, amassing more power, to always be there if the Embodied returned. But Enya and Lelyth had disagreed, hiding their powers in the bones after the gate closed, not trusting what time would do to them. She must have come here after she learned of Lelyth and Enya’s plans.
After the War of Ruin. She probably went to the Lumerians next in search of the Obscura Bone. ”
Kellan stood and sheathed the dagger, his brows narrowing in disgusted defeat.
“The bone isn’t why we are here. We need the lock and the key,” he said, offering me a hand as he stepped out of the tomb.
My fingers slipped over the hardened calluses of his palm as I straddled the edge of the tomb and hopped out. His grip held as I straightened, and I let my hand sit in his for a moment. His face turned down toward mine, his dark gaze searching as the air around us stilled.
Aeriden’s boot scuffed as he followed Isla to the far side of the chamber, and I let my hand drop. Isla’s palms hovered over the sharp edges of a particularly large crystal.
“Come look at this,” she called. “I think this is a door. The light is dimmed in comparison to the others, and I think I see the darkened outline of a hall beyond.”
“Here’s another,” Kellan murmured as he strode to the opposite end of the room. He let out a soft curse and whipped his hand back. “Don’t touch it.”
My stomach tightened as a line of blood trickled from his fingertips. He shook them out, eyes cutting to mine and offering a wink.
“Try using your wind,” Isla commanded as she steepled her hands, summoning her own fresh jasmine air. Her hands shook as bits of light danced around her fingers. Her palms kissed before she angled the tips of her fingers toward the crystal.
Kellan followed suit, his leather and cedar wind spinning around him and shoving against the crystal. The two crystals slid inward with the soft hush of falling sand, revealing concealed paths beyond.
“Two paths,” Aeriden murmured. “Think it’s a path for each object? One for the lock and the other for the key?”
“Yes,” Isla agreed. “We should split up. We’ve already lingered here too long.”
I heaved a breath, uneasy with the thought of being separated from any of them.
I cast to Tiberius, his eyes opening behind mine to give him an update on our status. I breathed in his salty response, the lingering peel of a glimpsing sunset painting the Crimson Sea in shades of red and orange as a soft breeze rolled off its waves. The Hydra rocked softly beneath his hooves.
“We have,” I agreed. “It’s been at least ten hours since we landed. I’ll go with Aeriden.”
“No.”
I snapped my face in Kellan’s direction, and a surge of irritation spiked at the unyielding command riding the word.
“I’m not leaving you, and Isla shouldn’t go alone,” the pirate lord continued.
I straightened my spine and popped my fists to my hips. My molars scraped against each other as the corner of his lip kicked into a smirk. I suddenly remembered why this man had driven me mad last year.
“That’s not for you to decide,” I replied, turning back to the group.
Isla snickered and shook her head before flipping her long black braid over her shoulder.
“Well, we should split up the two mages who can whisper with the wind if there are more doors like this,” she agreed, nodding at Kellan.
“I can use my own powers on doors like this,” I cut in, glancing at my hands. “Probably.”
“I’m not leaving you.” Kellan’s expression was calm, yet firm.
“I’ll be fine.” Aeriden grinned, clasping me on the shoulder. “Isla’s basically a mystic anyways.”
“Fine by me,” Isla agreed. “Once we find what we’re looking for, let’s meet at the opening of the tunnel, by the Itherian statue.”
Outnumbered, then. My fingernails dug into my palms, and I forced my hands to relax as I dropped them to my sides. Isla reached forward and wrapped her arms around me.
“I’ll keep him safe,” she whispered.
I sagged in the warmth of her friendship and loosened my jaw.
“Keep yourself safe, too,” I breathed back before releasing her. I strode past Kellan and into the waiting path without looking back.
We wound around the jagged crystals as the path thinned, their sharp points forcing us in a slow, looping pattern.
“What’s wrong?” Kellan murmured after several tense minutes of silence.
“Nothing,” I lied, glad I led the way and wasn’t forced to look at his face.
“I told you, Lyvia. I do not do miscommunication.”
He gripped my arm from behind, shifting my body so I missed the dagger-like crystal shard jutting out from the side. I blew out a quick breath as my stomach lurched.
“And I do not do bossy,” I said after a moment. “Don’t start being an overprotective asshole.”
Kellan huffed a laugh. “Well, I’ve always been an overprotective asshole, so, no.”
I tugged my arm out of his grip and continued walking. “Let’s just talk about something else,” I murmured after a moment.
“Should we talk about how you found me in the Abyss?” he asked without hesitation.
A zip of energy shot up my core, flipping my stomach and tightening around my chest at the question. My lips clamped shut. I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk about how I’d found him… That tug. There was still so much I didn’t understand.
“Kellan…” I started after a moment, keeping my eyes forward and winding through the sharp crystals.
I opened my mouth to continue when a grand chamber opened before us. My breath caught in my throat as I took in the sight.