CHAPTER X
FIRE, ICE AND ASH
Cal is the one yawning between the two of us as we stretch in his room at dawn. I was awoken earlier by Alanna entering our shared room, and if what I suspect about the two is correct, then Cal is running on no sleep at all.
“Late night?” I ask with a grin.
He groans and shakes his head, not giving me an answer.
I laugh and move my braided hair more prominently to the side of my neck, hiding the coloring under my ear. I’m not too fond of the side hairstyle but it’s doing a good job to cover my own late night endeavors.
A part of me suspects that Keane’s been bruising me purposely these last two nights, as if he’s leaving his sensual claim on my skin as a reminder of exactly what his lips can do.
Not that I can or ever will forget. The way that man handles my body is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before, and I can’t even say I’m opposed to him leaving his mark as a reminder.
“You laugh now,” Cal’s eyes narrow on mine, “but it’s been days since our training in Fumagalli. You will be sore after this.”
“I welcome it,” I grin.
Cal grins as well and bounds forward, his fist aiming for my face as I quickly move out of the way. We run through the motions of hand to hand until his word is kept, and by the time I return to my room my body is aching tenfold.
Golem nods in greeting when I shut the door behind me.
Alanna’s still sleeping in her bed across the way, so I decide to pack everything now and just leave it with her, not knowing when or if we’ll leave right after my search concludes.
I get started on laying out my outfit for the day and ignore the slow creep of anxiety that settles in my gut.
It’s laced with a healthy dose of anticipation, because for the first time in two years, I know that I’ll be finding what I’m looking for.
The knowledge is both exciting to think of yet nerve racking at the same time, and while I’m still nervous of the things I may stumble upon in the library, I’m both anxious and eager of the unknown events that are sure to follow.
Golem is expecting something big to happen after I find the book, something important, and knowing that sends a small thrill through the whole of my being.
I look down to see that new anticipation making my hands shake as I pack. It’s an involuntary reaction and one that makes me frown, but the next thing I see is Golem walking up beside me, his own hands reaching out to mine and grasping them softly.
“Thank you,” I lean against him and let my head fall on his shoulder.
My magical friend squeezes my hands again and then bends down to help, a relaxing presence if I ever did need one.
Once packed, I make my way to the bathing chamber and throw cool water over my face.
I change into a new shirt, my gold satin long sleeve with the cut down the middle that Keane liked in Fumagalli, and tuck it into my tan riding pants.
I tug on my brown leather boots and fiddle with the gold rings on my pointer fingers before fastening the black and gold Shadow Oak earrings to match the rest of the ensemble.
I re-braid my hair and bring the twists tight around my ear before letting it fall again to the side of my neck.
Golem is waiting for me at the edge of the bed when I return to the main room. He’s holding his clay jar in his hands for me, the top and bottom in separate pieces as I walk towards him with a shake my head.
“Not until the last moment.”
He nods, watching me organize my belongings once more before I move to the small table in the corner of the room. I grab the pen and paper resting there and scribble note to Alanna, leaving it on top of my travel packs for her to see:
Please visit Millie while I’m gone.
I reach for my travel bag and sling the strap over my shoulder, letting it fall familiarly against my hip. When everything is organized and there’s nothing left to do, I finally look at Golem and give him a small smile before reaching for his jar.
“Until we meet on the other side.”
Golem smiles as I twist the pieces together and carefully place the container in my bag. I reach for the two maroon cloths I stole from dinner last night and cover them over the jar. By the time I look up, Golem is nowhere to be found, so I take a deep breath and head out the room.
Cal is waiting for me on the other side of the door when I open it.
His broad shoulders and auburn hair are a welcoming sight, but it’s the person standing next to him that has me stopping in my tracks and catching my breath.
His brown eyes immediately lock on mine, his cool and calm features nodding in quiet greeting.
“We have come to escort you, Lady Alexis.”
I look at the two men in front of me with deep appreciation.
“Thank you,” I murmur softly.
Cal does his best to act nonchalant as he shrugs. “Another day, another staircase.”
I give him a half laugh and close the door behind me, the three of us walking in silence as we take off down the hall. We descend down the staircase and come out next to one of the pillars in the throne room where a small group of familiar faces already wait.
Prince McQuoid and Princess Clair stand in the middle of the room with Alba and the Prince’s tiger sitting patiently at their sides. The two of them are engaged in a small conversation with Holis and Mana, all four turning their heads the moment they hear us enter.
Clair looks from me to Prince Keane and then from me to Cal, her red lips grinning as she takes a step forward and I drop in a curtsy.
“Have you eaten?” the Princess asks.
Her hair is twisted in the front again with the rest of the red length flowing down her back in a large braid. She’s wearing a grey satin dress that has intricate red threading throughout, the stitching taking on the form of small tarragon wings that fly along her body.
“No, Your Highness.”
“Clair, please,” she smiles, blue eyes twinkling, “and good. We can stop on the way. If you will all follow us…”
Clair turns to the opposite end of the room as McQuoid takes up at her side.
The Prince and Princess lead our group towards a dark corner with their snow tigers, while Holis, Mana and Cal follow behind.
Keane and I take up the rear and pass between two dark pillars towards what I would have thought would be a dead-end wall, except when we reach the non-existing wall, there’s a decent-sized tunnel that leads into the mountain instead.
The corridor is dark and chilly, the stone walls bare of any light that would give away its placement. If Clair hadn’t led us in this direction from the main room, I would have never noticed the tunnel was there at all.
I shrug on my cloak and follow down the dark tunnel until we reach a single torch that’s illuminated at the end. Prince McQuoid reaches for the flame and pulls it off the wall, then turns to the rest of us so we can see his face.
“The path will narrow here,” he warns the group, “make sure you stay to the right of the mountain at all times. If you need, keep your fingers against the wall so as not to stray from it.”
We all nod and watch him walk with his tiger through the archway before he takes a sharp right into the darkness.
Princess Clair follows after him with Alba, then Holis and Mana.
The path is indeed narrow so Cal takes a stance in front of me and disappears into the dark.
His huge form is just barely visible as I follow behind with Keane bringing up the rear.
“Just watch my flames,” Prince McQuoid announces from the front, “let them be your guide.”
I slant my head higher and peer towards the fire ahead of us, following in its general direction as my hand brushes against the stone at my right.
I think we’re in a mountain cave of some sorts, with everything cool and quiet and not another soul in sight.
We walk for a long while until eventually McQuoid lowers the torch in front of him and the flames hit the side of the wall.
The action causes another torch to ignite a ways down, that fire setting off a chain reaction along the mountain wall, with each torch lighting another until the full right side is illuminated in an intricate path.
I gasp when I look to my left, feeling Keane’s hand reach out to my waist as he stops my startle.
With everything now illuminated, I can see that the left side of the mountain is an endless pit, its depths so deep that I can’t fathom what lies beneath.
The sudden realization hits me that we’ve been walking on this narrow path the whole time, not knowing that our left dropped into an endless abyss.
I turn back to Keane with wide eyes and watch as he gives a small smile in confidence, his gaze letting me know that he’s been looking after me and was aware of the drop since the beginning.
I make a mental note to ask him if Discerni have better sight in the dark than humans, then think that it must be true as him and his Lords were able to navigate the path to Fumagalli easily.
Cal bounds forward with a frown and follows the rest of the group down the path of torches.
I take a steady breath and follow behind him, our group traveling along the side of the mountain for another long stretch until the torches finally make a hard right and curve out of sight.
The moment I make the same sharp turn around the wall I immediately stop in my tracks.
My eyes widen on a bustling city of flames and crystals, the sight completely stopping my heart and taking my breath away.
Deal Elder Father and Mother.