Chapter 31 #2
I don’t get time to come to terms with the marvel of riding an Irithys; as soon as I’m settled, Stryx launches herself from the tunnel mouth, my heart nearly stopping as my stomach flips.
The air rushes past us in a freezing gale as we burst into the open expanse above Lake Voyd, the roar of wind and distant waterfalls echoing like thunder…
or maybe it’s just my pulse pounding in my ears.
Far below, the lake glimmers faintly, an enormous mirror of silver mist reflecting the lights of the floating city above.
I instinctively cling tighter, my arms winding round Stryx’s neck, every muscle in my body tense as her vast form curves gracefully through the air.
Then, the world begins to change around us.
The blue haze of Lake Voyd gives way to something luminous and soft.
I see it then, up ahead as I squint through the darkness: the rocky underside of Lunoreth, glistening with waterfalls that pour endlessly into the lake below.
Tiny threads of light dance where the water cascades down, and I can’t help but gape as we float closer and I realise they are sprites—small, glowing beings that thrive in the mist.
We soar past plumes of water that seem to hang suspended in the air, each one glittering in the dawn like ribbons of starlight.
My fear gives way to awe as I take it all in; the shifting blue light, the echoing hum of unseen magic vibrating through the air, the way the water catches on invisible currents before vanishing into the nothingness below.
Finally, Stryx angles downward towards one of the waterfalls.
The sound grows deafening as we dive straight into it and I brace, only to find myself enveloped not in freezing water, but in a warm mist that shimmers gold for an instant before clearing.
Stryx comes to a stop gently at the edge of another tunnel behind the waterfall, this one carved smooth and glowing faintly with veins of light that run through the stone.
Instead of the roaring of the water I heard outside, in here the water drips softly instead, echoing through the passage like a steady heartbeat.
I slide down from Stryx’s back on unsteady legs, staring at her as she shifts once more into her humanoid form.
I follow her longing gaze and turn toward the light at the far end of the tunnel, where faint blue and gold hues shimmer like the promise of another world.
“That,” I whisper, still breathless, “was the most amazing and terrifying thing I’ve ever done. ”
Stryx smiles faintly, gently ushering a couple of sprites from her hair. “Wait until you see what comes next.”
I amble after Stryx who leads the way through the tunnel, the pinprick of light at the end growing larger until we finally approach the exit.
Stryx doesn’t hesitate before striding out into the early morning light, but I take a moment at the opening, taking a deep breath as I come to terms with the enormousness of what I’m about to do.
Mortals are not permitted here, though given the uncertainty around my current blood status, I have to hope I’m not killed on the spot.
It does make me wonder how my real father could have kidnapped me from here, assuming that what Stryx said is true.
It doesn’t seem possible for a mortal to cross without help from an Echofae, but he must have managed it somehow.
I take another deep breath, and as I take my first step beyond the mouth of the tunnel, the world opens up before me, an impossible, breathtaking expanse of living light.
The first thing I notice is the air. It moves differently here, thick with energy, alive with a shimmering pulse that clings to my skin like a fine mist. Every breath I take feels electric, humming with a subtle vibration that sets my heart thrumming in time with the rhythm of the forest itself.
I immediately feel a pull to the world around me, like the magic in my blood is desperate to dance with its kin.
All around me, the trees rise impossibly tall, their absurdly enormous trunks twisted and ancient, reaching up into a canopy laced with threads of silver-blue light.
Vines drape from the branches like veins, glowing faintly like they are carrying the forest’s lifeblood, streams of luminescence that pulse and flicker with every whisper of the breeze.
Tiny winged creatures dart through the air around us, their forms little more than sparks of brilliance, some gold, some violet, others translucent as moonlight.
They twirl and dip in elegant spirals, their movements so graceful it seems choreographed.
One brushes past my cheek, leaving a faint trail of glowing dust that shimmers before fading into nothing.
For a long while, I stand in silence, turning in a slow circle as the world seems to breathe around me.
A firefly lands gently on my skin, and a genuine laugh escapes me.
I realise that for the first time in such a long, long time, I feel…
joy. Pure, unrestrained joy. A strangled sob erupts from my lips as wonderful, happy tears sting my eyes. Stryx gives me a knowing smile.
“Welcome to Lunoreth,” she says quietly, her voice carrying a note of reverence that makes my pulse quicken, and for the first time in my life, I feel something deep and ancient whisper back.
I feel like I’m finally home.