Chapter 16
H er eyes stared out into the dark abyss of the underground lake.
At first, she thought sparing Shikra’s life showed weakness, but now that she had time to think about it, and everything that came after, it had been the right decision.
More apt she was to hark upon her mistakes and shortcomings rather than her successes, but even she had to admit and give herself credit, she was handling this situation quite well by her own assessment.
Shikra was beginning to trust her, and she was well on her way to learning who ordered Lindana’s assassination.
A rainbow shimmering on the water caught her attention.
The lake was an unnatural color. Most subterranean lakes were freshwater and safe to drink from, but this one was not.
Something sinister must have happened. Someone or something didn’t want anyone coming here and staying.
If this lake was originally freshwater, it would’ve made for a perfect settlement.
The lake was poisoned intentionally. The tree spirit was the first thing to come to her mind. If the lake was poisoned, could she cure it as she cured poison in her body and make it safe to drink?
Her throat was parched, and finding clean water was the most important part of survival now. She walked slowly to the water’s edge and scooped a cup of water up into the palms of her hands. The same spell she used on the poison on her wound, she concentrated on the water held in her palms.
She closed her eyes and slipped into the same near-comatose state, but it did not last long.
The curing power flowed through her body and emanated from her hands.
When she opened her eyes and looked down, she was given such a startle she almost spilled the water on the ground.
It was not black anymore. She could see the palms of her hands through it.
The only thing left to do was test it. This could make her sick or even worse. But they needed water, and she did not know when they would chance upon a fresh spring.
“What have you got there?” Shikra came up beside her.
She showed him what was cupped in her hands. “Water from the lake. I thought to cleanse the poison in it.”
“Let me see that.” Shikra took her hand to bring it closer for his inspection. “It’s clear!” His eyes opened in surprise at her.
“I need to test it. Make sure it’s safe to drink.”
“I’ll do it.” He made a motion to drink from her hand .
She jerked her hands away. “No. I will do it.” She looked down at the water. It looked clean enough. “I’m Light Elf. It will not kill me.” At least she thought it wouldn’t.
Closing her eyes, she took a sip. “Oh!” She opened them back up and smiled at Shikra. “It’s sweet.”
Aelrie went back to the lake and drew some more water with her hands and cleansed the poison from it just the same as the last time.
Shikra drank the water from her hands. After she did this a few more times and they both drank the cleansed water, the use of magic wore her out. “I must rest for a bit.”
Shikra finished drinking from her cupped hands. He then grabbed her wrist after he was finished, and she startled. But he only placed a soft kiss on top. “Thank you, little flower, because of your efforts, we might survive this day.”
Her cheeks reddened. Her immediate reaction was to push him away for being too forward with her again, but his gratitude sounded sincere. All she could manage was an awkward, “You’re welcome,” said under her breath.
Another stone staircase lay behind the lake, and their need for food prompted further exploration.
“How long until we reach the entrance?” she asked as they trekked up the stairs. There was light here coming from above them in shafts. They seemed to be inside a mountain. “Those dead in the labyrinth must have come in from somewhere. ”
“Not much long…” Shikra stopped mid-sentence, looking at something before him, and then proceeded to run to it.
“Hey, wait up!” she called out, but when he didn’t stop, she followed with growing curiosity.
When she reached him, she found Shikra crouched, trying to pry something open with his hands. A large stone door came into her view, impressively massive and intricately carved, in a mural that time had weathered away.
She stood there marveling at it until she noticed something amiss. “What are you doing?” she asked.
Shikra was still trying to get the door to open, but it wouldn’t budge.
“The mechanism is broken,” he said with a gasp of expiration, and stood back up.
He gestured to a lever at the side of the door.
She tried the lever, but it gave no slack.
It wasn’t connected to the device that opened the door.
Underneath, perhaps a chain or gear was broken.
But they had no way to get to it to fix it.
The technology was old, dwarven, and used in a time when the dwarves lived below ground before the Dark Elves came and drove them further down into the Evergloom.
No one had seen or heard from a dwarf in centuries.
Some said they no longer existed and that their race had dug too deeply and angered the gods, yet others said the dwarves still existed and that their Dwarven cities could be visited if one knew how to get there.
Aelrie couldn’t confirm or deny this as she’d never seen a dwarf before.
The dwarves were the only ones to hold technology in these machines. Elves had no use for such primitive mechanisms; they had magic. But they had no dwarf with them to fix the door, so there was no way for them to get it open anytime soon.
“There must be another entrance somewhere.” Shikra looked around, and his gaze fixed on more stone stairs leading down into the dark.
Not another dark cave. And they had no light to guide their way. The shafts of light came from above them, the higher they climbed, but there was no light the lower they descended. And these stairs sank down into the mountain.
“Once again, we have no light source.” She gave a defeated sigh. That meant crawling around in the darkness once again.
“Do not fear, little flower. I shall guide you again.” Shikra held his hand out to her for her to take.
She stared at it.
“I won’t bite.” When he said this, his crimson eyes sparkled a little deviously. Or was that just a trick of the light?
They’d already done this before. She had no need to hesitate now, especially since he waited patiently with his arm still held out for her. She took his hand and caught a glimpse of a smile before he turned around and led them down the stairs.
The calloused but warm hand she held, his hand, the hand of a skilled assassin—a killer—had become a reassurance for her, a lifeline in the dark. It was foolish to rely so much on him, yet … holding his hand like this made her feel …
She tried to force it away. Pretend it wasn’t there. But the more she did, the more it grew .
Safe.
She felt safe with him.
What was this madness? Putting her trust, her very life, into the hands of the same assassin who just two days before murdered Lindana in cold blood and held a dagger to her own throat?
If she had heard this tale from anyone else, she would have berated them for being so weak and na?ve.
But what they went through together in those two days changed them, forced them to instill trust in each other for survival, and brought forth feelings neither one of them fully understood.
This wasn’t just wishful thinking because the fact was plain to see.
Why hadn’t they killed one another by now?
She had plenty of reasons to want him dead.
But when he was incapacitated and an easy kill, she couldn’t go through with it.
And it wasn’t just her; he also should have killed her when he had the chance back at the temple.
She’d spared his life, but only after he first spared hers…
Light Elf and Dark Elf, as different and irreconcilable as night and day. Yet they’d fought monsters together, worked as a team to bring down powerful foes, and saved each other’s lives.
Whatever was happening between them, the problem was that they were getting too close. She had to stop this. Here she was, letting him literally guide her by the hand. And …
They’d kissed.
Thinking about it now made her heart sink. It was wrong. Everything about him was wrong. Being here with him was wrong .
But… a memory of the kiss flashed through her mind, and a longing she could not place dug itself deeper into the trenches of her heart.
Why did it feel so right? Getting caught up in the feeling, being able to forget everything around her as his strong arms gripped her, and the forceful way his tongue explored her mouth, which sent tingles throughout her body where his touch still lingered.
This aching need for him to go further and explore other areas of her body.
And the way she also wanted to explore his body and stroke the hardness she’d felt pressed against her thigh.
A shiver passed through her. This was Lindana’s killer. The kiss happened because they were both caught up in the moment. Escaping from a near-death experience has been known to draw out other emotions. That was it. Nothing more.
Focus on the next step. How were they going to get through this cave?
She glanced around at her surroundings.
It wasn’t as dark as it had been in the cave connected to the labyrinth. Now, she could make out the shapes of the walls to her side, Shikra’s broad shoulders, even though he was clothed in black, and his long white hair dangling down his back in front of her.