Chapter 29
Arina
Breesha wraps me in a warm hug, and I squeeze her back, so relieved she made it out of the cave-in.
When she releases me, she wipes at her eyes, and then busies herself making food for the trip back to the caves. I work alongside her in content silence. Until we've packed up all the food and loaded it on the ship.
We pull away from Ophis Isle, and I watch the horizon as it fades from view.
“Wondering if you'll see it again?” Raiden asks, nudging me gently in the side.
I sigh. “It's the first place I want to visit when this is all over.”
He doesn't say anything, just allows me to say goodbye to the island in peace. I'm glad to have something to look forward to. I can feel in my soul that I will return to Ophis Isle again.
Before long, our ship is anchored as close as it can to the shore where the hidden opening to the tunnel sits behind two large boulders. We use the tender to row groups of us to land one at a time.
I'm in the first group, along with Lavinia, Shreya, and a few others. We set to work moving the boulders to expose the entrance right away.
The gaping mouth of the tunnel stares back at me. I'm frozen, unable to make myself step into the dark.
“Afraid of the big bad tunnels?” Shreya asks, the sneer twisting her face and the shadows haunting her eyes smack me with a different fear.
I want to reach out and grab her hand. I want to tell her I'm sorry, but before I can, she disappears into the tunnel.
A small, soft hand takes mine. “You okay?” Lavinia asks.
I turn to face the ocean, gauging how far off the tender is and trying to discern whether Raiden is in the next group or not. They're too far out to tell for sure, but if I know him, he's going to be the last one off that ship.
“Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Let's wait here for everyone else to come through.” My friend grins at me.
Ten groups of fae arrive on the beach and head into the tunnel before, finally, the last group comes ashore. My mate and Baltas help the group out of the little boat and send it back with a member of the skeletal crew we're leaving behind with the ship.
“You waited,” Raiden says, wrapping me in a hug and kissing my forehead.
“I'd wait for you forever,” I tell him.
“Don't let her fool you,” Lavinia says. “She only waited so the two of you would be there to protect us in the creepy ass tunnel.”
I pinch her in the arm. “That's not true!”
“Hey!” she squeals and runs for the mouth of the tunnel laughing.
Then she disappears into the dark, and the cavern swallows her whole.
Unparalleled, irrational fear washes over me, and I take off after my friend. Raiden and Baltas shout behind me, but their voices are muted by the wind and the thudding of my heart in my ears.
I hit the tunnel and skid over a layer of small rocks and sand that sit on the surface of the tunnel floor, landing on my ass.
“Lavinia!” I yell into the cavern, but only my echo responds, and then silence.
Strong hands pull me to my feet.
“She's fine,” Raiden whispers. “This is classic Liv, and I'm sure she's waiting in the shadows to jump out at us at any second.”
That does not make me feel better.
“I fucking hate this place,” I say, and Baltas' deep laugh follows.
We walk a little while in silence. The first part of the tunnel was unaffected by the collapse, but the deeper we move, the clearer the damage becomes.
Piles of rocks line the path where huge pieces of black rock have fallen from above, narrowing the tunnels, and forcing us to walk one at a time.
The walls are scarred and stalactites no longer hang overhead. The stalagmites shooting up from the ground have been crushed or snapped off at the middle.
The damage goes on and on. We walk for so long that I've almost forgotten my search for Lavinia when she pops out from a pile of boulders, and I all but jump out of my skin.
“You're lucky I didn't punch you in the face! Why would you do that to me?” I yell at her while the males laugh.
In the dark, I can barely make out her wagging brows. “It worked, didn't it?”
I want to strangle her a bit. “Am I so easy to read?”
“Yes,” she and Raiden respond in unison, and I roll my eyes, stomping down the path and ignoring my three companions.
They're much further in clearing the tunnels than I expected, and we make it to the main hub of the Underground after hours of walking with very few breaks. We catch up to others along the way, joining up with them as we go.
Thankfully, I’m able to keep a wide berth between Shreya and myself.
“There are still a few tunnels to clear in different directions, but we managed to clear the path in. Our main concern is getting the tunnel to Spoikos finished without drawing too much attention,” Baltas tells us.
The four of us are gathered around a table in Raiden's quarters.
“How long will that take?” I ask, taking a bite of some of the rations Breesha packed us.
“Maybe three days,” he says.
“Then what?” I ask, already not liking the way this plan is going.
“Then we go above and see what we can find out without drawing too much attention.” I narrow my eyes on him.
“Or,” I say, "you could blur the two of us up there now, and we can get ahead of things.”
Baltas raises his brows, and Raiden gives him a look that says something along the lines of, “Don't fucking start with me.”
“It's not safe. We have no idea what’s happened since the cave-in—“
Anger surges through me, and I bring my fist down on the table. “I don't give a shit, to be honest. My best friend is up there. She probably thinks I'm dead. Or worse, she thinks I'm a traitor. I have to see her.”
“Out of the fucking question.” Raiden’s eyes are locked on mine.
He’s being unreasonable, and I don't understand why.
I’m about to argue my cases further, when Lavinia says, “Then take me.”
We all stare at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
“These people have never seen me. They don’t know me from any other traveler. Send me, and I can get a message to her friend.” I could kiss her. It’s a great idea, and the next best thing to getting to see Phillipa myself.
Raiden’s face is a shade of red I didn’t think he could turn, and the vein at his temple looks like it’s trying to burst. But the male hangs his head in defeat. “Fine. We leave first thing tomorrow.”
Raiden
“I DON'T FUCKING like this,” I tell both females as Arina puts the strap of a pack over Lavinia's head and fastens her cloak.
“You're going to have to get over it. We're in a war. One that you have had a pretty heavy hand in, if you'll recall,” my mate snaps at me. “And we all have our parts to play.”
I rub a hand over my chin, trying to wash away the frustration working its way into my jaw. I hate that I have upset her so much, and I need to get her alone to apologize properly, but there's no time.
“I’m just trying to keep you both safe. What’s wrong with that?” I ask.
Lavinia pats me on the shoulder, urging me to give it up already after having the same conversation over and over again.
“There’s nothing wrong with the idea of it, but you will not keep us from this fight. So stop trying.” Arina releases an exasperated sigh.
I couldn’t agree to take my mate nor my friend above without scouting first, and I snuck out of bed early this morning to do just that.
They’ve been ganging up on me ever since I returned.
“You said the place is a ghost town. There wasn’t a soldier to be found this morning, right?” Lavinia asks.
“Yes, but—"
She doesn’t let me finish. “Good, then it’s settled. You and I will go up and find Phillipa, fill her in on things, and give her the opportunity to come with us. If she doesn’t believe us, you’ll blur back here for Arina.”
I groan. There will be no winning with these two.
“Let’s get this over with,” I say, taking Lavinia’s elbow.
“I’ll be here waiting!” Arina chimes as I blur us to the outskirts of Spoikos.
We land, and I hold Lavinia steady so she doesn’t topple over into the dirt.
When she finds her footing, I let go and begin the quick walk from the forest into the town.
Lavinia coughs. “Gods, it’s awful! How do you breathe this shit?”
“Cover your mouth and nose with the cloak. It will help,” I tell her, and head for the barmaid’s house. I don’t envy her, being hit with the Smog in full force for the first time is a feeling she won't soon forget.
I knock on the door of the quaint cottage and wait.
Phillipa opens the door, wearing an apron that she’s currently using to dry a teacup. Her dark curly hair hangs loose around her face, and she leans against the doorframe. “How can I—whoa. Sorry. You both are just … really good looking.” She stares, dumbfounded in her doorway.
“We’re friends of Arina’s. Can we come in?” Lavinia asks, and the female’s face falls.
“That's not fucking funny,” she says, her tone dark. She sets the teacup on a small table near the door, and picks up a piece of wood as thick as my arm. She raises it with one hand and lets it fall into the other with a thwack.
I put myself between Phillipa and Lavinia, bracing myself for her to swing at me, but she doesn’t.
“Gods alive,” Phillipa whispers. “You’re him! You’re the stranger Arina danced with at the banquet.”
Relief washes over me. “Yes! Yes. That’s me. Arina is safe. I can take you to her—"
“She's alive? Explain.” She shoves the end of the piece of wood in my face.
“It's a long story. One Arina would like to tell you herself,” Lavinia tells her.
Phillipa nods. “Okay. But I'm bringing the stick.”
“GODS, ARINA! YOUR hair!” Phillipa yells when she sees my mate, gently flicking the end of Arina's hair.
Both females are crying and laughing at the same time as they embrace and touch their foreheads together in a moment that feels too intimate to witness. My chest tightens, and I busy myself by pretending to adjust my leathers.
“Do you like it?” Arina makes a show of flipping her shorter hair so it brushes her shoulders.
“I love it. Gods! I just can’t even believe you’re alive.” She shakes her head, and Arina wipes a tear from her friend’s cheek.
They curl up on the bed together, and Lavinia and I take it as our cue to leave, giving them the space they need.
As we arrive in the main hub, there is a commotion. Panicked shouts send me into a sprint without thinking.
The source of the disturbance is a golden-haired male I had hoped to never see again. Captain Loverboy is on his knees in the tunnel. His hands are in the air, and a stream of blood drips from his nose.
The group of fae who had been working to clear the tunnel surround him, two of them hold blades to the male’s throat.
When he spots me, he swallows over the blade and yells, “I came to help! I want to help. Please.”
I hold his gaze for a breath, considering whether to let them end him here and now or drag it out.
The strategist in me wins out. “Take him to the cells.”