Chapter Forty-Two
An argument between the guys woke Gemma from her slumber. She crawled out of her shelter to find Hawk and Colton in each other’s faces while Christian sat on the ground, his free hand in his hair.
“What’s going on?” Gemma asked as she approached.
“This idiot wants to keep moving forward to find another exit,” Hawk said, waving a hand toward a pathway from the cavern in which they stood. “As if we have time to do that. We should use the rope, climb back up, and follow Christian’s original route.”
“I told you,” Colton replied, “those runners are still going to be there. We obviously entered their territory. Christian agrees. We’d be wasting even more time going back. Você é burro pra caralho.”
Imara crawled out of her shelter too. “Gentlemen, I am trying to get my beauty rest. Please desist, or I will cut off your balls.”
A corner of Christian’s mouth twitched upward.
Gemma sighed, flicking on her vest’s torchlight and marching into the opening at which Hawk had motioned.
“Where in the blazes do you think you’re going?” Hawk asked.
“To see if this even leads anywhere. Somebody has to shut you two up.”
The mumbling of annoyed voices carried down the corridor as Gemma descended into darkness. But the tunnel wasn’t very long and ended with a wall that had long since collapsed.
Brilliant. It looked like they were going Hawk’s way after all.
As she turned to go back to the cavern, a flicker of purple light caught her attention. What in the blazes . . . ?
Something was on the other side of that wall.
Gemma listened for the sounds of scraping feet or heavy breathing, but she detected nothing. Unlikely to be any creatures on that side, then. I hope.
She tightened her fists. Getting Christian up the rope to where he’d fallen through—especially with a broken arm—would be near impossible. They had to keep going this way if they were to get free of this cavern. She was getting through, no matter what it took.
Hawk was pacing when Gemma returned. “I need your help,” she said to him and Colton.
Christian went to stand, but Gemma stopped him. “Not you, though. I’m sorry. This activity does take two arms.”
He smirked before returning to his comfortable position.
Colton and Hawk followed her down the tunnel, where she told them to help her shift stones so they could get through.
“You’re not serious?” Hawk’s skeptical gaze swept over the blockage.
Gemma offered him a pointed stare, and he sighed before lifting a rock and tossing it aside.
“You know, you can be a little scary when you get demanding,” Colton jested. “But that’s good. You’ll need that fire for what’s to come.” He winked before moving stone after stone alongside Gemma and Hawk.
Gemma’s arms ached by the time a hole large enough for her to squeeze through appeared. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and wormed her way to the other side.
Her jaw fell open. By Illari . . .
The chamber in which she stood had to be thousands of years old.
Archways of Reva’s red stone separated grandiose rooms filled with purple and orange light that flooded from above, as if each section had its own galaxy.
It was otherworldly in its beauty and had definitely not been made by humankind.
Rami had mentioned they might come across some alien ruins, but she doubted he meant this.
“Gemma, you okay?” Colton called.
“You guys need to see this.”
Colton pushed through with a little extra effort, but Hawk had to move a few more stones before he could fit his massive shoulders into the gap.
Both stared at the transcendental view with eyes as wide as Gemma’s spirit felt. Each epic chamber told stories of epochs past, the air heavy with the weight of history. How did something this gorgeous exist on Reva? And how did no one know about it?
“I’ll get Christian and Imara,” Gemma said.
“Wait,” Hawk interrupted. “As cool as this is, we can’t waste time in here. Let’s grab them and go.”
“That’s exactly what I am doing. There’s bound to be another exit in here somewhere. You think dropping into that cavern was how people normally got in here?”
Hawk frowned, but when he didn’t reply, Gemma marched back through the makeshift opening to the tunnel.
Imara wasn’t thrilled when Gemma woke her up, but the promise of something amazing at least kept her from threatening to cut off any of Gemma’s body parts. The two of them—plus Christian—packed up all the supplies and met Colton and Hawk on the other side of the collapsed wall.
Curses poured from both Christian and Imara when they realized they stood in a sanctuary of ancients, where time stood still, and the boundaries between past and present seemed to blur into a tapestry of wonder and awe.
“I’ve seen alien ruins before,” Christian said. “But nothing like this.”
Gemma ventured through the chambers, marking the intricate carvings on the pillars of crimson that depicted scenes of cosmic conquest. Each told a story of a forgotten race forced to vacate the planet once the asteroid belt began to take shape.
Those who fought to stay had slowly descended into madness until just a handful of them remained.
Large eyes seemed to follow them everywhere.
A chill ran down Gemma’s spine.
She continued to study the carvings until she rounded a bend and faced a ball of beautiful purple light. It was suspended in the air and humming with latent power, its surface etched with the same glyphs from the sensory deprivation trial.
Mesmerized, Gemma drew closer, her footsteps guided by an irresistible force. It was beckoning her to caress it.
Deep inside, she knew not to touch it. But it called to her, as if it were meant for her alone.
Trepidation gnawed at her soul, but she felt possessed, unable to stop her forward progression. She had to feel it, to have the wonders it possessed.
Her fingers brushed against the orb’s surface.
A surge of energy coursed through her veins, engulfing her in a kaleidoscope of sensations. She was on fire—
No, she was cold.
Freezing.
So frigid that her bones felt like they would shatter. What have I done?
A howl ripped through her core as her atoms split apart. She could taste her own tears, smell her own blood, feel every molecule of her flesh.
Gemma clawed at her chest, struggling to breathe, to think, to push it out—
Torrential, acidic pain sent her to her knees.
She wrapped her arms around her abdomen, toppling forward and screaming into the weathered, lacquered red floor of the ancient room.
Someone yelled her name as purple blood dripped from her nose.
The world went black.