Chapter 16
Rosomon
Zogar’s being stubborn—not a shock—but I understand his attitude, because it’s clear that he can’t see what I’m seeing.
He did tell me some magic only works on humans, and it’s scary to think that he could be right—that the beautiful path we took was only a hallucination brought on by the sprites’ stings.
But deep in my gut I believe that the pretty, cruel creatures are trying to help us.
That they’re warning us away from the path that Zogar wanted to take.
Every time we took the main path, the sprites attacked. Yet they stopped when we went the direction they showed me. I’d do anything to avoid another one of those excruciating stings, and I hope I’m not just choosing to trust the sprites to avoid pain.
The river is definitely too deep to wade across.
The water’s flowing quickly, and the current is strong, swirling around boulders that form what seems like an easily passable, natural bridge across the water.
I assume Zogar’s a strong swimmer—he’s good at all things—but as we stand on the riverbank, his eyes show fear.
Something I am not accustomed to seeing in him.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he says again, but his voice lacks the complete confidence that’s normally there.
The water is splashing up in places, leaving the boulder tops damp. I’m sure I can get across, but I need to convince Zogar that I’m capable.
“Some of the boulders look slippery.” I run my hand down his arm. “I’ll make sure I don’t land on any patches of moss. The spacing looks easy enough, even for me.” I smile up at him. “Definitely for you. Or we could fly across?”
He shakes his head. “I can’t shift here.”
I was joking, but don’t bother saying so. There’s still so much I don’t know about dragons—about my husband—but I suppose I have plenty of time to learn, if we’re to build a life together.
My chest squeezes with longing for Saxon and Tynan, hoping they’re both safe and well. Zogar has promised that we’ll return to the Light—that I’ll see them again. I’ve forgiven him for many things, but would never forgive him if he breaks that pledge.
He’s staring down the river toward the bridge, a frown on his face.
“Do you still want to try the bridge?” I slide my fingers along his strong arm.
He shakes his head. “There’s danger at the bridge. Trolls.”
Nothing in his expression hints at a jest. “Trolls?”
“Yes.” His jaw is tight, and he nods. “Trolls would exact a high toll for our crossing. If they let us cross at all.” He looks at the boulders again, clearly worried that I won’t make it across. And then he straps biggest bag—all the others inside it—over his shoulders, leaving his hands free.
“I’ll jump first,” he says. “That way I can grab you if the distance for some leaps proves too far.”
I nod. He seems far more wary of this crossing than I am, and I wish I could convince him of my confidence. “I’ve crossed water using boulders like this before.” Back home, I only crossed creeks, not raging rivers, but this isn’t that different. “I’ll be fine.”
He nods, stiffly, and then closes his eyes for a brief moment. He cups my face in his hands and kisses me gently. Then, taking a long stride, he leaps toward the first boulder. He almost overshoots it but windmills his arms to stop himself.
He turns back toward me. “It’s not as far as it looks.”
I smile. There’s no way I’d jab at his pride by pointing out that he jumped with far too much force.
I take a few steps back, then run and leap onto the boulder. I land easily, but he pulls me against him as if I barely made it. I’m not complaining about the contact, but note that his heart is beating very rapidly. He’s so worried for me, and that touches my heart.
“Let’s get this over with quickly.” He looks at me, but not directly into my eyes. “Do you agree?”
“I do.”
He turns toward the next boulder, studies it for a moment and then makes a jumping stride toward it. The distance isn’t great, and I follow quickly behind him, landing before he turns.
I place my hands on his back. When he feels my touch, his muscles relax, and he glances over his shoulder. “Well done, my queen.”
“You as well, my king.” I grin and am grateful to see a glint in his eyes.
We quickly traverse the next two boulders, but then he stops. We’re midway across the river, and the water’s rushing quickly around us. If I fell in here, the current would certainly wash me far downstream. It might even drag away someone as large as Zogar.
“The next rock looks farther,” he says.
I step up beside him and slide my hand onto his back. “Perhaps slightly. But it’s also lower than this one, and quite level on top. That should make my landing safer.” I look into his eyes. “But thank you for warning me.” I wish I could ease his worry. “Shall I go first this time?”
He shakes his head, then makes his leap. I follow, and we quickly cross the final four boulders to land on the riverbank. In hindsight, the crossing was more like a bridge, and even my leaps were like long strides, but I’m touched he was so worried for me.
The moment we’re across, Zogar gathers me into his arms, holding me tightly, and his racing heart slows to a more normal rate.
“Fuck, that was terrifying.”
I nod against his chest, even though I didn’t find it that harrowing. “Where to now?”
He loosens his hold. “This way.” He points into the woods. “I can see the start of the caves.”
“Where?”
He smiles down at me. “Even in my human form, my eyesight is superior to yours. At least when sprites aren’t involved.”
He takes my hand, and we start weaving through the forest. He’s never mentioned his superior eyesight before, but I suppose he can do virtually everything better than a human can.
“Have the sprites stopped showing you visions?” he asks.
“Yes.” I’m glad he finally seems to believe they were helping.
Not far from us now, a heaping mound of moss-covered boulders juts up from the ground like sentinels. As we get closer, I see there are gaps between the boulders, like fissures leading into the darkness.
Now it’s my heart that’s beating too quickly, but Zogar’s becoming much calmer. Calmer, yet clearly excited, and I love this look on my husband.
We walk along the edge of the mound, weaving around boulders.
Zogar’s brow furrows as he studies the formations.
He touches some of the surfaces, clearly looking for something specific.
Each of the crevices looks the same to me, and none look wide enough to travel through, but Zogar is a man on a mission and clearly knows where he’s headed.
“Here.” He turns toward me, a huge grin on his face. “This is the way. It’s been four hundred years, but I’m certain.”
“I’m glad.” I hold his hand more tightly. The gap is narrow, even out here at the edge, and it’s hard to imagine there’ll be enough room for me to squeeze through, never mind Zogar. But I need to trust that he knows where he’s going—just like I asked him to believe I could cross that river.
Keeping a tight hold on my hand, he enters a gap between two of the boulders. We weave through the crevice. The path leads down into the large mound, and the dim light of the forest continues to fade.
We reach a point where I can’t see at all, and I cling to his hand.
The air is damp, so are the crevice walls.
At times, they startle me when they brush my skin.
My legs tell me that we’ve been descending, and we’ve made many turns.
If we get separated, I’ll have no idea how to return to the place where we started.
“Duck down,” Zogar says. His large hand lands gently on the top of my head. “We need to crawl for a while. I’ll stay right in front of you.”
My heart gallops at the idea of letting go of his hand, but I go down on all fours and follow the sound of his breathing, as he moves through a tunnel in the rock that’s so small that even I brush against its sides in places. I can’t imagine how Zogar’s much wider shoulders are getting through.
I lose track of him. My heart races. I stretch forward, to touch his boot, but don’t make contact.
Panic rises, but then his fingers stroke my face. “You can rise to your feet,” he says, with clear joy in his voice. “We’re here.”
Holding on to him, I rise and then press myself against his side, loving his warmth against the damp air, as he drapes one of his arms around me.
“I can’t see anything,” I tell him. “Can you?”
“Yes,” he says. “I can’t see well, but my eyesight allows limited vision, even when there’s no light.”
“Now,” he squeezes my shoulders. “I must step away from you for a moment.”
“No, please.” I suck in a sharp breath, embarrassed at my fearful outburst. “Why must you leave me?”
“Fear not.” His deep voice is like a thick blanket. “You’re safe. Stay where you are until I tell you to move.”
The combination of the unknown, the darkness, and his ominous instructions are terrifying, even with his assurances. My sense of adventure has abandoned me.
“Don’t be afraid,” he says. “I promise, it will be worth it.”
My fear is instantly lessened by the obvious delight and confidence in his voice. Whatever he’s about to show me, wherever he’s going without me, he’s excited about something he wants me to see or experience.
As he moves away, my fingers slide down his arm, slipping to his hand, then his fingertips, and I keep contact as long as I can. When my arm drops, I wrap my arms around myself, my only remaining comfort in this dark, damp place.
I have no idea where Zogar went or how far. The sound of falling water is muffling the sound of his footsteps, and I certainly can’t see him in this utter darkness. My heart’s loudly thumping, but at least some excitement has mixed into my fear. Zogar would not put me in danger.
A breeze brushes my skin, more like a strong gust of wind. And then another.
“Where is the wind coming from?” I call out, and my voice echoes. We must be in a very large cave.
Then, the air fills with fire.