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“And mine?”
I catch his lips pulling into a smirk. “She’s female, but I think you’ll get to know her soon.”
The blood drains from my face. “They can talk?”
“Oh yes. They can talk.” His eyebrows bounce and it’s now I realize the stairs don’t go all the way to the floor. There’s a drop, a couple of feet high. “Usually, you hear them in your head long before they have the ability to take control of your body or you shift, but it doesn’t always work that way.”
Loric leaps, landing gracefully on his feet before he turns to offer a hand. I toe the edge of the last stair, gulping down the knot in my throat. Maybe it’s not as far as it looks… Though Loric’s head doesn’t even reach the stairs. Sitting down on the plank, I scooch to the end.
“I got you, just jump,” he says, hands held up toward me, ready to catch.
Shaking the nerves out of my hands, I push off. My breath becomes trapped in my lungs, my hair flying in tangled chunks, dried with blood, and his hands bite into my hips as he stops my descent, gently putting my feet on the ground.
“See? Easy.” His glowing eyes turn toward me and he winks, right before the light in them fades and they return to their normal silver. Loric seems to shake something free as he looks me over and it makes me wonder.
Are the glowing eyes a sign of being a shifter, of inflated emotions or maybe they help with vision… or are they a sign of who or what is in control?
Loric’s shoulders roll back as he looks around, and for the first time since landing on my feet, I do too.
I have no idea how deep inside the mountain we are, just that flights of stairs separate us from the surface. The walls are raw stone, like the interior of a cave, ancient and by far the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
The ceiling arches high above, adorned with stalactites that hang like icicles and a sea of glowing crystals, painted in every shade of purple, pink, and blue. Pillars of glass-like stone rise from the ground, towering over us, and the size of the spires of the Solarian castle. They send a kaleidoscope of colors along the rocky walls.
In the center of the cavern, there’s a cluster of tables, forming a makeshift gathering place. Their wood is dark and worn, bearing the scars caused by countless meetings and meals. Around the octagonal expanse, wooden doors hang from hinges, driven into the rockface. Each one is unique, some plain, others carved with intricate designs.
The air smells clean and feels crisp as it’s pulled into my lungs, cold but not enough that I’ll freeze here. Though, I don’t think Loric will get his cloak back soon.
“About time. We were about to go back up to check on the two of you,” Vik says, her accent is different from the others, but I can’t quite place it.
Mira and Vik move with purpose, their steps sure and silent as they close the distance between us. Mira's face is emotionless,unapologetic, but not unkind. She nods at me with a closed lip grin as they near. Next to Vik, they look like polar opposites with her feminine features, pixie-like in a way, similar to her brother’s, and her fiery red hair is now wrapped on top of her head like a crown, revealing her slender neck.
“Did you clear the rooms?” Loric asks, taking the keys from Mira. I don’t even remember him giving them to her, but I wasn’t exactly watching them upstairs.
“No one is down here, but there are clothes in some of the rooms. We might be able to find something moresuitablefor Calamity. Some of it looks like it’ll fit her.” Vik grins at me, looking me up and down as if she’s sizing me. She drops a canvas bag from where it was perched on her shoulder. “I thought you’d like to have your stuff.”
Every cell in my body comes alive with a newfound energy as I grab it off the floor and clutch it to my chest. “Thank you.”
“Thankyoufor healing me.” She comes up on her tiptoes as rocks closer. “I wouldn’t be doing much of anything right now had you not.”
Healed her?My brows furrow and I glance at Loric.
He seems to pick up on my silent question, choosing to answer for me. “She doesn’t remember.”
Vik’s face falls as she eyes me, then her gaze slowly trickles down before zoning out. “Oh, I see.”
One of the doors creaks open and the man Loric stole a hair tie from, Jesper, steps out of the crevice, a glass jar of something in his large hand. His dark hair is loose now, cascading in a bone-straight veil down to the middle of his shoulder blades. Oblivious to us, he curls a finger inside the jar, scooping out a brown paste before sticking the digit into his mouth and licking it clean.
I’m not sure what that is, but gods I’m hungry. The wine’s effects are long gone and my stomach roils at the idea of food–of anything. Pressing my hand to the flat of my stomach, I try to stave it off.
“Jesper,” Loric says, his voice louder than before as it bounces off the cavern walls.
Jesper jumps like he’s been tapped before hunching and turning wide eyes toward us. Then he straightens and hides the jar behind his back. “Yes?”
“What is that?” Loric up-nods.
“Oh, this.” Releasing a fake chuckle, he brings the jar into view and holds it up. “Chocolate.”
“Is there more?” Mira answers this time, twisting to look behind her.
