Chapter twelve
Thepathnarrowedasthey dropped lower than she had ever been allowed. Past the storerooms, stone pressed close on either side. Pulling her forward, the slope forced her boots to land heavier than she liked. Her calves burned as her breath caught thick with damp mineral grit, and still Mira’s braid swung in that measured rhythm just ahead.
She tried to match Kazuma’s silence, but her heart betrayed her, a constant thud against her ears. This was farther than she’d ever seen of the Hearth. The roofs and courtyards above might as well have belonged to a different life. Down here, whatever was coming, whatever reason had brought her to this world, felt closer than it ever had before.
Soon, the tunnel spat them into open space, revealing a pavilion sitting in its center with a ring of stairs coiling down the inside like a spine. And at the bottom, a door nestled deep into the far wall. The surface glowed red in restless waves, veins of color dancing as though something within stirred, trying to break free. The heat of it reached her across the cavern, not enough to burn, but enough to make her skin prickle with sweat.
This place is brimming with elemental energy. Harnessed and organized. Kazuma’s hand found the small of her back.But no Mana. How can they control that much power without Mana?
She slowed, chest in a knot. The energy sang through her skin, a resonance both beautiful and raw, like a thousand voices chattering just beneath the surface of her flesh.
Descending, Mira’s hand skimmed the wall, casual, familiar, and Aimee’s fingers twitched with the urge to do the same, drawn by a feeling she didn’t understand. Instead, she kept them curled in her fists. The stone was watching, and she wasn’t ready to let it know her name.
As her foot stepped off the final stair, heat rippled from the door where molten veins crawled and throbbed across its surface.
Mira halted before it. “The Mistress has advised that any words beyond this barrier be spoken aloud.”
Spoken aloud?
Her throat went dry as Mira added, “There can be no deception in the Heart. Is that understood?”
How did she know? Mind-speaking had been theirs alone. Her heart stumbled against her ribs before Kazuma’s hand skimmed her arm.
“So we will finally meet the mysterious Mistress in person, then?” he asked, redirecting her unease into words.
“Great Elements, no.” Mira barked out a laugh before turning back to set her palm on the stone.
Red light bled out from under her fingers, and fire licked around the seams of the door before groaning open with a blast of scorching air that stung Aimee’s cheeks.
“The Mistress remains…elsewhere.” Mira glanced over her shoulder. “But you will hear her will.”
“Great,” Aimee muttered, wiping at the sweat already dripping from her brow.
The other woman ignored her as the door split wide, and the world beyond stole every word Aimee might have said.
A perfect dome opened before them, floor paved in seamless red marble, walls curving into a high arch. And above—Aimee’s mouth fell open—stars blazed, impossibly close, suspended overhead as if the heavens themselves had bent down to look into this chamber. They shimmered with a clarity no sky should allow, brighter and more piercing than she had ever seen.
Mira strode through the threshold, her form blurring at the edges as if reality itself distorted around her.
She looked back at them from the other side. “Come.”
It was not a request.
Kazuma’s hand slid down her arm until his fingers laced with hers, and they stepped through together.
The instant her foot crossed the line—sensation—itching, crawling, as if every pore had been set alight. Her ears popped as sound collapsed inward. The second foot followed, and the ground caught her even as her perception reeled, shuddering before settling again.
“Great Phoenix!” Kazuma lurched, bending at the waist, though he kept hold of her hand even as he dry-heaved against the strange air.
“Indeed.” Mira’s lips curved, clear enjoyment flickering in her eyes. Then her regard moved to Aimee, and it softened, just enough to unsettle her more than the heat or the stars. “Welcome to the Heart.”
Aimee turned in a slow circle, her fingers slipping free of Kazuma’s grasp.
The chamber swallowed her with its vastness, stars glinting overhead like they had been trapped under glass and set on display. She pivoted again, her boots scraping against the hard surface beneath her. It felt unreal, as though a wormhole had exhaled and left them suspended in its hollowed-out lungs.
“What is this place?” The words escaped in a breath.
“The Heart.” Mira’s lips pursed as if the answer were obvious. “Is that not what I said?”
