Avalon snaked her arm free of his, and Hadrian reluctantly turned to face her. His expression was guarded, though he looked as exhausted as Avalon felt.
“This is where I stop,” she announced, planting her sore, blistered feet firmly on the soft earth. The leather of her boots was cracking. “Whether or not you stay with me is your choice.”
Adjusting her hood against the wind, she headed for the temple, and her mare followed behind her without hesitation.
It disappointed her to admit she was surprised when Hadrian didn’t argue with her or try to tow her the other direction. Instead, he followed her into the temple, his brow creased in thought.
The ancient temples in Elderyn were protected, so even though the structure was crumbling, and the columns should’ve provided little shelter against the elements, when they stepped inside, the wind instantly ceased. An invisible barrier surrounded the temple, protecting them from outside forces. The wind continued to howl through the trees, but they were warm and comfortable.
Safe.
Hadrian laid out the bedrolls, and after they shared a quiet meal of apples, blackberries, and dark bread, Avalon curled up under her blankets. Knowing nothing could harm them, and that for once she and Hadrian didn’t have to take turns watching over their camp, she fell asleep within minutes, the rustling leaves whispering words of comfort as she dreamed.
~
“What isthat?”Sable whispered as she peered into the darkness. The crack in the wall was filled with cobwebs and crumbled stone, but there was something else… Something that called to her like the voice of a dead god.
Levon elbowed her out of the way. “Let me see,” he grumbled.
She elbowed him back, and he drew in a hiss through his teeth. “I’m the one who spotted it, old man,” she retorted. “Letmesee!”
He scowled at the nickname. She rarely used it, but she knew it bothered him whenever she did. Levon wasn’t much older than her; she was sixteen, and he was eighteen. But that wasn’t why she’d chosen the nickname for him; it was because he looked older than he was. With muscled arms covered in tattoos, a sharp jaw commonly found on older men, and an interesting haircut—the sides of his midnight-dark hair shaved shorter than the top—he looked like he could be in his early twenties. Andinterestingwas exactly what she’d said about his haircut when he’d shown up with it last week. And when he’d glared at her, she’d laughed and laughed and laughed.
But Levon didn’t know the real reason why she called himold man,or why she showed very little interest in his haircut—which, in truth, she adored.
She was afraid to tell him how much she cared about him. After Hannelore died, aside from her aunt and uncle, Levon and her brother were all she had left. And if anything happened to them… Well, she wouldn’t be able to go on.
Love was both a risk and a weapon.
A weapon for your enemies.
Sable squished in far enough that she was able to grab hold of what was hidden beneath layers of dust and cobwebs. It was heavy and rectangular, the surface smooth. As she wiggled her way back out, her shoulders got stuck.
“Get me out,” she panted, immediately claustrophobic. The stone seemed to squeeze her.
Levon lightly grabbed her near the elbows and shifted her upper body so she could shimmy her way out. Using one hand to guide her and the other to shield the top of her head from the sharp stone, he helped her out of the dark.
Sable set the item on the floor of the temple and wiped the sweat from her brow. Despite that it was the Temple of Ice, it certainly wasn’t cold in here. It was comfortably warm, thanks to the magic protecting the ancient structure. It was a suitable place for a night away from home; on the rare occasions when she fought with Aunt Rhea and Uncle Balthazar, she considered coming up here to be alone, for the temples brought her peace.
The temple was built into the side of a mountain, and aside from one solid back wall, only columns of ice bordered the perimeter. The lack of walls wasn’t an issue; the barrier would protect her from danger, and the warmth would keep her from freezing. But the one time she’d tried to come up here alone, Killian had followed her. And she was lucky he had, for a flock of Crows had surrounded her with every intention of picking her flesh off her bones.
Levon held up the treasure, inspecting it in the light emanating from the crystal pillars.
It was a large book, its pages kept contained by a cord that held both sides of the heavy cover together. Shapes and symbols had been carefully engraved into the soft brown leather.
Sable stroked her index finger down the length of the spine.
“I swore I heard voices when you were climbing out,” Levon said, each word deathly quiet. “I would’ve thought it was the wind, but…” He glanced out into the twilight, at the evergreens in the distance. Every branch was still; there wasn’t a lick of wind.
Sable might have teased him, had he not looked so frightened as he stared out at those frosted trees in the distance. She whispered, “What did the voices say?”
He shook his head, and then rubbed his knuckles across his chin. For a long time, he was silent, so when he finally spoke, Sable nearly jumped out of her skin. “Their language wasn’t of our world.”
The hairs on the back of her neck rose. “If not ours, then whose?”
Levon’s icy eyes met hers. “I think we should put this back where we found it. It has no place with either of our people.” He weighed the book in his hands, but before he could throw it back into the shadows, Sable grabbed his arm.
Their eyes locked, and even though every word Sable spoke made her skin prickle, she heeded the gut warning that outweighed her fear. “I’m the one who found it. And I would like to keep it.”
