I bite my lip, thinking it over before shrugging. “Let’s see if we can find the other entrance and meet up with the guys, then they can help us move this stuff out.
Mina groans, throwing her head back and dropping the book onto the table.
“Come on! It’ll be an adventure!” Mathilda replies, her voice taking on a child-like excitement.
We find another torch by the table and light it with Mina’s candle before walking around the perimeter of the cavern. It doesn’t take long for us to find another way out. We’re lucky we only find one. As we make our way down the sizable passageway, our footsteps echo on the stone. It’s mostly smooth rock along our path, with small pockmarked holes every so often, probably from the water dripping from the ceiling. I can faintly hear it trickle down the walls, and the scent is fresh like that of a mountain stream seeping through rock.
We’re quiet, contemplative, on the trek, and I work through the last several days. So much has happened, so much has changed. Between finding out who the true enemy is to losing one of our own, it’s a wonder we’re still functioning. Mathilda leads the way, her hand upraised with the torch lighting our trail. I’m glad she’s leading the way. Her quick pace stirs the air. With no breeze down here, the silence isdisconcerting. Mina’s small hand finds mine, and I give it a light squeeze.
“You okay?” I turn my head to take in her expression. Worry creases her brow, a small pout plumping her lips.
She shakes her head. “I don’t like it down here. I can’t hear the wind.”
I smile softly, having thought the same thing. “We’ll find the guys and get out of here quickly, I promise.”
Mathilda stumbles, and my head whips forward in time to see her catch herself. Her arm pinwheels comically as she steadies herself.
Mina giggles. “Are you good?
“Yeah, the fucking floor slanted downward, and I wasn’t paying attention,” Mathilda grumbles.
Mina and I take our time placing our feet for a few steps, and sure enough, the floor declines. It’s not super noticeable when you move at a snail’s pace, but I can see how, with a quicker gait, it would trip someone up.
“Shit. Looks like we gotta go down before we make our way back up.” Mathilda holds the torch higher, the path darkening as it dips lower.
Mina groans loudly, her face paling. “I hate this. We should just go back and wait for the guys.”
The flames flicker, and we share a look. They shouldn’t be moving at all while we’re standing still.
“There’s air coming from somewhere,” I mumble. “Let’s go a bit further, and if it gets too treacherous, we’ll turn back.”
Mathilda seems satisfied, but Mina does not.
There’s a plunk sound. Like something small dropping into water. The torches cast shadows across our faces as we stop to listen. I tilt my head, trying to pinpoint the sound.
“Was that water?” Mina whispers, clinging to my side.
Mathilda shrugs her shoulders, looking at me. “It sounded like it came from close by …”
Holding the torch up higher, the flame stays still. The golden light reflects off a stream a few yards in front of us.
Mina sighs, her eyes glow in the torchlight. “Ah man, water. So treacherous. Time to head back.” She pivots on her heel.
Mathilda snickers as I walk to the edge of the stream, if you could even call it that. The water is completely still. “Mathilda, I need your torch too.”
Footsteps resonate behind me, one set slow and dragging, the other quick and light. Holding both torches up high, the light illuminates a soaring ceiling over a broad body of water. But the path is easily visible on the other side.
“It doesn’t look too treacherous. Let’s just wade across,” I suggest, looking from Mina to Mathilda.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mina mumbles under her breath.
“I wish we had our wings. We could just fly across.” Mathilda tilts her head, cracking her neck.
Her words creep over me, settling like a weight in my stomach. “You guys could …”
Mathilda throws me an apologetic grimace. “Sorry.”
The air suddenly feels heavy, pressing down on me. A Valkyrie queen who can’t fly. I’m an embarrassment.
