I clamp my mouth shut. "Right. Well, it looks like the trolls did a great job clearing out large tunnels for us to walk through. Where do you think they lead?"
"The northern part of the Wyrmwood reaches the base of the mountains, so if we travel south, that's where we should end up."
Good enough. The Wyrmwood is as good a place as any for me to start searching for Kaelren. I'm just hoping he's in this iteration, wherever that may be.
We walk for what feels like hours. Better yet, I should sayIwalk. Peeble rides on my shoulder and provides commentary.
"…And if you see something that looks like a stalactite, don't trust it. Cover your ears and run."
That gets my attention. "Why's that?"
"Well, those would be the Hollowhowl Bats. They live in the cavern ceilings, and they've got these creepy wings made of membrane stretched between mineral spines. Good news is they aren't normal bats. They don’t bite. They just shatter eardrums with sonic pulses amplified by the cave acoustics."
"That's terrible. Okay, note to self: no bats."
We enter a chamber where three tunnels split off in different directions, and I stop. "Which way should we go?"
Peeble doesn't even look up from inspecting their claw. "The one on the right."
"Wow, how do you know?"
Peeble sighs. "I don't know, Elle, but I do know that I'm always right, so right sounds right. You follow?"
I roll my eyes and pray to every goddess I can think of for patience as I start down the corridor on the right.
"So," Peeble says after a few minutes. "Tell me about this Kaelren. He wasn't in the first iteration, so I'm afraid I missed the whole sexy, broody male thing."
My heart cracks a little thinking about him. "Well, you've got the broody part down," I say, and I laugh to myself even though it hurts. "But he's so much more than that. He's fierce. Loyal. Protective. And no matter how much of an asshole he can be, he's mine. We balance each other out, you know?"
Peeble seems to consider that. "And what if you don't find him in this iteration? What will you do then?"
I haven't really thought about it. "I guess I'll see if I can find another portal to another iteration. Or hang around here until this one collapses."
At that, Peeble sits up straight on my shoulder. "Hold on, hold on. What do you mean collapses? This beautiful shell cannot be damaged."
I shake my head. "No, I mean more like this."
"Are you saying there's more than one of me?" Peeble's mandibles click excitedly. "How did you get so lucky?"
"Yes, well, I hadn't really considered ever having to deal with more than one of you at a time."
The tunnel widens, and we step into a cavern that stops me in my tracks.
It's gorgeous. The walls are covered in crystals and gems—purples, pinks, deep reds, and colors I don’t have names for. They catch the light from the crystal veins above and throw it everywhere, scattering it across every surface.
And all around us, tucked between the crystal formations, are steaming hot springs. The water is the clearest blue I've ever seen, with wisps of steam curling off the surface.
"Ahhh, that's the spot."
I look over and Peeble has already piled a collection of tiny jewels beside one of the smaller pools and is lowering themselves into the water with the satisfied air of someone checking into a five-star spa.
"Peeble, what are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious, Elle? I'm adding to my beauty." They pick up one of the tiny gems, rub a bit of lava oozing from a crack in the nearby rock onto the back of it, press it onto the hard casing of their shell, and then lower into the water. There's a sharp sizzle as the heat fuses the jewel into place.
So that's how they do it.
Peeble admires the new addition. "Come on, Elle. Kaelren will appreciate it if you take a hot bath before seeing him. Not to be rude, but you smell."
