“Then we should make her proud,” Emeric adds, throwing an arm over the both of us. Though the three of us surely feel the tinge of pain at the mention of her, it also feels good keeping her memory alive. It’s almost like a piece of her is still here with us.
The bridge that connects the living quarters to the city is long and wide. I’m thankful for the ceiling-high edges that make it impossible to see the pit of darkness separating the two. Emeric tells me the living quarters are called the Hall, and the city is known as the Heart.
As we near the end of the bridge, I notice a glowing, yellow light up ahead begin to pulsate.
“It does that at the start of every hour,” Amaya tells me as if she read my thoughts.
“Once we get to the edge, you’ll be able to get a better view of it.”
Groups of people walk by us, some headed back to the Hall, while others are set towards the Heart. It’s weird how normal it all seems. To everyone here, this place is just like the Great Six Realms. They’ve accepted it as their home and welcomed the new structure of things. The ash covered lands above ground is now just a mask for what this place truly is.
“We made it!” Amaya holds her arm out, directing me to the circular ledge that the glowing light is beaming up from.
When I peer over the side, I expected my stomach to drop from being so high up, but instead it’s my jaw that drops. Much like the Hall, the Heart has a center pit that is surrounded by several floors. However, instead of large crystals illuminating the space, there’s a giant hourglass with thick, gold liquid dripping through the narrow neck.
“Just like the crystals back at the Hall, the hourglass acts as a sort of power source here. It’s old magic that Ryder had the witches come together and build. Pretty cool, huh?” Emeric asks, giving me a playful nudge.
“It’s incredible,” I admit.
“Well, let’s get down there!” Amaya takes me by the hand and leads us to a spiral staircase that circles around the inside of the pit. “Don’t worry, it’s spelled.” She puts her palm in the open space where a railing should be, and the invisible barrier pulses a violet color. It’s a slight comfort, but I still take the inside of the staircase.
The first floor we stop off on is completely designated to the shops. Clothing, blankets, jewelry, tapestries, you name it. We dip in and out of each one, taking a quick look at the different collections. Apparently, each person who lives in the Shadow Lands gets a monthly allowance based on their job and skill set. Amaya does her best to explain the ranking order of it all, but I just nod and act like I understand. I’m used to having nothing, so any little bit of money would feel like a gift. Having my own room is already more than I could’ve asked for.
Next up is the Grand Library and coffee shop. I can’t even begin to imagine how they got all these books here. I have so much to learn about magic and everything about the Heart reminds me of that fact. After I’ve browsed through a few shelves, we head to the floor with all of the eateries and taverns. The one called Hollows, that Artemus insisted we visit, has a live band playing. Though everyone here seems to wear Sector-like outfits, I still figure by their musical talents they must be from Nazrelia.
Amaya and I take a seat at one of the open booths and Emeric comes back with a decanter of red wine and a dish of warm bread and butter. I reach for the food first, knowing I better get something in my stomach before the drinking commences. My eyes narrow on the deep ruby liquid as my mind drifts to a far-off place.
All of a sudden I’m back in the orange cocoon, wishing I had done more with my life. I remember the list of regrets that ran through my mind. How I wanted a second chance to do things differently. To live a life full of adventures and experiences rather than survival.
“Want a glass?” Amaya asks, handing me a chalice filled halfway. I take the cup, putting it to my lips and down the whole thing.
“Damn, Reign!” Emeric shouts across the table as I wipe the drop of wine falling from the corner of my mouth. “Death changed you.”
The three of us burst out in a fit of laughter and the sound rings in my ears like a lullaby. By some miracle I’ve been given a second chance and I don’t intend on wasting it.
“What did I miss?” We turn to see Akari walking up. She slides in next to Emeric who is already pouring a glass for her.
“Oh, Reign over here just rose from the dead,” Emeric chirps.
“Well, I’ll cheers to that.” Akari lifts her chalice to the middle, and we all follow.
By the time we stumble out of the tavern a few hours later, we’ve finished off four decanters of wine. The first two glasses tasted bitter, but by the third glass I hardly even noticed the taste at all.
Hearing them each talk about their experiences after the day of the bombings makes me feel like I was there with them. All of us have been through so much these past months that now it feels like we can finally start putting the pieces of our lives back together.
“Whoa!” I was so captivated by everything below when we first got here, I failed to notice the starry sky overhead.
“Neat, huh?” Akari says, following my gaze. “It’s my favorite thing about this place. It changes just like the real sky.”
“Sure makes living underground a lot more bearable,” Emeric adds.
“They’ve really thought of everything, haven’t they?”
“Pretty much. There’re no lakes down here, but they do have a couple of pools to make up for it.” Akari turns to me. “You should check them out sometime.”
“I definitely will!”
“Oh, Mother! Amaya, are you okay?” Emeric rushes over to the bed of flowers Amaya has just face planted into.
