Page 166 of Tale of the Heart Queen

Finally, she takes a left and gestures us down another tunnel.

“Through here.”

We enter another short path where lanterns sit at the base, guiding our steps. Set into the wall is an opening that branches off.

“Lor,” Willow says, turning to me, “Wait out here for a moment. We’ll go in and make sure everything is ready.”

Anemone brushes past me and enters the next cavern.

“I’ll come get you,” Willow says, stretching up to kiss me on the cheek before she disappears around the corner.

“Sure,” I answer. Then I wait in the dimly lit tunnel, trying not to feel like a thousand eyes are watching me from the shadows. Thankfully, Morana and Khione wait with me, their ears pricked in alertness, which makes me feel less alone. I crouch down, pressing my nose into Morana’s fur as I rub her head, inhaling her fresh, earthy scent.

A noise catches my attention, and I spin around, peering down the path, but beyond the row of lanterns, the black is as impenetrable as a thick, heavy sheet of velvet. I shake my head at my foolishness. What could possibly live all the way down here?

All kinds of horrible, wretched things, that’s what.

I read Rion’s notes about his experiments with the low fae that created the monsters in the Void. And that’s probably only a taste of the ancient, long-forgotten creatures that might dwell in these mountains.

Anything could be down here. I shiver as a chill races down my spine. I keep staring into the dark, refusing to turn my back on it when something touches my shoulder. I screech, spinning around to find a surprised Willow with her hands up.

“It’s only me,” she says. “Are you okay?”

I blow out a long breath, willing my heart to settle.

“Sure. You startled me. I . . . don’t like it down here.”

“It is pretty creepy,” she agrees. “Sorry. I should have thought of that.”

I shake my head and smooth down the front of my dress as I square my shoulders and wave a hand at my face, trying to cool myself off. Though a chill seeps through the layers of rock, my anxiousness about a million things that could go wrong is making me too warm.

“I’m fine. Are we ready? The sooner we get out of here, the better.” I try not to think too hard about our next step—following Rion’s map to the Underworld and traveling even deeper than this. Add it to my list of problems.

“Come on,” she says with a huge grin. Then she turns around, and I follow her around the corner with the dogs trotting behind me to find a large cavern.

The sight makes me still in my tracks. They’ve filled the entire space with hundreds of candles lined along the edges. Balls of colorful light hang suspended from the ceiling courtesy of, I assume, Amya and Nadir. In addition, there are roses everywhere. They cling to the walls, hang from the ceiling, and carpet the floor.

It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“Willow, what did you do?” I whisper, my voice raw with emotion.

“No crying yet,” she says, taking me by the hand and pulling me down the center, where candles light our way. Nadir stands in the middle of the space wearing a tailored black suit and a bright smile that shifts the pieces of my heart. I take in the broadness of his shoulders and the way the fabric molds to the curves of his arms and thighs. His long dark hair shines in the dim light, as smooth as glass. He’s not just beautiful, he’s raw and wild, forged in the knifing chill of arctic winds and the sinuous glow of the northern lights.

He stares at me with the universe reflecting in his gaze, and I’m so overcome I can’t make my feet move.

He tips his head, his smile crooking higher. “Not having second thoughts, are you, Lightning Bug?”

I shake my head, tears blurring my eyes. “Of course not.”

His gaze drags down my body and then lifts as his eyes swirl with points of crimson and cobalt.

I’m wearing the red dress I bought in the Violet District with Amya when I told myself I’d never belong to Nadir.

It was still hanging in his room and felt like the perfect choice. The only choice.

Around my waist is a belt holding the dagger with the heart-shaped jewel he purchased for me in Aphelion.

“That dress,” he says. “I thought I’d never get to see you in it.”