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“What are you doing here?” I murmur, running my fingers through his fur. He chuffs, eyeing me like it’s ridiculous I even have to ask. It’s such a human expression I can’t help but laugh.
“Well, either way. I’m glad to see you.”
Shade butts his head against my thigh and we continue on our way, following the line of flame through the silent woods.
I’ve been paying attention to the forest floor, making sure I don’t step on anything or lose sight of where I’m going. For the tenth time, I curse myself for forgetting to throw on shoes before leaving the castle.
When the line trickles down to little more than ten feet, I finally look up and realize we’ve come to the mouth of a large cave that looks to be a natural part of a rocky outcropping.
Wait… I’ve been here before, haven’t I?
It only takes a few seconds before I remember—this is the cavern I visited in my dream. I can’t believe I haven’t thought about it since that night, but with everything that happened right after…
I inch closer to the entrance. It’s still dark, but as the last of the flame gutters out, my eyes adjust, and it becomes easier to see.
For the second time tonight, I have to bite back a scream when I notice that someone is leaning against the trunk of the old oak tree a few feet away.
Their features sharpen, and I have to rub my eyes to be sure I’m not imagining things.
“Branwen?”
Branwen jerks awake. Her eyes snap open, and she takes in her surroundings, seemingly not surprised to be waking up on the forest floor. When her gaze lands on me, she grins.
“About time, Darling.”
Standing, she yawns and stretches her arms up over her head. “Sorry about that, needed a bit of a lie-in while I was waiting. Wasn’t exactly sure when you’d show up.”
“You knew I’d be here?”
“Not until about three hours ago,” she replies, swiping the dirt off the back and sides of her leggings. I don’t miss the fact that she was smart enough to put shoes on before traipsing outside.
She takes off for the cave entrance, and I jog a few steps to catch up to her.
“Why the fire?” I ask as we enter the cave. The temperature drops almost immediately, and it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.
“I didn’t know for sure until tonight,” she explains. “But I don’t think you would have made it here alone otherwise. The flames kept your Mates from following. I could be wrong, but…” She shrugs, managing to convey just how unlikely that is with a single gesture.
I snort a laugh and return to paying attention to my surroundings so I don’t accidentally trip or run into something. It’s dark as sin in here, and the chill increases the further we walk. Exactly how I remember from my dream.
I reach for Shade but find empty space where his solid form had been moments before. I wheel around, but he’s not behind me either.
“Shade?”
“He went back,” Branwen explains. “He’s going to watch over your Mates while we’re doing… whatever it is we’re doing.”
I squint through the dark, and I can just make out bright yellow eyes peering back at me, glinting in the reflection of the moonlight. My shoulders slump, but part of me is relieved to know he’ll be there to watch over my Alphas.
A few minutes later, I’m not surprised when I step in warm water instead of moist rock and dirt. We stop so Branwen can roll her leggings up to her knees, cursing under her breath about “should have worn bloody shorts,” and “would have been nice to know.”
The way she’s actually cursing out the Fates for failing to provide her with adequate wardrobe information is so surreal I can’t help but laugh.
It’s so strange, being somewhere I’ve never physically been before, yet knowing it all the same. The water’s as warm as it was in my dream, and the walls are covered in the same ash.
“I’ve been here.”
When Branwen glances at me over her shoulder with a raised brow, I explain, “This is going to sound ridiculous, but I dreamt I was here just a week ago. I’ve never been here while awake, but when I was sleeping… It’s all the same: the water, the walls covered in ash. The path narrows eventually, and we’ll need to turn sideways to keep going. Eventually, this opens up, leading to a huge underground cavern with an onyx platform surrounded by water, like a small lake.”
I don’t know why, but I don’t mention the part about the pillar or the creature inside.
