AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At least Callum didn’t bother me with questions. He seemed fine to row us down the river in silence.
Take this time to meditate. Clear your mind. Remember what Mr. Assan taught you.
Closing my eyes, I crossed my legs underneath me and rested my hands on my thighs, palms up. With deep slow breaths, I emptied my mind, let the worry slip away, and imagined myself in a quiet place. A field of wildflowers, sunlight, warm and serene. The air scented with honeysuckle.
There was nothing, but me and my magic.
I focused on the magic within, the blue flame that protected me. The only thing in all of Saol I could trust. The magic and I were one. The rocky cavern, Callum, the mission, everything disappeared, except the blue flame.
Mr. Assan called my flame a unique gift, that no one else held such a power, that the All Father himself must have granted it to me on that fateful day.
The flame was the only true family I had now.
Feeling more like myself, I opened my eyes.
Callum stared at me, no malice, no questions, but something else in his gaze. How did he feel about all this? No matter. I knew what I needed to do.
His gaze flitted behind me, and his eyes widened. “This isn’t good.”
I turned to see what he meant.
The air flickered red like a magical spiderweb. Red runes covered the onyx archway where the rest of the river flowed. The sides of the river had black marks and crumbled rock. A stone bridge blocked our passage through, the same red runes flickering.
“What is this?”
“Take the oars.” Callum shoved the oars at me, and I switched places with him.
He stood by the front of the boat, moving his hands and chanting. The stone bridge rumbled and broke apart, chunks of it falling into the river creating waves that rocked the boat.
“What are you doing?” I yelled.
“There’s no guardians here. You can’t pass through unless the queen has allowed your arrival, or you pay a hefty fee—and even then, only dark fae. Something is wrong.”
The magi knew trouble brewed in the Underground, but all reports were vague. Wouldn’t someone have traveled here and seen this?
“Can we get through?” I asked.
“Lucky for us, I know the passphrase, otherwise those runes would obliterate us to ash.” Closing his eyes, he whispered in the fae tongue.
The runes flashed bright then dimmed.
Callum grabbed the oars and we rowed under the arch and into blackness.
“I can’t see anything,” I said, squinting at our surroundings.
“Here.” He grabbed one of my hands and pulled me toward him. “Dark fae can see in the dark. We’re safe.”
“I don’t like this,” I grumbled.
“Stay close, if you’re frightened.” He positioned me between his legs.
“I’m not scared. Anyone with good sense wouldn’t be comfortable in this.”
While there was a bit of truth to my statement, unease coiled in my belly. Without sight, I couldn’t know if there were monsters nearby. I’d never been to the Underground of Saol. The stories I had heard were nothing, but nightmarish tales told to children to keep them away from caves and any entrance to the hidden world below.
Callum leaned forward a bit until his mouth came close to my ear. “If you’re unsettled being in the dark, why not use that glowing ball of yours as a light?”
I sighed, wondering how I could be so unpractical and not think of that myself. Relief washed over me when the blue flame rose out of my hand. I manipulated the magic until it was round and big enough to give us a guiding light.
