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“You are simply uncivilized.” Evelyn eyed her with disdain.
Jo smiled. “Yes, I know. Thank you.”
Jackson nearly choked on his drink.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Ainsley shouted. “If we are to be in this together, there will be no more sniping back and forth.” She directed her gaze to Evelyn. “While I appreciate your help, you have been quite rude to Jo and have yet to even acknowledge her presence until now.” She paused and turned her ire to the wind caster. “And you, with your snide remarks. Enough.”
Evelyn straightened her posture and pulled at her tunic with a sour expression. “Fine. I will if she will.”
Jo chuckled. “Ainsley, you ruin all the fun.” She eyed Evelyn skeptically. “But all right. I’ll do my best.”
“That is all I ask.” Ainsley sighed and then took a large gulp of water from her flask.
Rek cleared his throat. “If we’re done with the knitting circle, could we get on with the tunnel?”
Jo snorted, and Ainsley glared.
“Aye.” I nodded, although I knew I’d pay for that later. Again, this cave was utter bullshit, and I was ready to depart. Now.
Evelyn actually smiled, while Bruno, well, brooded. I didn’t think he appreciated the way Jo spoke to his…whatever she was. “That was funny. I like you,” she said to Rek and tapped her fingernail against her lip, then proceeded to slip her water inside her satchel.
“Ready?” she added.
“Yes,” we all said in unison.
The tunnel was unremarkable, thank the Heavens above, and when we finally reached the end, it opened into a large cavern with a crystalline pool in the center. There were two white marble pedestals situated near the far-right wall, and to the left was…an open-air exit!
This was it.
We were nearly done.
Resting atop the pedestals were two bottles—one blue, one red—both of which held keys. Interesting.
Evelyn marched to the red one on the left as we stood by, then pricked her finger with the tip of her blade. Squeezing more blood than I thought could possibly come from what appeared to be a pinprick, the droplets trickled into a small opening near the bottle.
Ainsley gasped as we watched Evelyn’s blood travel from the top, down a circular path that led all the way to the floor. A loud popping noise echoed throughout the cavern, causing most of us to jump.
It startled the hell out of me. I hadn’t been expecting that.
The pedestal moved from the cave floor and slid to the right, exposing a black box. What in the sky’s name? Had all that been a ruse?
Ainsley yanked on my sleeve. “This is incredible. It was worth traversing the cave and the rainforest.”
I kissed her forehead. “It’s incredible, yes. Worth the cave? I must disagree.”
Evelyn knelt to the ground, and again, pricked her finger, dropping blood atop a water symbol on the box. In the same motion, the red liquid moved around until we heard another audible click, and the lid snapped open, revealing a golden key.
With a smile, she plucked it from its purple velvet confines, and spun to face us. “Here we are. My key.”
“I…wow,” was all Ainsley could mutter.
“That was some sort of hiding spot,” Joe praised her. “Well done, Evelyn.”
She nodded with a smile, clasping it onto a leather-bound necklace and tucking it safely away beneath her tunic. “Bruno, are you ready to lead us out of here?” With a wave of her hand, a shimmering wall of—was that magic?—appeared, allowing us to emerge from the cave unharmed.
Huh. I’d thought it to be an open-air exit. Pondering it now, I supposed that made sense, given that the place was indeed secret.
He linked his arm around her elbow, and they walked, while the rest of us practically ran out of the mouth of the cave.
“Fresh air!” Ainsley spun in a circle. “Thank the Heavens above. If I never see a cave again, it will be too soon.”
“I second that, mi’lady.” We had exited mere feet from where we’d entered the rainforest. How was that possible? We were on the beach near Evelyn’s home. Magic had to be afoot here, yet again. Either way, I was grateful, and I’d not question it.
Jackson, Jo, and Rek joined us with wide smiles. “It’s time we ask Evelyn to join us,” Jo of all people said. “What do you think, Ainsley?”
Before I could follow up with a retort of my own, because she had to be speaking in jest, I heard the unmistakable sound of an airship.
Bloody hell. Would we ever catch a break?
Peering up into the sky, I could just barely make out the sails. This was bad. “Uh, ladies and gents, I apologize for the interruption, but I believe we have company.”
