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“I told you to stay back,” he said, voice harsh.
I raised my chin.
“And I told you I won’t obey your orders,” I said.
Our eyes met. His icy cold, mine fiery and hot.
Despite himself, he bit off a grin and shook his head. He took me in his arms.
“What am I going to do with you?” he said.
“I have a few ideas…” I said.
“I bet you do.”
“I saw the Changelings about to ambush you. What was I supposed to do?”
“We got them.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
“Next time when I tell you to stay out of harm’s way, you’d better listen to me.”
He kissed me on the forehead.
“So long as you don’t put yourself in trouble, I will,” I said, reveling in his affections.
Due to the Changelings almost getting the drop on them, the Titans grew eyes in the back of their heads and kept a very close eye on the hills around us.
M’rar Thres ordered two large Titan soldiers to move a rock from the side of a small hill. When they did, it revealed a dark passageway that led into infinite darkness.
We were still a long way from the palace and I wasn’t convinced a passageway like this could reach it.
Fiath reached inside and withdrew a torch. A soldier lit it with a pair of flint rocks and led the way inside.
Despite the torchlight, the tunnel was dark. I felt along the floor with my feet and the walls with my hands. We walked in single file and Fiath took point.
He was much more surefooted. He must have come down this passageway many times. He ducked when there was nothing apparently there. I only saw the protrusion after he had passed it. When I ducked, the others followed suit behind me.
I held Fiath’s narrow waist as he led us into the darkness. The others dared not touch me the same way for fear of incurring Fiath’s anger.
Every so often, there was a thud as someone smacked their head, knee, or elbow and hissed through their teeth.
I began to wonder if the tunnel would ever come to an end. Then I recalled just how far away the palace was from the passageway entrance. It could take hours for us to reach the palace.
But it didn’t take hours. More like thirty or forty minutes.
I bumped into Fiath, who’d come to a stop. He turned to face me and the others. Even with the harsh flickering light of the torch, he was a devilishly handsome figure.
“Complete silence from here on out,” he said, pulling up the hood of his cloak. “We’re drawing near the exit. We don’t want the Changelings in the palace to hear us.”
Fiath crept silently the rest of the journey, taking one small step after another. He slowed and pressed his hands against an invisible wall. He leaned his ear against it, no doubt listening for Changelings on the other side.
Hearing nothing, he bent down and wrapped his hand around something that was also invisible to me. He yanked on it with a vicious tug. The entire wall slid to one side.
Fiath leaned forward and then stepped back.
Had he seen something?
