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I groaned. Iro was giving me a headache. “You are infuriating.”
He gave a deep call, which I assumed was an avian chuckle, and hopped into the air and flew to a tree to watch as we reunited with Argen.
The door to Mondu was set into the mountain wall, flanked by two enormous bronze dwarf statues. Argen sat sharpening his ax as I contemplated the hidden entrance.
“Should we rest and enter in the morning?”
It was late morning now, but it seemed pointless to sit here like fools without entering the shrine at once. My body was a jumble of nerves and vibrant energy. I wanted to go in, get the damn sword, and be on our way.
I glanced at Argen, who had put away his whetstone, and looked me over. “Are ye ready, girlie?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Argen’s eyes swung to Sahlyn. “Huntsman?”
Sahlyn swallowed harshly, and his eyes landed on my face. I yanked my bottom lip between my teeth and lifted my chin.
“If Autumn is ready, as am I.”
The dwarf rubbed his hands together. “Be ready fer anythin’.”
“Will we even be able to enter?”
Argen glanced at Sahlyn. “I dunno.”
If we had traveled all this way, endured the whisper of the wood for nothing, I would bepissed.
Argen glanced around us. “I thinkyecan, at least, girlie.”
Sahlyn gave me a pained look as if he’d already feared this possibility. Entering alone would not go well for any of us. Sahlyn would go berserk, and Argen would be upset, but he’d let me go knowing I could handle myself. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about going in by myself. I prayed I didn’t need to find out.
Iro fluttered to my shoulder with a resounding call.
“Don’t forget what I told you, my friend.”
“About death not always being the answer?”
“All of it.”
I shook my head with a smile. I was so used to his puzzling words that I digested all he said to me to pick apart later. I’d learned that’s the only way I could ever understand anything he said to me.
“I cannot come inside with you, but I’ll be right here when you return.”
“So, Iwillreturn?”
He made a shrill noise and fluffed his feathers.“You better. Be smart, be calm. Puzzle through what happens inside, find what needs to be solved, and do it with all your abilities. Every part of you will need to be applied, Autumn.Everypart of you. Your brain, heart, soul, mind, and senses.”
“I will try my best.”
We parted after I rubbed my cheek against his soft feathers, and he made every sound in his arsenal as a send-off.
Grinning, I turned to the others, who looked on with interest. They said nothing as I took a deep calming breath and walked up to the entrance. Alone or otherwise, Ineededto enter. I felt it in my bones as I reached out and touched the imposing, ancient stone door. It vibrated with energy that zipped across my palm but did not open.
Argen stepped up beside me and offered mea dagger. I blew out a breath and sliced it across my palm. I laid my palm back against the door with my eyes on his. His eyes widened, and mine closed. I felt the door beneath my palm pulse. It shuddered just once more before it trembled open. Dust puffed up like smoke. I coughed and covered my mouth with my sleeve as I stared into the dark expanse.
Argen sucked in a deep breath, and I knew we were on the cusp of something that hadn’t seen a single soul in over a century as ancient air shivered out.
I took one last look at the sunlit sky, the green grassy knoll below us, the high timbers and boulders at our back, just in case I never saw it again. Then my eyes slowly dragged over Sahlyn. His gaze exposed apprehension and nerves, and I resisted the urge to grasp his hand. Before last night, I would have.
