In the dim golden light, I barely make out a narrow passageway weaving ahead of us through the mountain. The air is close and stuffy as we wend our way along, sometimes coming to gaps so tight, we have to turn sideways to squeeze through.
“Lucky neither of us is claustrophobic,” I say, needing something to fill the heavy silence. “Where are you taking us, by the way?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.”
I’m too curious to summon exasperation.
The tunnel gradually widens, the confining walls spreading, and the ceiling rising as our walkway grades downward on an incline. The gentle slope becomes steeper. My shins soon burn with the exertion of staying upright. The stale air turns cool and surprisingly fresh as he leads us further down.
Finally, we round a blind turn to emerge on a shelf overlooking an enormous cavern.
I stagger to a halt and look around, my jaw nearly hitting the floor. We’re standing in a massive, hollowed-out chamber.
The ceiling is low enough here to touch on tiptoes, but it angles sharply up beyond the end of the shelf. The cavern extends so far down and out, the entire Residential Quarters could easily fit inside the space with room to spare.
Moonlight is pouring through a jagged opening in the rock across the chasm. Most astoundingly, the goddess Eisha looms in front of us, her stone eyes level with the end of the shelf. The monstrous statue rises four stories from the floor, her bottom half lost in the hazy dimness far below. She must have taken ages to carve and hone.
Her face is serene, her outstretched hands suspended below us. She holds a stone finch chiseled in intricate detail and a yew branch carved from a piece of wood that looks like it was once an entire sapling.
Goosebumps erupt all over me, and my hand goes to my chest. “Blessed Aodh, Father of Creation. How did— What—How, El?”
His laughter is full and rich, echoing into the yawning abyss below. “I promise you, Aodh had nothing to do with this, my dear. Come on, let’s get a better view.”
To the left of the shelf, a series of stairs has been painstakingly notched into the stone. They turn in steep switchbacks, ultimately disappearing into the shadows.
He descends in front of me, holding the lamp.
While the stairs are an impressive feat, their risers are irregular, no two quite the same height. One side of the staircase is flanked by the sheer rock wall, while the other drops straight down, making me woozy if I peek over the edge.
Thankfully, the steps are wide enough that I don’t have to look if I don’t want to.
Edging down, I skim one hand along the wall. But I’m already tired from the strenuous walk on top of a full day of class and chores. My shin and calf muscles burn. The effort of keeping my balance on the uneven stairs has my legs trembling in no time.
All it takes is one misstep, one stumble, and my ankle rolls. My knee collapses, the steps going out from under me.
Before I know what’s happening, I’m slipping and then pitching out of control. A scream tears from my lungs as the world rushes by in a blur. El’s next to me in another second, scooping me up and throwing his weight backward in one seamless motion. We hit the wall together.
He presses me close to his bound chest, his arm around me possessive, squeezing like a vise. My shriek is still echoing.
I gulp air while his gaze roves over me, probing for any sign of injury. His face is blanched, eyes wild. “You good, Tiss?” His voice comes out strained and coarse.
It’s impossible to determine where his terror ends and mine begins on the crowded thread between us.
“I-I-I think so.” I’m shaking all over. “I rolled my ankle.”
“Can you put weight on it?” His grip around me loosens but doesn’t release. Not yet.
He looks panic-stricken, like he’s struggling to keep his composure. Like he doesn’t want to let me go. I can’t fathom how he didn’t drop the damn lamp in his rush to grab me.
I test my foot out and nod. My ankle throbs like a bastard, and dull pain is shooting up my leg, but there’s no serious damage.
“You’re sure?” He releases a relieved breath at my insistence and slowly pulls away. “There’s somewhere to rest not much further. It’s a good stopping point, I think. At least for tonight.”
He gives up forging the way, settling on descending sideways so he can act as a human banister. Hands joined, we inch down together, soon arriving on another sheer shelf marking the start of a switchback.
We sit side by side on the dusty landing, feet propped on the stair below us. The lamp glows on the next stair down. In the hazy amber light he keeps glancing at me, as if to reassure himself I’m still here and in one piece.
“I know we’ve had our differences,” I mumble, catching him looking yet again, “but attempted murder seems a bit harsh, El.”
