We approached the curve, took it, and the sound I’d been hearing intensified.
“Is that water?” I looked to Caelo for his thoughts.
“A waterfall, I’d wager,” my friend agreed. “I heard the dwarves rerouted creeks to flow into their kingdoms. The entrances never froze, nor the water.”
“Clever.”
“You’d have to be to live down here.”
No argument there. While I respected dwarfkind, I could not understand why someone would live beneath a mountain. It was too constraining. Too dark. Too suffocating.
The only thing worse would be living underwater.I shuddered at the thought.
The sound of water grew closer, and the tunnel widened bit by bit. Neve shuffled up to walk with Caelo and me, her eyes squinting ahead.
“I think it’s a cavern.”
Another twenty paces proved her right. We stopped at the edge of a cavern, the light from our lanterns illuminating enough for us to see water falling from the ceiling into a pool at the bottom.
“That’s a good sign.” Neve took a step forward, holding her lantern aloft and dropping her sword as she took in the area. “They won’t have to go outside to gather snow to melt.”
“Could sleep in here,” Caelo said.
It would not be comfortable. The cavern was nothing like the living quarters at Gersemi Mine, where some of the humans had lived for many turns. Roar had been a monster to them in many ways, but even he had taken care of the basics. The humans working his mine had been housed and fed. Of course, the humans caged to be sold as blood slaves hadn’t been so lucky.
In any case, Caelo was right. This placeappeared safe and until the humans had explored more, it might be a good base.
“Break for water,” I said. “Fill our skins and let the horses drink.”
I stepped into the cavern, ready to do as much, when fae lights dropped from the ceiling, blinding me. The sounds of heels hitting stone and metal being drawn told me that we weren’t alone.
Chapter 6
NEVE
Ithrust my lantern at the nearest human, who took it with a squawk. No longer burdened by its weight, I gripped my sword with both hands. Ready for what may come. I sucked in a breath as my vision adjusted to the bright fae lights.
I’d thought the attackers would be orcs, but no. They were dwarves. Twelve, in number. I barely had time to process the information when they rushed us, a variety of weapons raised. An arrow snapping against the rock wall at my side made me jump and look up.
“Stars,” I yelped at my stark miscalculation.
The twelve were not alone. Peeking out of small caverns and climbing along ledges with grace that their short stocky bodies shouldn’t possess were at least fifty other dwarves. We were in serious trouble. Vale might be the Warrior Bear, Caelo a powerful knight, and I had the basics of defense and fighting down, but I doubted our ability to take on somany.
Behind, the humans began to panic, and the horses whinnied and snorted. The skin on the back of my neck tightened. “Caelo! Calm them.”
The last thing we needed was the horses running back through the tunnel. They could trample the humans down the line or break a leg running through the uneven tunnels.
Caelo squinted, dividing his attention from the threat ahead to the horses’ wellbeing.
Another arrow soared my way. Caelo ducked, and I followed suit as the first dozen attackers reached us. Vale pushed me behind him and went on the offense.
One dwarf fell, then another, only for more to drop from above. I gripped my sword, ready to join the fight, when another arrow soared at us, and this time, the archer struck a human woman.
She screamed and fell. Others grabbed her, tried to pull her into the tunnel where the humans were retreating, but before they did so, another arrow hit a man.
My blood ran hot. We’d spent weeks walking here, and these people had lived through it all! I’d not see them die now. My magic surged with my anger and flew from me.
Cries of fear filled the cavern, bouncing off the walls and setting my teeth on edge. However, the sounds of blades hitting blades ceased. As did the clamor of boots on stone.
