“I don’t know what I’m looking for, but there’s something here. There has to be; they wouldn’t leave all those signs for no reason,” I say and tug on my hair.
Mordecai reaches out, freeing my hair from my fingers. “Don’t hurt yourself, Kaida. I can’t bear it.”
I stare at him as he ambles off, my hand pressed to my chest where my heart is racing.
“What do you know about the Luna Omega?” Cadel asks softly.
“Not much, just that she’s the Moon Omega Goddess and is said to be very beautiful. What do you know, you are, after all, a god?” I choke on the last word.
“She was strikingly stunning, not conventionally beautiful. She had too much wildness in her face. The Luna Omega was almost never seen. She lived in a castle so high it touched the skies, and very few could evenfind the way there. She was old and wise and one of the most reclusive goddesses.”
“You sound like you’re half in love with her,” I say in a voice dripping with jealousy. I whirl and find his eyes fixed on me.
“She was more respected than any other omega. She’s the oldest and wisest. The Luna Omega understood what it meant to be an omega.”
He doesn’t answer me, just licks his lips and turns as I pace the circular room. His dark hair lifts, floating a little.
I look at the floor, shifting this way and that.
Jarek moves past me on my left, and Mordecai goes the opposite way on my right.
Something clicks.
“Don’t move!” I bark out.
Mordecai and Jarek are almost exactly halfway apart. Cadel looks at me and shoots me a wild grin. He steps forward onto a stone that is slightly higher. There’s a distinct click that echoes loudly through the chamber.
I look for a fourth in front of me but don’t see one, but then I see a tiny little diamond inlaid into the tip of the crescent on the ground. I crouch down and press it. It depresses the full depth of my finger and locks around me. I yank, but it’s got me tight. A sharp prick and two seconds later, I’m released. I fall back on my ass as the floor slips apart with a whoosh, revealing a set of stairs that disappear into darkness.
Mordecai goes down first and inhales deeply. “I can smell water.”
We slowly tread down the stairs. The sound of water gets louder, echoing around us. There’s moisture in the air, and the smell is clean and free of blood. Light glows from below. I follow it down until we’re standing in an underground paradise lit by glowing bugs and bioluminescent plants,with a massive river cutting through it. The river is clean, but further, there are boats. They are old, but there they are.
I walk down to the water and crouch there, looking in. A carp with two tails swims slowly past me, looking up and watching me as I watch it.
“This is the way out,” Mordecai says with wonder. “It has to be.”
“How do you know?” I ask and trail my fingers in the water. It’s cold but not freezing.
The rock I’m standing on isn’t rock; it's stairs that go down into the water.
“Why would they build this?” I murmur.
“It's long been thought a massive underground river came from the mountains; no one ever thought it came from here,” Mordecai says and pulls out the map.
I lean over his shoulder. He points out the river mouth and then points out the mountains. “Everyone assumed it came from the winter melt from up here,” he traces the path. But then moves his finger to the city and draws a line connecting it to the river mouth. “This is the river.”
“How would we get everyone out?” I ask hesitantly.
“They can swim. The people who can’t go in boats. Who cares, it’s a chance!” Mordecai laughs and spins around, pulling me up and into his arms. “They were right about you, Kaida.”
I shake my head and push at his chest. “Shall we go get the others, then? You want to do this?” I ask cautiously.
Mordecai nods. “You’re saving the alphas and omegas, Kaida. You don’t even realise what you’re doing, do you?”
I stare at him.
He takes my chin and tilts my head back. “You are my hope and the reason I fight.”
