On first glance it looked like any other cave. Its floor made of packed dirt, the faintest impression of hooves pointing to the consistent presence of Kyren. Walls and a roof of stone surrounded her.
Only instead of gray, there were flecks of orange and yellow that caught the light, making it seem like a river of fire ran along the walls of the cave.
In the center was a flat raised stone. The sides curving into a table, almost like an altar. Pools of water ran on either side, their bottom clear and still.
The instinct that had led her into the cave became almost deafening as it urged her closer.
Eva drew near, her eyes landing on an ornate ring set in the middle of the altar. It was gold with delicate lines that swooped and turned carved into its side. It begged for Eva's touch.
She reached out, her fingers brushing against the cool metal.
There was a snick as the ring came apart, becoming a sphere of interlocking bands, runes carved on each side.
Eva leaned closer, fascinated by the strange piece of jewelry. Whoever had made this was a master to be able to compress all those bands into one ring.
Unable to resist, she picked it up, cupping it in her hand as she studied the runes. They should have been impossible to decipher in this light, but somehow, she could make out each one. As clear as if she stood under the full sun.
A falling sensation pulled Eva closer, the world spinning.
A warm breeze ruffled her hair, pulling her from the illusion. Eva lifted her head and gasped, finding herself in a familiar meadow.
"The herd lands," she whispered, turning in a circle.
She stood in a field of grass and flowers that reached her knees. The sky was an impossible blue and the mist a far-off wall in the distance.
"How is this possible?"
She looked at the sphere clutched in her hand. Was it because of this?
Something whispered in the back of her mind, asking her to accept it. Eva started to before hesitating. It felt wrong somehow. Like she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. Crossing a line she wasn't ready to cross.
If she took this ring for her own, it would change things on a fundamental level that she wasn't sure she could control.
Yearning filled her. A want so deep it went to the depths of her soul.
Along with those emotions came a sense of vulnerability. A feeling that she was straying too close to the sun and would burn.
Fear was what made her draw back. Fear of failure. Fear that this was coming all too easily.
She needed to think.
There were too many responsibilities on her shoulders for her to be impetuous. As tempting as this ring sphere and all it offered was, she couldn't take it.
Not right now. Too much would change too quickly. She needed time to know this was right. That she could handle everything this represented.
With one last look at her surroundings, Eva collapsed the ring sphere.
When she looked up again, it was to find herself standing in the cave, the cool gray of the stone a marked contrast from the wide-open plain of before.
"I guess now I know what Orion meant by opening my heart," Eva said, setting the ring back onto the stone altar.
Much as her instincts were telling her this ring belonged to her, Eva wasn't the type to take things that weren't hers.
And the ring wasn't. No matter what her feelings or it were saying.
Eva?Sebastian called from outside, distracting her from what she could sense the ring wanted.
Eva patted the cool metal. "Later."
