“There,” I yelp out excitedly. A double loop—the same small symbol used in Haven to hide the tunnel entrances. It’s small, but when looking for it, it almost glows in the setting suns of the crisp air surrounding us.
Rivern dismounts, swooping his cape to the side and striding to the mark. He traces it with his finger, and the stone begins to give way before my eyes, dust and small rocks tumbling to the floor as it moves.
“How?” My eyes widen in surprise. The tunnels in Haven require you to push the stone inwards to release the doorways.
Rivern points his finger to the sky. “I’m fae. We are the Goddess’s children. We have our ways.” He lifts his brows, and I squint my eyes. A slight chuckle leaves his lips, and he continues, “The wisps hold an elemental magic whereas the Goddess gave us the ability to bring about slight magic through purpose, only for our highest good, of course. It will not work if we express ill will.” His gaze lingers on mine.Good to know.
“But I thought…”
“We lost the magic with our song?” He smirks like that’s such a prosperous notion.
“Well, yes.” I shrug.
“Oh, Princess Dove, you have much to learn about your new people.” He grabs hold of the reins and pulls Mage forward into the most dazzling cavern I have ever seen.
Realising our wisp friends are stealthy following behind us I instruct them to rest back within the trees before we continue on. I don’t need to draw any unnecessary eyes towards the human moving into fae territory.
Rivern doesn’t comment on the dismissal and continues on. “It’s called opal,” he explains, waving his free hand around at the curved walls.
“Opal,” I breathe in wonder. The smooth rock lining the cavernous walls shines all the colours of the rainbow. “It’s beautiful.”If there were a tunnel to the stars, this is exactly what it would look like. Impressive, dynamically coloured and utterly dazzling.
Rivern stops us within the long, curved channel and watches me. The opal bounces the light from large round orbs ahead. “What?” I question the contemplative fae.
He continues to stare with his piercing violet eyes. Golden brown hair flows behind him as the stone door closes slowly behind us, grunting as it goes, and Rivern’s voice surrounds me in the cave. “Well, you see, Dove, I don’t think I truly knew what the word ’beautiful’ meant until I met you.”
That’s it. I’m a goner.I didn’t think anyone could truly kill me with their words, but it turns out, Rivern can. My body, my brain, my godsdamned heart cannot process the notions he so carelesslythrows my way.
I must look utterly shocked because, like a stream flowing over a boulder, Rivern takes it in his stride and gives me a lopsided smile and continues to walk on. Mage follows diligently behind.
This fae.We barely know each other. He cannot make such declarations after one kiss. One glorious, heart—no, soul-melting kiss.
Pouting behind him, my eyes stay peeled, sucking in each new colour and sound. Where the strange orbs flicker, there’s an archway with vines and flowers carved into the opal.
The closer we get to the archway, the louder the noises become down the tunnel, letting me know there are a lot of people on the other side of that entryway.
Besides the strangeness of the stone, the orbs catch my attention as they sit in small holes in the wall and emit a white light.We don’t have such strange orbs in Haven.
“The prince!” comes a childlike voice from the entryway ahead. “Prince Rivern, Prince Rivern!” The small, lilting voice flows closer until I see a tiny fae run into Rivern’s outstretched arms.
“Should have guessed only a true guard would be waiting at the entrance.” The little child whips their head back, curly blonde hair fluttering as guileless violet eyes land on me.
Whispering loudly to Rivern, the child says, “You found her!”
“Yes, scamp, I found my bonded.” He pushes Rivern to let him free, and he obliges. The small child walks over to Mage.
“You’re Rivern’s bonded,” the child with the violet eyes says. My stomach does a tumble at those eyes, thinking about the repercussions of what this bonded thing means for Rivern and myself.
“Uh, yes, the Goddess seems to have bonded us.” With a mind of its own, my hand reaches for my chest and presses down.
The small child stands tall, pressing his hand to his heart, and bows. “My name is Kit, my princess.”
“Oh. Umm, nice to meet you too, Kit, but I’m no princess.” The child gives a slight snicker, and Rivern comes to pat him on his back.
“Soon, she will be,” Rivern comments, and my body goes to mush again, completely falling apart—palms sweaty, belly flipping.
“I wish I had a princess half as beautiful as you,” Kit says, and I lose my breath, coughing on the next inhale.
“Go on, Kit. Your mother is probably looking for you. And remember, she’s my bonded, not yours, so keep your mitts off.” Tinkling laughter can be heard skidding around the archway as Rivern comes to rest a hand on my knee.
