“No, Kimber. Stop. This part of the cave hasn’t been explored.”
“How do you know?” I started to feel annoyed.
Pointing to the archway leading into the small side cavern we were in, Elex gruffed, “If it had been explored, a green medallion would have appeared when we walked by. There was nothing. There was…” Staring down at the ground, his brow wrinkled, and confusion washed over his features. “There are no footprints in the dirt here.”
“Well, if no one has been here—”
“No, you don’t understand. There are no footprints in the dirt here. None, save ours coming in. No one has even approached this cave. No one knows it’s here.” Spinning around, Elex’s expression flipped from confused to frightened. “We have to go back. We have to get the right equipment, the right documentation, spotters, communication, mapping—”
“Stop.”
My word was simple, direct, and stopped him dead.
“Listen to me. The magic is telling me I have to be here. To go this way. So I need to. And that’s as far as I’m discussing this. Come with me or not.”
“We can go, but let us get the equipment—”
I wrapped my hand around his arm and opened us to the magic around us. Elex’s eyes sparked in shock, and he inhaled sharply.
“Is that what you feel?”
“This time. That is why I am going to continue into this cave and listen to what the magic is telling me to do.”
He finally understood and merely nodded in agreement. I ducked further into the cavern, following the magic deeper.
Elex kept close behind. He lent me some magic toward my light and let the silence follow us.
The cavern led down, down again, and at some point, crossed under the cave above. I didn’t understand how this branch had never been explored, but—
Elex yanked me back against him by my waist as the entire mountain seemed to tremble around us.
“Kimber—”
Shaking my head, I spun in his grasp and faced him. “Stop. It’s not going to crumble. Can’t you feel that through the magic?”
“No.”
I found that disconcerting, but I didn’t have time to think about it. The shaking rocks compelled me on.
I went.
Deeper and deeper, faster and faster, until I was close to running again. The passageway curled in the other direction this time, and as I rounded a corner, I halted sharply, causing Elex to slam into me.
The deep breath he drew to yell at me, he released in a shocked huff.
The cavern beyond was massive and beautiful. Streaks and cracks packed with colors and light striped the walls. All the glimmering colors of the rainbow shone in the crystals dotting the stone. Thrumming with magic, pulsing with light and life, this was the source of the call.
The mountain trembled again as we both took a step further in, our fear holding us in place.
The rocks peeled further in the tremors, crumbling into dust. Not pebbles or boulders, but dusty powder coated the floor.
Magic pulsed through the room, taking our breath from our lungs. I put a hand to my chest, trying to draw a breath, and stared.
There was so much power.
Love.
“What is this?”
