His grunt echoed back, followed by an unmistakable smirk in his tone. “Stop dawdling, Reyla. I’ve got something interesting to show you.”
Farris leaped in and was swallowed by the tunnel.
With a huff, I eased myself down onto the edge. The slope swept away, into a swatch of blackness so deep it appeared alive. I sighed and thrust the tip of my finger into the hole, the flame revealing a steep incline below.
Magic swirled faintly in the air like an old hum awakening from slumber. And my body shook, though just a little.
“Coming, Wildfire?” Lore’s voice echoed up at me.
“Yup,” I muttered. Before my nerves could get the better of me, I let go of the edge and my body dropped away. The steep incline made me pick up speed fast, the soil and stone walls rushing around me as gravity pulled me down, down, down. My boots skimmed across the smooth surface underneath me.
The tunnel ejected me, sending me airborne, though only for an instant.
With an ungraceful thud, I landed hard on my ass, dirt and heat flaring through my palms as I brought my body to a halt on a grit-covered stone floor.
Lore’s legs projected upward a breath away from my face. I clambered to my knees and bracing my hands on his thighs, tiltingmy head back to look up at him. “How come you're standing? Didn’t you fall on your ass too?”
“I landed gracefully on my feet.”
“I don't believe you.”
“You think I'd lie?”
“Tell me a story that holds very little truth? Notyou.” I tightened my grip on his thighs. “You’re fae, you can’t lie.”
He snorted.
“You can’t, right?”
His smile quirked on one corner as he peered down at me. “Lovely position you’re in, my pretty little bride,” he drawled, stroking his fingers through my hair. “Perhaps instead of letting you take the lead later, I'll find a good use for that pert mouth instead.”
“I'll find a way to talk around it if you do.”
Farris stood nearby, watching us, his fluffy tail wagging.
Lore’s laugh rang out. “I imagine you're right.” His brow lifted, and he offered me a hand, helping me to stand. He pulled me close enough that his breath brushed against my cheek. “I love that pert mouth of yours; wanted you to know. Almost as much as I love you.”
My face heated, but I stepped back. With my lit finger lifted, I peered around, though I didn't see much other than a stone-walled cave, a dirt-strewn stone floor, and another, larger tunnel stretching to my right, one swallowed by more darkness.
“I think we’re buried beneath something older than Evergorne Castle,” he said, his tone growing serious again as his eyes flicked toward the passageway.
“Or this was placed when the castle was built.” Did this relate to the curse? “The fates do sometimes intervene.”
“You could be right in that as well. Come.” He took my hand,linking our fingers. “I think this tunnel has been waiting long enough.”
“Keep your—my—blade at the ready.”
He chipped out a nod, his gaze already focused on the passage.
When Lore took the first step into the unknown, I walked at his side with Farris trotting just ahead.
The darkness consumed us.
52
Lore
Our hands stayed clasped as Reyla and I cautiously entered the tunnel. The walls pressed close, their jagged edges scraping against my left shoulder. She moved easily, but I had to hunch to keep from smacking my head on the low ceiling. The light at her fingertip glimmered, enough to show the damp stone, but not enough to push back the weight of the darkness. It sat heavy on my chest, and each step forward made me feel as if I was sinking into something alive and waiting.
