We slowed to a stop, mouths gaping as Harthon waved his torch in a measured arc, illuminating the vibrant hues and sharp, glassy edges ofjewels—hundreds of them, protruding from the walls in brilliant shades of lavender and deep purple.
The ethereal sight was enough to make Aric find his voice. “Already, our journey is worth something,” he mused, carefulto keep his voice down. We didn’t know how far sound carried down here, or what could be listening on the other side.
Harthon’s torch whooshed as he crept forward another step, revealing more of those incredible gemstones.
“What is it?” I whispered in amazement. I’d seen plenty of jewels in the past weeks, dripping around Lords’ necks and nestled within chandeliers. But this was a treasure trove, a wellspring of beauty and wealth that didn’t belong in this dead world, never mind in the deep underground.
“Amethyst,” he answered.
“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” I expressed, wonderstruck. Not even Harthon’s garden could compete with this.
He looked at me pointedly, dark eyes illuminated by the torchlight. “I cannot say the same.”
I wondered how well he could see the blush on my cheeks.
Stefano brushed his finger along a sharp gem facet. “It looks like your eyes.”
I stepped closer to better see the rock in the light. The tips were fainter in color, almost transparent if you got close enough, but their bases came with deep plums and the occasional metallic streak.
“It shouldn’t be here,” Aric said pensively. He looked more perplexed than amazed as he, too, trailed a finger over those ridges. “Amethyst doesn’t spawn out of dirt like this.”
“Maybe we’re right under the Domus’ walls,” I mused. If this was unnatural, it was undoubtedly connected to themagvisand her feat.
Aric dropped his hand. “I suppose we’ll see.”
Maybe my theory was correct, because the amethyst turned out to only be a patch, ending ten paces later as the tunnel returned to its previous state and continued on. The torchlight had just started to waver when a wall rose ahead.
An instant later, a shower of dirt rained down in front of it.
An exit, opening for us.
Harthon signaled for us to wait as he investigated. When he reached the wall, he looked up, extending the torch high. The only light that played on his face was that from the flame.
For sunlight not to brush his skin, the climb out had to be incredibly long.
He waited until he rejoined us to report. “It’s definitely the way out. There are roots here like the last time, though it’s hard to tell how deep we are. We’re going to exit in the opposite order we entered, so Aric and Stefano, you’re going first. Take a moment to scout and signal once it’s clear.”
Aric didn’t wait another moment to charge to the exit point and start climbing. The amethyst had been a nice distraction, but he was eager to be in the open.
Or maybe he was eager to see the inside of the Domus, a city no one from our Territories had seen in over two decades.
I watched Stefano track his progress, waiting for the excitement, or the accomplishment, or the relief to hit.
We were here, in Centralis. In the place that was going to save us, the place that had consumed my thoughts and emotions and entire being for weeks. The place that had been an impossibility until I’d stumbled upon themagviswhile trapping game.
This moment was surreal, an absolute pinnacle, yet all I felt was the practical trepidation of having to climb my way out of this tunnel.
My emotional well was empty. I’d been captured more times than a person should survive and watched men be mortally wounded. I’d reached a point of fearing death every other day, sent Harthon into a brutal fight, and struggled to understand thisthinginside of me that still remained mostly a mystery.The list went on, tracing a path of emotional whiplash that had drained me dry.
This was just another day.
After Stefano made his exit, our wait was short. A high-pitched whistle echoed down the vertical drop.
Harthon placed my hands over the two strongest-looking roots.
“I like jumpingoutof windows. I’ve never goneupbefore,” I said, stalling my task with nervous humor.
With straight-faced sincerity, he said, “If you fail, we’ll be adding wall climbs to your training regimen.”
