“There,” Ardruna says and I squint. The walls of the gorge are the height of the mountains, forcing me to tilt my head back all the way to see the top. The cavern’s ceiling is a sliver above us. The floor of the gorge is uneven, a narrow path winding among slabs of colorful rock and the occasional struggling tree.
Shadows shift and flit. A large bird takes off with a screech. I think it’s a vulture.
And then I see the centaurs.
They are moving single file, carrying what looks like rolled-up rugs on their backs. Are the nymphs they captured wrapped in them?
The centaurs are much larger than I’d imagined. Not quite as tall as horses, I think, but with the added height of their human torsos, they make formidable enemies.
“Where is Talton?” I ask. “Can you see him?”
“Probably bundled up in something,” Ardruna mutters.
I rub my cheek in her rough fur. “What do they want with him?”
“A talking bird? The entertaining value alone is huge.”
“Fucking idiots,” Roane says. “Once they spend a day with him talking their ears off, they’ll regret their decision.”
“Or they’ll sell him to another tribe,” Ardruna says.
“Tribe?” I repeat. “Of centaurs?”
“Or other creatures. I think there’s a troupe of sylphs living in caves in the mountains nearby, and then there’s the waterfolk living in the lakes.”
“Lakes? Where?”
“Beyond the mountains.”
“Gods.” I shake my head. “Just how big is this cave?”
“It’s infinite,” she says. “The center remains steady—the city surrounded by meadows and the library at its heart. The restshifts from time to time. We patrol and map the changes. Some lakes are relatively new.”
“And the map on the floor of the sanctum?”
“It changes to reflect the changing world.”
“It makes sense in a crazy way.” Bowed low over her neck, I stroke my hands over her short fur, sliding them down to her powerful upper legs. There’s a shape on her right thigh, I realize, raised like a scar. “What’s this?”
Glancing down, I find a mark I hadn’t noticed before. It looks like a horned snake. Wasn’t that the symbol on the door of the library?
“They’ve sensed us,” Roane says. “We need to move.”
“You still haven’t given me a weapon,” I say. “Roane?—”
“Here.” He steps closer, takes out a knife from his belt and raises it for me to take, hilt-first. “Just don’t use it on me, please.”
I quirk a brow as I take it. “Don’t be an ass and I won’t.”
“No promises.” His mouth stretches into a sharp grin. “Ready?”
“Ready or not, here we go,” Ardruna says and leaps after the centaurs.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
DEATH AND RETURN
ADELINE
