Being from Andorwood comes with zero trust and many rumors that cast the kingdom in a poor light. Knowing he will one day be the king there sounds like a curse—worse than me being Queen of Daramveer. The ‘King of Creatures, Death, and the Forgotten has a nice ring to it. Some rumors speak of creatures larger than the mountains themselves dwelling deep beneath Andorwood. However, no one has ever seen one or dared to ask a resident about it.
I can’t imagine a child being raised there—at least, I had a somewhat normal childhood. The things he must have experienced at such a young age make my heart break. As we continue deeper into the cave, my eyes travel to his face, drawn to the white scar so close to his left eye. It cuts directly through his eyebrow, leaving a bare spot where the injury healed over time. It’s faded over his life but noticeable, even in the darkness of the cave.
“It’s from when I was a child,” he says. “My father had an interesting way of punishing me. Instead of basic punishments for speaking out or just being a child, I was forced to fight like an animal in a cage. Some mistakes during these fights almost cost me my life. I learned to prepare and study, and those errors stopped.”
Sorrow fills me as I can’t imagine a child ever going through that. Yet, my childhood with my father wasn’t much better.
“This scar came from one of those fights with a man much older than me. I was around twelve, if I remember correctly. It’s a reminder now that I cherish.”
“A reminder of what? That your father is a horrible man?”
He snorts in amusement. “That every morning I wake up—it’s a reminder that I can fight, but I don’t always have to choose to fight. Some battles are worth fighting, and I’ve learned over the years that some aren’t. You, Princess, are worth that fight.” He squeezes my hand as if letting me know I don’t have to respond. Something about him feels familiar—like we’ve known each other for much longer than the trials.
As we delve deeper into the cave, our conversation falls silent. The only sound surrounding us is the gentle trickling of water from the rocks above. A drop of water breaks loose from the ceiling, hitting me on the nose and causing my whole body to jump at the sudden sensation. Silas shifts his attention to me, noticing my flinch. He chuckles softly before turning to face me. His strong hand reaches up to my face, gently wiping away the water.
His thumb glides from my nose to my cheek before he gently cups my face. The intensity of his gaze sends electricity coursing through my body. His eyes meet mine, and even in the darkness, his piercing green eyes radiate light. Eyes that usually display composure and intensity now reveal a hint of concern.
I scared him earlier.
“I thought you were going to die earlier, Briar.”
Before I have a chance to speak, he brushes my cheek once more. I lean into his touch, closing my eyes for a moment. Just before I can open them, his lips gently meet mine. He pulls away just as quickly and says, “I’m sorry.”
His lips quiver slightly, but his hands remain on my cheeks.
“Don’t be.”
He releases my face but doesn’t break eye contact as his hands slowly travel down to find mine again. My whole body tingles in his presence as he pulls me toward whatever he wants to show me.
As Silas stops, my attention whirls to what lies in front of us. Before me is a body of water. The trickling sound I heard earlier came from here. This is where Oak saw something. However, this is not a normal body of water.
Beneath the surface, the water sparkles like fallen stars from the night sky. The droplets cascading from the rocky ceiling strike the surface in a rhythm, as if the water is serenading us.
“How did you know this was here?”
He lets go of my hand, and my body once more craves his touch. “We have similar caves throughout Andorwood. I suspected there might be one here. This one, however, is quite spectacular,” he replies.
The sparkles underneath the pond dance like diamonds floating. I try to move closer, dazzled by the lights, but Silas stops me. “It’s deceiving. The beauty of the water pulls you in, but you mustn’t enter. Creatures cast images in hopes of luring you to the water’s edge. Their goal is to drown you. Beautiful but deadly if you don’t know their secrets.”
“But Oak retrieved water from here earlier!”
He stares at the water, the light reflecting off his eyes. “And Oak is a damn fool. A lucky one but a fool.”
Narrowing my senses, I can see a small set of eyes peering above the water through the darkness. The creature’s eyes are an unforgiving black as it waits for us to move closer. “Are they Serpyndens?”
He keeps his focus on the pair of eyes staring back at us. “They are similar. They are descendants of the same common creature, but worse.”
The creature moves, showing more of its slender body. Its gray, wet head, attached to an abnormally long neck, is plastered with black hair.
Silas notices its movement and steps between me and the water. He shifts my body backward, away from the immediatedanger. Understanding that we’re not getting closer and that we’re not its prey, the creature vanishes back into the water. The lights of the fallen stars fade on the surface. We can no longer see the shimmers, but instead, we see the bones of the unfortunate souls who stumbled into this cave for shelter and water.
I gasp, stumbling backward, relieved the creature is out of sight. Silas chuckles softly. “It’s fine. Seeing things like this can save your life one day. They can’t leave the water.”
I nod and continue to move to the far wall. My shoulders relax as I realize we are completely alone.
Silas follows my lead as we sit a healthy distance from the pond against the cave wall. No longer in fear of a creature grabbing my ankles and dragging me to my watery death, I take a deep breath. Butterflies dance in my stomach from being this close to him once more.
“Briar, I know you won’t believe me, and you don’t trust me yet. But for years… I have longed to meet you—find you—for I have only called to you in my dreams.” He shifts closer, turning in my direction.
