Finally stopping, I spun around to look at him.
“You moved it?”
He nodded.
“Why? Where is it? We have to get it right now.”
“Slow down,” he said.
“Explain,” I ordered.
Stryker pressed his mouth into a straight line, but nodded. “The legends always said that the Shadow Heart was buried deep within Mount Grimhorn. From the time the first lords were banished to Ethereum it was only a myth, a legend, until three years ago when one of my miners broke through to this chamber,”he said with a wave of his hand, indicating the blue-drenched cavern.
“At first I left the Shadow Heart here and ordered the entrance to this cavern sealed, and kept the mine open, but word quickly spread and looters and treasure hunters kept trying to break into the mines to steal it. Eventually I decided to move it somewhere safer, but after I moved the Shadow Heart, something happened and the mines became unstable. Something about moving it and removing its magic from this mountain caused cave-ins and gas leaks and a plethora of other issues these mines had never had. More than one miner lost their life.”
“So you closed the mines,” I said, filling in the blank.
He nodded. “The sapphires weren’t worth people’s lives,” he said and my heart tweaked. It was more proof that Stryker cared for far more than just his riches like so many people believed.
“I tried to relocate the workers to my other mines,” he went on. “But as you probably noticed, the village never truly recovered.”
I nodded. It all made sense now. “Where did you move it?”
“An island toward the south, just past my eastern shore,” Stryker said. “We can go retrieve it. Together.”
Together. Part of me balked at the idea of doing anything with him after he’d abandoned me, but the other part of me felt like it was right. That it was something we were supposed to do, together. No matter how I felt about it, I couldn’t get it without him.
“Fine. We should go,” I said, mirroring his earlier words. “Do you know an easy way to get out of here?”
He nodded and indicated I should follow him, but he paused at the spot where I’d fallen into the cavern,noticing the hole in the ceiling. “Did you fall through here?” he asked.
“Yes.” I rubbed my sore hip. “I’m glad you know of a less painful way out of here.”
Stryker tensed and then went stock-still.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when he didn’t start moving again.
“Aribella, I need you to come here,” he said carefully.
Before I could answer, I felt something gently rub up against my back and looked over my shoulder to see Stryker’s shadows nudging me toward him. “Stryker, stop—”
Stryker closed his eyes and a shudder wracked his large frame. “Please,” he said, not bothering to hide the pleading tone in his voice.
It was that tone, full of anguish, that had me surrendering and going to him on my own. I stopped in front of him and he opened his eyes. There was a wildness in them I hadn’t seen before. Like he was trying very hard to control himself, and losing.
“I just need to check for myself that you’re okay. I know you don’t owe me anything, but will you please let me do that?”
That’s what had him so upset? Because he’d just realized that I’d fallen and thought I might be hurt? What did he care?
I thought about denying him, but Stryker looked about two seconds away from losing it, so regardless of my better judgment, I nodded.
When Stryker reached out and started running both hands over my body, checking for injuries, I had to smother a gasp. His touch was butterfly light. I knew he wasn’t trying to take advantage, but it still affected me.
He started at my head, gently prodding my skull, watching my face carefully for any winces and twitches. Then he moved to my neck and then down one arm and then the other before slowly checking the rest of my body, being respectful of my physical boundaries.
I was red-faced and a step away from full-out panting when he finally finished. He was kneeling before me, but when he stood I immediately noticed the wildness had left his gaze.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, relief heavy in his voice and I half wondered what he would have done if I’d had an injury.
