She gave me a frustrated look as she stepped back. Her breathing was heavy, and all lust evaporated from the air.
I knew I’d struck a nerve because we hiked the rest of the way in painful silence.
CHAPTER 25
The Enchanted Mines
DELILAH
We hiked up a small hill, and the entrance to the enchanted mine revealed itself. I had expected a grand entrance, or at least a sign but it was so inconspicuous. If you weren’t looking for it, you would’ve missed it. It was nothing more than a narrow opening at the base of a mountain, half hidden by lanky trees.
I’d enjoyed the lush green landscape in this kingdom; it was a pleasant change from the volcanic, rocky scenery I had become accustomed to.
The moment we stepped inside, I stumbled awkwardly, nearly falling. My legs had shortened back to normal. My skin was no longer covered in gems. I touched my ears; they were rounded and smooth again. I looked at Titus, and his glamour was gone too. He was back to his normal fiery form.
I gave him a confused look.
“I can’t feel any of my magic in here. The Enchanted Mines must be blocking my power somehow.” He looked up at the vastness of our surroundings. “In here, we’re both mortals,” he explained.
Titus was without his power, so of course the glamour magic was gone.Allof his power was gone. As if this place wasn’t unsettling enough, now we were both powerless. I hadn’t realized how much comfort I had placed in the High Lord’s power—how safe I felt with him…
When he wasn’t murdering people of course.
Safety is comforting, but it’s often just something we whisper to ourselves. The world doesn’t care. It can be cruel and breathtaking all at once.
I knew the Enchanted Mines would be beautiful. I just didn’t expect them to leave me speechless.
It wasn’t dark inside. The tunnels were lit by torches and veins of luminescent, pulsing blue-and-green minerals embedded in the rock. It felt as though I’d stepped inside the beating heart of a mountain. The chill of the mountain air vanished, replaced by a warm, humid glow that seemed to emanate from the veined walls.
The air carried the scent of damp stone and sweet earth, dense and warm in my lungs. A faint hum pulsed through the cavern, as if something unseen was quietly stirring. The entirety of the mines felt otherworldly, as if there was no feasible way it had been made by hand.
In awe, I asked, “The Fae did all of this?”
Titus grinned and shook his head. “No. This has been here long before the Fae. Legend says the mines are the result of a Lithovore nesting ground.”
“Litho-what?” I asked.
“Lithovore,” he said. “A vicious, giant subterranean dragon made entirely of solid rock. But it’s probably just folklore, bedtime stories for unruly Faelings. Nobody has ever seen one.”
We passed alcoves where crystalline formations jutted out like
the teeth of some great beast, casting kaleidoscopic light across the cavernous space. The sound of running water echoed from all around, but I couldn’t see a stream; the dampness in the air was the only evidence of its presence.
I reached out and touched a seam of what looked like pure silver.
The light from the minerals intensified, and the hum in the air rose to a soft thrum. The mine felt less like a resource to be exploited and more like a living, breathing entity, one that observed my every move. It was a place of impossible beauty and silent mystery. A mine that required no labor to reveal its secrets, only a willingness to walk deeper into its eerie, glowing depths.
Titus took a torch from the wall and led the way. We descended
deeper, and the rock formations on each level looked different. Crystals of all colors stuck out from the rock on the walls and overhead. They illuminated as I passed by. I had seen some of them before. I recognized them as the same crystals Gleeda had hanging by her window.
Then, in another chamber, there were deposits of peculiar stones
clustered in the wall, with loose ones scattered on the ground. I bent down to pick one up and held it to the torchlight to study it.
They were perfectly shaped into glowing purple disks, smooth
rounded edges.
