“Did you see that?” I asked Aideen.
But she was quiet. Very quiet. Too quiet.
“Aideen?”
Still nothing. So, I tried again.
“Aideen?”
Finally, she spoke. But something was off. The boisterous, loud, and always-right-in-her-own-mind Dragon Queen with whom I shared my soul was speaking so softly that I could barely hear her… And we share a brain.
“I've been here before.”
Stopping so quickly that I got three Wolfhound noses in my back, Zelda’s hand on my shoulder, and Chewy walking between my legs as if they were his very own tunnel.
Then the peanut gallery commented.
“Traffic jam,” Chewy sing-songed.
Maeve grumbled, “What the hell, Martha?”
“Everything okay?” Theresa whispered.
But I was too busy talking to Aideen to answer. “You've been here before?”
“Not me.” She sounded so haunted. “Someone before me.”
Waiting for more, I gave up when Zelda whispered, “The gang’s gettin’ restless. What did Aideen say?”
“A whole bunch of nothing,” I tried to fib.
“Yeah, right.” Clearing her throat, she added, “I don’t believe you, but I’ll let it slide for now.”
“Thank you.”
Continuing our exploration of the tunnel, I felt a breeze a split-second before I saw light. Hurrying forward, I led the way into a massive chamber that had to be twice the size of the foundation of Hoopingarner House.
Scanning the surroundings, I was instantly enthralled. Every wall was covered in carvings, both words and pictures. They were ancient. There was no doubt about it. And I just had to see if I could decipher any of it.
Across the room in a heartbeat, I could not believe my eyes. Moreover, I couldn’t believe the depth and power of the emotions pouring from the stone carvings. There was so much joy and love, along with sacrifice in the name of duty and loyalty.
Elaborate depictions of coronations, weddings, births, and burials were so intricate that it felt as if I were there. Then came images of everyday life. Queens gave their all for their people. Mothers held and protected their babies and children.
As the mural progressed, the artist had realistically drawn female Warriors carrying swords, women crying as they held the dead and dying, and…
Further still, there was one newer carving. It was so fresh that small splinters of wood and piles of dust and pebbles littered the ground below. Someone had been digging at the stone with a stick, and although the image was incomplete, there was no denying the resemblance.
From the pink sneakers to the dark curls to the lavender eyes, it was me. Someone had cut away an exact copy of yours truly, and that wasn’t all.
My hand was outstretched toward a fallen man. Rushing to the image, I instantly recognized Kai. There suddenly wasn’t enough air in the chamber.
Zelda gasped beside me.
Maeve inhaled sharply.
Chewy sniffed, “Nope.”
“That is definitely you,” Arthur agreed, leaning into my side and putting his nose in my hand to comfort me.
