Page 131 of The Serpent’s Shadow

That didn’t make me feel much better. Still, I kept close to him, creeped out by the quiet woods around us.

We gained an incline, marching up toward the waterfalls. Deep crevices were etched into the waterfalls at all three ledges of varying heights.

They looked like secret cave entrances, darkening as they pushed deeper into the mountain—hidden from sight by the foamy white froth spilling down from above.

Arne said, “The Koldna Hills and Koldna Valley have many hidey-holes.”

I could barely hear him over the roar of the falls now, tumbling down near us. Spittle from the nearest waterfalldampened my skin as we reached the top of the slope near the cave entrance.

The ledge only gave us a narrow three-foot path to walk on, leading up to the cave. The waterfall arced over the ledge, making it slippery, before dropping the rest of the height, about thirty feet down to the rocky rivers.

I balanced myself and headed for the cave mouth.

Ten feet away, we stopped. Darkness stared back at us to the left, with rushing water and a drop to the right.

“All right,” Arne said, smiling. “Moment of truth. Let us find out if your lovelorn elf made good on his promise to stay.”

He started walking past me, red tunic billowing in the night chill.

I called out, “Arne.”

He froze. Turned. “Yes?”

“Not you.”

Arne blinked, his face shocked. “What?”

“You wait out here.” My voice was low and stern, piercing through the howl of the waterfall. “I want time alone with Corym.”

I saw the hurt in his eyes. The crinkling near the corners, his face sinking. For a moment, his shoulders drooped, and I worried I had lost him.

But I needed to be sure. I wanted to see if he would listen to me, do as I commanded, even when we were so close to our destination.

He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and sashayed down the path toward me. “As you say, little fox. It’s your goal, after all. Not mine.”

With a firm nod, I stepped past him.

He stayed with his back to me, not bothering to watch me head for the cave mouth. “I’ll keep watch,” he muttered.

I watched his slender backside for a moment, wondering if I was making a mistake shrugging him aside when he’d led me to where I wanted to go.

Then I shook my head, remembering what he’d done the first time we had escaped somewhere together.

And I walked into the cave.

It was pitch-black dark, deeper than I imagined, more than ten feet before curving slightly—

And I caught the faint flicker of firelight on the wall opposite me.

With my heart in my throat, I wheeled around the corner—

And my eyes landed on Corym E’tar, torch in his hand, at the back of the cave. He was a radiant being, glistening in the dark—not because of the torch. No, it was the natural magic of his skin, illuminating him like the moon, making him appear otherworldly.

My pulse picked up, my jaw dropped. His glorious hair was silver-white, ears long and tapered up the side of his head. His majestic face landed on mine, and a smile crept up the corner of his lip.

“Lunis’ai,” he rumbled in a deep voice.

I ran to him without thinking, tossing all doubts and inhibitions aside.

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