He didn’t leave my lips idle for long. His lips pressed gently to mine, the kiss matching the pace of our thrusts as he enjoyed every ripple and wave of our combined bodies.
I could see myself doing this forever. I wanted to do this with him forever.
I just couldn’t say it out loud.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ayden
ThecityIsawfrom a distance the night before, came into view as we rounded a bend in the path.
We all marveled at the buildings and the architecture they displayed.
Moss and vines covered most of the golden colored structures. The landscape entering into what used to be streets and alleyways throughout the city. I stared down into deeper levels of the paths and noted grates along the walls, as if water had once run through these parts of the city.
Sasha ran her hand over the first building we came close to, her eyes widening.
“It’s smooth,” she gasped as her fingers ran along the edges. “And it’s metal! .”
Aurora walked up next to her and ran her hand along the building as well. “What city is this?”
Baer and I looked around as I shrugged in answer.
“There are several cities that it could be. Camelot, Atlantis, Shangri-La,” I said. “And there are possible cities that even myths and legends forgot.”
Sasha walked on as her hand dragged over the stone. I watched as she looked around with interest at the city, her gaze taking in every stone left of the streets and pillars that adorned the roads.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing if this was one of those places. That the lost cities were right here in the Forgotten Realm all this time, and we found them.”
I smiled and closed in the space between us. “It would certainly be extraordinary.” I looked to my left and right and noticed some signs marking the roads, though their letters were now faded from time. “Why don’t we explore and see if we can’t find a sign of what this place is? From what I can tell all the roads lead right back to the main path, and we were planning to make camp here.”
I looked back at Baer and Aurora, who both smiled and nodded.
“That sounds interesting. I’d love to try and figure out what this place is like as well. Any information we learn here, we can take back and share with the other covens and packs. This place holds our shared history after all.”
I frowned for only a moment at the idea of sharing information with the Crete witches. It hadn’t been long since they refused to share information with my family that likely could have helped both sides with this quest we were all on together now. But as I looked over at Sasha, that hesitation subsided.
“That’s a great idea,” I said as I took Sasha’s hand. “This road has the least faded sign that I’ve seen so far. Maybe it will lead us to some town center with better hints of what the city is.”
We turned right and crossed the road to the next path. The growth of the wilds subsided deeper into the city as we went. It became less and less aged by time and seemed to be completely frozen in place. As if time didn’t come this deep within the city’s limits.
“What language is this?” Aurora asked from behind us.
Sasha and I both paused and looked to find Aurora and Baer staring into what appeared to be a storefront. We took a step back and checked out the view with them.
The symbols and letters were familiar to me, though their combination was strange to see.
In my studies of my family’s diaries throughout the ages, I had to learn several ancient languages in order to read the untranslated tombs. I learned quickly that some of my ancestors took to learning ancient languages to keep their words hidden from those outside of the family. Their idea of a secret code to hide their words during times of witch trials and hunts.
“This symbol here is Phoenician,” I said as I pointed to the first symbol. “So, is this one here. But this is Greek here.”
Sasha pointed to the shape of a bird printed next to the mixture of symbols. “That’s a hieroglyph of an ibis.”
I looked back at her with equal shock and admiration. “How did you know that?”
She shrugged, though I caught the slight hint of a blush as a wave of embarrassment swept through the bond. “I saw you reading a book that was clearly old and the language just as old. I thought you were trying to outdo me with some language skills, so I found a book on ancient Egypt and started to study it. As it turned out, I really enjoyed learning about their language and history.”
I smirked at her as she cleared her throat. “So, what does the ibis mean then?”