Page 53 of Own To Obsess

Kardos frowned. “Who was it, then?”

Shaya pressed her lips together for a long moment. As much as she hated the woman who told her about Kardos, causing someone’s death or imprisonment didn’t sit well with her—this land was so hard. She needed more time to think about—to become more comfortable with the Isles, because for the first time she could see the possibility of a life here. “It wasn’t Treska.”

“Who was it, Shaya?” Kardos growled. “I need to know who took it upon themselves to speak to you. I only gave orders for your handmaid to see you. No one else.”

“Then you know it was a woman,” Shaya said to him. “And you know someone came. And now you know it wasn’t Treska, you can find the actual person.” She lifted a hand to stroke his cheek. “Please free my friend?”

As soon she touched him, his anger calmed and after a moment his grunted his agreement. Gathering her into his arms, he kissed her long and hard, and she moaned, savoring his taste. Then helped her into the carriage and assured her she would be safe.

It wasn’t as hard as she thought it was going to be to enter the carriage, and she managed to get lost in her thoughts before it slowed to a stop. As she stepped down into the thick snow, her mouth dropped open at the sight before her. Discovery mountains. It looked even more beautiful close-up, its white rock shimmering in the sunlight.

“Leave your furs,” instructed the guard, as he tied a long thin cord to the door of the carriage.

Shaya hesitated and then slowly removed her furs and placed them inside.

The guard loosened the cord from his fist as he headed toward the mountains, beckoning her to follow.

He led her to an entrance on the far left of the rock that she hadn’t seen until she was a few feet away, and he entered into a cavernous corridor. Shaya had to almost run to keep up with his long strides.

As she walked along, she noticed that the walls within the mountain were also completely white and enormously bright. She resisted the urge to reach her hand out and feel them, to see if they were really made from snow. How amazing would that be? It probably was very unlikely—she’d never even heard of anything like that before, but it would be a great phenomenon. She kept her focus on the guard before her, anxious to keep up with him to avoid getting lost.

They traveled along numerous corridors, turning left and right so many times, Shaya lost count, and many corridors broke off from each one they were traveling along.

Finally, the guard turned into a cavern that was a similar size to Kardos’ temple, except there was no waterfall, instead a shimmery frost covered the walls.

“Your discovery begins here,” the guard said as he turned to Shaya.

She hesitated. Her discovery? What did that mean? She looked around the cavern but there was hardly anything in it—only a smaller version of the rock that was on the ship, that she now knew was called izak-rock, and much to her surprise, some plant beds.

She headed over to them and peered down, frowning. How could any plants survive in these kinds of conditions? It was most unusual. She knelt down to feel the soil, and wasn’t surprised to find it cool, but moist. The guard turned to leave, and she dropped the soil and jump to her feet.

“Are you leaving me here?” she asked hurriedly. “How will I find my way out?”

The guard paused and turned to her. “This is your discovery,” he said. “That is for you to decide.”

“What discovery?” Shaya asked, but he was already walking again, gathering up the cord in his hands as he turned quickly down the corridor.

Shaya rushed after him but within a few steps, he had turned down another corridor and was gone.

She froze, unsure what to do. If she ran after him, it was unlikely she would be able to find her way back to this particular cavern, and based on his cryptic answers he’d suggested this cavern would lead her out. Her mind pulled her in two different directions at once, and the pressure of her situation rose until finally she realized that she had remained undecided for too long. There was no way that she would find him now.

Turning back to the cavern, she properly examined the space. The plant beds were newly planted with fresh soil, and bunches of green leaves shot out of them in a neat row. Shaya couldn't tell what kind of plants they were, but they looked similar to tomato leaves.

On the other side of the clearing, the izak-rock was purely gray—no other color emanating from it. As she circled the rock, trickling water echoed from behind her, and she followed the sound to find a small opening where a stream of water tumbled over a ledge and down a number of rocks.

Shaya examined everything in the clearing again but still couldn't figure out what she was supposed to do. Why did Kardos need her to come here? She looked out along the corridor the guard went down but there was no one, and it was deathly silent and still. A sense of awe crept over her at the thought she might be the only person in the entire mountain range.

The cold began to seep into her. She rubbed her arms and turned back to the clearing, realizing the walls of the were not as bright as when she came in.

Panic writhed in her chest as the light faded quickly. Shaya took deep breaths and held onto the gray rock, sinking into a huddle next to it. Soon, the entire cavern was pitch black. Night must have fallen—maybe the bright mountain walls reflect sunlight.

Her mood descended as she realized there was no one to help her. No chest for her to sink into, no familiar scent for her to breathe. She was on her own and no one was coming. How could Kardos abandon her like this? Especially in the dark. It was one thing to do it as punishment when she’d done something wrong, but what had she done?

The cold was slowly making her tremble, but if she could just sleep, maybe she wouldn't feel it. Her body reacted the way it always did to the darkness, with anxiety and fear, but the difference about her current environment was that she knew there was space around her. She knew the clearing was bigger than the box room. And for some reason it made a difference.

She spent the night curled up next to the rock, her eyes shut tight, making sure it was always at her back. Her mind turned constantly with confusion as to why Kardos wanted her to be here instead of with him. It was the first night since he wildly mated her on the ship that she spent apart from him, and a mournful ache came over her that she didn’t have him surrounding her. Curling into herself and pretending the rock behind her was his chest, she was soon asleep.

Bright light on Shaya’s eyelids woke her up, and for a moment she was disorientated. Her heart sank when she realized where she was. Her body was stiff with cold, and her stomach rumbled, but she was glad it was bright again.

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