Page 102 of Akarnae

He poked and prodded before finally using a vanilla-scented salve to seal her skin back together. Within seconds her wound was completely healed, and Fletcher ushered her out the door, ordering her to enjoy what remained of her holidays.

The rest of Alex’s day passed by uneventfully. Her Equestrian Skills instructor, Tayla, invited her on a trail ride out into the snow-covered forest, and afterwards Alex helped clean out the stables in preparation for the start of classes. When she made it back to her room after dinner that night she was exhausted, but satisfied with her hard day’s work.

Determined to keep her good mood, Alex ignored D.C. who was already in bed, reading. She thought her roommate would follow her lead, but she was wrong.

“What I said this morning—” D.C. started to say.

“Don’t,” Alex cut in. “You don’t have to worry. No one is coming after me. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all.” She kept her voice low and calm. It was easier to keep her annoyance in check that way.

“I didn’t mean—”

“Seriously,” Alex interrupted again. “You’re perfectly safe.”

“But—”

“And even if someonewascoming after me,” Alex broke in again, “I’m sure you would still be safe, since anyone with half a brain can tell that we’re not friends. They would have to be pretty thick to try and get to me through you.”

D.C. didn’t try and talk again. She didn’t do anything, in fact, except slowly raise her book once more. Her sleeves were rolled up and Alex felt her throat tighten when she noticed that the other girl was wearing the charm bracelet she’d sent her for Kaldoras. Something about the gesture brought tears to Alex’s eyes, and she realised that she must be more tired than she’d thought if she was so affected by something that clearly meant nothing.

Thirty-Four

Alex was bored, and thatwas the only excuse she had for being in the foyer of the Library the next afternoon. Her friends weren’t due back to the academy for a few more hours, and she needed something to do while she waited for their arrival. Against her better judgement, she decided that a trip to the Library could prove to be the perfect distraction. When she’d last travelled into its depths she’d almost been beheaded, but the time with Sir Camden had definitely given her a taste of adventure. A similar experience—perhaps with a touch less danger—might be exactly what she needed.

The foyer walls had all changed since her last visit, and Alex paused to admire a beautiful oil painting of a waterfall cascading down into a lake-filled valley. It was so realistic that she almost felt as if the water was trying to fall right out of the painting.

The librarian wasn’t anywhere to be seen so, moving away from the painting, Alex headed across the room and started down the staircase. Just like the last time, it continued much further down than normal.

Even though it was her intention to explore, Alex still had a fluttery feeling in her stomach. She wondered if she might find Darrius again, and she could ask him more questions about what had happened at the Gala. Or maybe she would have another run-in with her knight in shining armour.

The possibilities were still running through her mind when the staircase came to an abrupt end at a solid stone wall with a single door cut into it. The simple piece of wood was closed, but Alex felt as if it was beckoning her to open it up and step inside.

After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and opened the door to find… nothing. Just a dark, empty space.

Alex stepped forward for a closer look, and the moment her head moved past the doorframe, invisible hands pulled her body through. She couldn’t help but let out a surprised shriek when she discovered there was no floor beneath her feet anymore, and she plummeted through the darkness at an alarming speed until she was jerked to a halt and suspended in mid-air. Heart pounding, she waved her arms around, searching for something solid to grasp hold of, but all she found was more air.

Ever so slowly, Alex felt herself being lowered until she felt solid ground beneath her, much to her relief.

Despite there being no distinguishable source of light, the darkness began to fade as a bluish luminescence lit up the large space surrounding her. Soon enough Alex was able to see that she was in a cavern of some sort. It was a deep, rocky crevasse in the ground, with no discernible entrance or exit. She was completely underground.

There was a body of churning water not far from where Alex sat, the noise echoing loudly around the enclosed space. It was a river, roughly ten metres wide, slicing through the middle of the cave and splitting it in half. The pitch-black water flowed rapidly through semi-submerged fissures cut into the rock on opposite sides of the cavern. The two fissures were barely large enough for the raging torrent of water to pass through, and they appeared to be the only breaks in the otherwise solid walls of the underground chamber.

Alex rose and started walking carefully around the cave, wondering why she was there.

“Why do you think?”

Her heart skipped a beat and she whirled around, expecting to find someone behind her. But no one was there.

“Weird,” she muttered to herself, figuring the noise of the river echoing around the cavern was playing tricks on her mind.

When she made it to the solid rock wall, she followed it along until she reached the river’s entrance. Keeping her distance from the fast, dark water, Alex knelt to the ground and peered into the fissure. There didn’t seem to be any way for her to get through the gap without entering the water. She looked down at the churning river and felt her stomach clench with dread at the thought. Even if she had some kind of inflation device, Alex would still be hesitant to use it. She was a strong swimmer—she maintained that her near-drowning in PE wasn’t her fault—but the current was way too rapid. She wouldn’t venture in unless she absolutely had to.

Alex followed the wall back the other way until she reached the opposite side, where the river exited the cave. Again she found that it was impossible to pass through the fissure without jumping into the water.

Frustrated, Alex turned and carefully walked along the steep bank of the river’s edge, halting when she reached the middle of the cave. She looked over to the other side of her rocky prison and realised that even if she found the courage to cross the water, she could see no evidence of an exit over there.

“A little help here?” Alex called out, not even sure who she was calling to.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

---