Page 127 of A Baron of Bonds
I only moved forward.
Rev’s fear permeated the air, and I knew I was not the only one to feel it.
Our long, strange line of humans and fae finally turned and entered the massive corridor with a few short steps down to the doors of Viridis.
My green light expanded across the stone as I approached the black doors wound in trails of copper. They rose too far into the corridor for me to see their end.
I turned to explain how to enter Viridis, finding two Growers approaching the doors as if they already knew.
I addressed them, not sure if they could really understand me, or if Moira would need to interpret. “To enter, you must…” I trailed off as they ignored me completely, and each lifted their tangle of woven arms to the doors, one on each side.
I stepped back, witness to another of Viridis’s secrets gone untold for centuries.
Their branches and vines grew, trailing up the stone, following the copper pattern. A variation of green leaves unfurled from each vine as they rose beyond what my eyes could see.
I glanced back to Revich who was just as surprised as I was while Moira watched as well, nibbling on her fingers.
We waited in bated breath as the doors came alive with each Grower, becoming one creature, one fae. I heard the click, the resounding evidence that the doors to Viridis were in fact ancient and sentient. A breeze, familiar in warmth and scent, lifted my hair and the doors pushed inward.
Viridis was still alive.
And it greeted me in the embrace of an old friend, never forgotten, ever a part of me and who I had become.
I’d bring it back today.
I was even more sure of it.
A dark expanse of tunnel formed beyond the doors and the Growers began to step inside, taking the lead.
“Did you know?” I started, Rev’s hand closing over mine.
He shook his head in a rare silence, a small tick in his jaw.
We walked forward, following the Growers who seemed at this point to know more about Viridis and where it lie in Felgren than we did.
I expanded my light to shine above us, lighting the entwined tunnel which was narrow, barely wide enough for Revich and I to walk side-by-side. We stumbled over the branches wound belowus, never stepping on a forest path. Peering through the woven thicket of twigs and vines, I saw glimpses of the Blight outside.
“I think…I think we’re in Felgren.” I glanced at Rev, his face the same hardened features as he eyed our path ahead. “You told me once that Viridis is in Felgren somewhere. And the Blight broke in through the door that leads to the forest.”
He nodded, eyes straight ahead as we moved.
My boot caught under a vine and he was there, strong arms wrapping around my chest, grabbing me before I could fall.
I laughed lightly, pulling hair from my face and grinning at him, catching the sadness in his eyes which sobered me immediately.
If there was any time I faltered, it was then.
If there was a single moment I truly considered turning, running, with his hand in mine from this choice, it was in that moment of sorrow and fear across his face. It burrowed itself into the dull of his eyes, the straight line of his lips, the furrow of his brow.
I turned immediately, facing our path forward again, knowing myself. Knowing that if I saw that look once more, I would not have the strength to continue. Damned be Viridis, damned be Pompeii’s life, and damned be the considerable guilt we’d both have to face.
We continued for five minutes which led to ten, leading to ten more. With every step forward, the rustle of new growth met our ears as the Growers in the front of the line grew their tunnel of life through the forest and through the Blight itself, proving their vast power.
The scent of the Blight could not be drowned out, meeting our noses as the unmistakable fetor of death.
At last, we came to the door I had met once before. The same old wooden door Heimlen had used to show me the Blight for the first time. The door that led from Felgren to Viridis. Itlay at an angle, only one of its hinges remaining. The Growers expanded their tunnel to form a wide opening of branches, revealing the thick, thorny vines of the Blight that trespassed into the dark hall, which led to the second twin door in Viridis.
Moira’s screech began as she spoke to the Growers.
