Page 75 of House of Embers
“And so I have an idea of where they would take Amita,”he told her.
They’d come out of the mountain. Kerrigan took in a deep breath of fresh air. She hadn’t realized how oppressive the Holy Mountain felt with all its tendrille compared to her home of Draco Mountain or even Ravinia in the House of Shadows.
They circled the mountain, heading west toward the coast. They had to be an hour away from the coastline, but still Everic Ocean shimmered in cobalt on the horizon. They were nearly in Herasi territory. Zina and her dragon, Vox, were close enough that Kerrigan could almost feel her energy. Not that they had time for a visit.
It was more than an hour by the time Tieran lowered altitude and headed toward the coastline of Bain Bay. Kerrigan had never been to the famed pebbled shores. She thought Tieran would land, but he continued past a small village and out into the bay itself.
The sun was dangerously low on the horizon—they would have to trek the hour back to the Holy Mountain in the dark. She didn’t like this. If he was wrong, then they had no other option.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked Tieran.
“She’s there,”he assured her.
“How do you know? What is this place to you and Risa?”
“This was where our mating bond was confirmed,”he said almost hesitantly.
Kerrigan leaned forward against him, offering him her warmth and sorrow. “I wish I could have met her.”
“As do I.”
They were silent as he circled low over the forest island at the center of the bay. On the north shore, a clearing revealed itself on a large, flat rock outcropping. The area looked as if it had been flattened over many years by dragon landings.
Tieran set down. Kerrigan swiveled around to look for Amita. After the rocky portion, which was maybe a hundred yards, there was nothing but forest before them. And behind them was a sheer cliff that dropped off for hundreds of yards.
“I don’t see anyone,” Kerrigan said.
Tieran sniffed and twisted his head northward.“She is here. She has to be.”
Worry settled in Kerrigan’s stomach. Had they just flown an hour out of the way for nothing? Was Amita back at the Holy Mountain? Maybe none of this had anything to do with Risa. Or maybe it still had something to do with Risa but it wasn’t about their mating bond. Surely they had had other interactions.
No, she couldn’t second-guess him. He had known. He had been certain. And when Kerrigan trusted her gut, she was right. Tieran had to be too.
“Is this the exact spot?” Kerrigan asked. “Could it be somewhere else on the island? Somewhere not as visible or hidden like I was?”
Tieran stilled for a second before cursing.“Hold tight. You won’t like this next part.”
“I won’t—”
And then Tieran fell backward over the cliffside. Kerrigan screamed as her stomach was suddenly in her throat.
“Big breath.”
Then they plummeted into the icy cold below.
The shock of the water hit her all at once. The pain of the icy depth cracked against her skin, freezing her nerves and burning her lungs. Everything was black, and she could no longer discern up fromdown. She clutched Tieran with all her might as her legs drifted off behind her body. If she let go, she could continue falling forever.
The déjà vu of falling through the abyss in the spirit plane was like a second punch to the gut. She could be here forever, only frozen instead of just blinded by the darkness and hollowed out.
A second later, they broke the surface. Kerrigan sputtered as her head came out of the water. She lost her grip on Tieran, and her body was pushed with the current against a chalky, white surface. She coughed up water and held on to the surface with trembling hands. A soft yellow light suffused the space enough so that she could see that they were not on the surface of the water but somewhere beneath the water.
“Tieran?” she asked.
Suddenly a snout was against her, pushing her onto the chalky floor. She spit out another mouthful of salt water.
“Next time, more warning.”
Tieran chuckled.“Next time.”
