Page 47 of Queen of the Night
Endri huffs, and suddenly Rhosse’s enchanted axe comes hurtling from the tree branches and lands before his feet with a thud, sharpened edge planted in the ground. He grabs the weapon and inspects it with a critical eye.
“This is Endri. She’s taking us to the nymph entrance,” I inform Darvy and Rhosse. “How far is it, Endri?”
“Less than half a day’s walk and we’ll reach the entrance to see if Odella will grant you entrance… or kill us all for trying.”
Chapter 30
Vera
Idon’t know what I expected the entrance to the nymphs to look like… a waterfall? A beautiful tree path? Something… not like this.
Endri leads us inside an enormous cave. It’s blazing scary if you ask me—all dark and echoing and cold with odd engravings on its walls. Rupi doesn’t appear to like it either, given the way she huddles beside Ikar’s neck. I would also love to huddle against him, but he’s the blazing king, so I keep my distance like I know I should, watching him walk ahead while I feel irritated by the situation all over again.
I bring a small lucent orb to life in my hand, just enough to light the ground beneath our feet, and follow grudgingly. Unlike the velvet widow cave, the ceiling of this cave is high and the ground solid and unnaturally smooth. I eye the engravings on the wall, looking for violent images that would warn us away, but I don’t understand any of them… I’m not sure whether to feel relieved or more concerned. There have been no turns to take, so surely, if we need to escape, we can.
I’m sure if Endri hears that I doubt her as a guide she’ll beoffended and decide not to show us the way, so I lean closer to Darvy and lower my voice to a whisper. “What happens if this cave ends up going nowhere?”
“We’ll turn around, of course.” He says it so jauntily I want to smack him in the arm.
I envy his carefree spirit and the fact his magic isn’t lunging for a forbidden lover. I’m not sure how many more days I can keep my sanity intact with the way my magic yearns for Ikar.
Eventually Rhosse and Darvy take the lead, following Endri around the twists and turns of the cave. I eye their backs, confused by feelings of relief to have found them again, but resenting that they were in on theworstof secrets. I can’t help but admit I feel betrayed by them, as well, but I don’t have it in me to bring it up with the two of them. What good will it do? I just need to finish this blazing mission and disappear. I ignore the rebellious ache in my heart at the thought of never seeing the three of them again and remind myself that it’s for the best.
I can’t linger on those thoughts long because Ikar walks behind me, and I’m highly aware of how my magic so badly wants him now that we are in this quiet, dark space, and there’s nothing to distract myself with. I try to fill my mind with thoughts about the nymphs, which is a mistake because now I have to ask questions. I tell myself it’s only because I want to be prepared, that I don’tneedto hear the sound of his voice or walk beside him, but my magic and I both know it’s a lie.
I look over my shoulder and slow my steps until Ikar catches up. I meet his questioning gaze as he comes to walk by my side.
“I’ve heard you discuss the nymphs, that they should be able to lead us to the”—I clear my throat and force the next word out—“flower. Why are they so special?”
“As far as I know, a king hasn’t visited the nymphs since thelast time a black tulip was retrieved from the Field of Tulips, which was hundreds of years ago. But at that time, there was a queen named Odella who was a seer and a powerful magic user. Sort of like the fae… the nymphs have always existed in their own realm, mostly unseen by humans, then lucent magic drew those creatures to our realm, and they settled in—there are benefits to having them here.”
I snicker. “I won’t tell Drade you consider him a creature.”
Ikar grins, and for a moment I sense normalcy between us, and I savor it.
“The fae have their own realms that I have no authority over,” he explains, “but here in Moneyre I do, since some of their people choose to live in the human realm—and that means Drade and I have to do our best to get along.”
“He doesn’t seem to like you,” I say bluntly.
“He doesn’t likeanyone.” Ikar looks down at me with a thoughtful expression. “Except you.”
Our hands brush as we walk, and I can’t help the twitch of my fingers that gives away the instinctive urge to have them entwined in his…
“Don’t think he likes me much either, actually,” I muse. It’s true. How could he after how I took off the way I did?
Ikar shakes his head. “You’re wrong. I’ve thought about it for days… and I think I know what you did to him, Vera.”
I can’t tell if he’s joking or not, but the sound of my name on his lips has my heart skipping beats. My mouth opens, but no words come out.What does that mean?
“Did you love him?” he asks, not waiting for a response.
“Love hi—What?” I sputter.
Rupi bounces back and forth across Ikar’s shoulder, apparently sensing the tension between us.
“So you did.”
Why do his eyes darken in the shadows when he says it, as if he’s jealous? I can’t think straight and my words come out like an uncontrollable avalanche.
