Page 57 of A Touch Enchanted

Chapter eighteen

Violet

Wecarefullycreptdownthe rough-hewn stairs, same as last time. Wes and Audrey took the lead, with Donovan and me in the middle, and Finn and Thora in the rear, in case anything tried to attack from behind. Just like before, the tunnel down was completely silent. No bugs crawled in the cracks and there were no small mammals that had made this place home.

It was completely empty of life.

The trip down took twice as long this time. Maybe because I was exhausted, or maybe because I was anxious, but each step felt like a thousand. Donovan let out a short grunt behind me on a steeper step. He was feeling it too. I reached my hand back and squeezed his. Just that little bit of contact gave my energy a boost to see me through the rest of the way down.

Wes walked to the edge of the rushing river, crouching down to get a closer look at the banks that rose on either side of it. He cocked his head. “Where does this go?”

“We didn’t follow it last time,” Donovan said. “We got preoccupied with the glowing gates and the tomb.”

“Might be worth checking it out. Since we’re down here.” Wes walked along the curve of the underground river, and we all followed.

The further we got away from the golden light, the darker it got in the cave. Even if Nirah hadn’t been a host for the curse, I could see how he’d go mad down here. Trapped for three hundred years in the dark with only two gates and the tomb of his dead lover to keep him company. And all that time, the curse probably kept him in limbo. Locked within his worst memories. Forced to relive them day after day.

The walls remained high and smooth with no signs of life as we followed the river. It got so dark we had to move more slowly and point our flashlights directly in front of our feet to see where we were going. We crossed over a wide stone walkway that connected one end of a chasm to the other. Donovan shined his light down below, but only darkness reflected back.

After another half hour of walking, we hit a dead end. The river flowed under a wall that loomed in front of us, and there was no way to follow unless we jumped into the water.

Donovan slapped a hand against the rock. “This was anticlimactic.”

“I bet that’s what all the ladies say to you,” Wes said.

Donovan flipped him off. “Where to next, Captain?”

“To the gates, I guess.”

Finn groaned and cracked his back. “We’re going to go ahead of you and grab a snack. Try not to get hurt on your way back.”

Within a blink, he and Thora were gone. The rest of us made our way back to where the light glowed from the cavern that held Ceti’s tomb. As we crossed the chasm again, I rubbed my damp palms on my shorts. The walkway was thick enough that we could stand next to each other and still not come close to the edge, but how far down it went and what lay at the bottom were unknown. A fear that burrowed into me.

I didn’t breathe again until we made it to the other side.

We followed the golden light, going over the peaks and valleys of the cave that Donovan and I had walked before. The guys had to bend down to avoid hitting the ceiling in some places, while Audrey and I could walk on through with no trouble. Once we reached the marble archway that led to the open cavern, I paused to stretch my calf muscles.

Audrey stood beside me, taking it all in. “It’s beautiful.”

The gates truly were stunning works of art, and couldn’t possibly have been made with human hands. The craftsmanship was too otherworldly for them to have been constructed and placed here after the island was created. They were part of it. Something that had been here since the gods and goddesses formed this place out of stardust.

Up close, the gates appeared to be made of thin metal threads that were all woven together. Within those threads, the golden side of the gate depicted sun and light. Flowers reaching for those first rays of dawn. Butterflies breaking free from chrysalises and taking flight. While the black gate depicted a night scene. Moon and stars. Owls hunting for their nightly meals, and menacing things with claws that hid in the shadows.

They were both strange and lovely, but I still didn’t know what purpose they served.

“I bet this river flows from one end of the island to the other.” Audrey tracked the current with her finger. “It starts on the east side and flows into the west.”

“It follows the direction of the sun.” My gaze strayed to the sun emblem on Ceti’s tomb. “What do you think it means? What do the gates do?”

“I’m not sure.” She crouched down to where the golden gate was notched into the rock. “I don’t think we want this gate to fall with the night one, though.”

Finn came up next to us and took a bite of granola bar. He chewed thoughtfully as he examined both sides of the gate. “This river is symbolic more than anything else.”

I gave him a startled look. “What do you mean by that?”

“Water is life. The gods and goddesses would’ve found it poetic to have life flowing through the island both literally and figuratively. My guess is, if the second gate falls, it’ll block the flow of water. Or life, in this case. Meaning, that’s how we’ll be trapped. Because nothing from the mainland can get here and we can’t go there. No flow of life.”

“Holy shit.” That made absolute sense in the most bananas way. And from Finn of all people. “How did you get to be so smart?”

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