Page 34 of House of Gilded Nightmares

“It’s the easiest way to destroy the ruling houses.” Zyren pauses in his pacing and turns to face me, his eyes finding mine. “They tried to end your line once before.”

“The Septarus killed my family?” My eyes widen in shock. “You told me it was a fire.”

Seeing my expression, he closes the distance between us in three long strides and takes both of my hands in his. “It seemed too much to share with you, too great a burden on top of everything else. But I will not let them have you, Sarielle. I will give the last breath in my body to keep you safe.”

I look up at him, feeling a sudden wave of fear. But not for myself. My voice, when I speak, is laced with heat and shadow. “I don’t want you to die. Do you hear me, Zyren? Your death is unacceptable to me.”

A flare of energy moves between us, and Zyren takes a step closer to me, his hip brushing into my torso. His breath is warm on my face, his metallic storm-cloud eyes burning into mine.

“As my queen commands,” Zyren says, his voice a low rumble, more animal than man. It wraps around me, rough and velvety at the same time.

And I realize the danger of this moment, because here, in the darkness beneath the earth, I do not want to ever reach Selaye. I do not want to marry an honorable king. I only want, in this moment, to feel Zyren’s skin against mine. I want to break every vow we both have made, to act on what is forbidden between us.

The desire is so sudden, so primal. I don’t know when it happened that I came to feel this way. Or maybe I always have, and I’ve been fighting with all my strength against it. I’m even more surprised when my magic flares unbidden, a golden glow pulsing off my skin. The sudden wash of light in the dim of the cave reflects in Zyren’s eyes, and they widen in realization of the blade’s edge we’re walking. He steps back, dropping my hands and walking toward Arrow.

“We will make for the house of my friend,” he says, tone gruff. “We should be able to reach it by nightfall. From there, we can figure out a plan to reach Selaye undetected.”

I tremble as the glow from my magic fades. Shame flushes my cheeks as I follow Zyren out of the cave, and a thousand feelings churn inside my chest. In the course of little more than a week, hatred had turned to trust had turned to…this. Whatever this is I now feel. Whatever it is, it is sudden and unexpected and unwanted. Because it only complicates things—I am betrothed, whether I agreed to it or not, and Zyren has made vows to never form attachments.

Whatever it is that existed between us in that moment cannot be.

We mount back up outside the cave and Zyren steers Arrow down the valley. Instead of taking the main path across the next ridge, he guides us along a swiftly flowing creek that tunnels through the mountain, a narrow passage under the earth with only the thinnest of paths running alongside it. I try to ignore the warm presence of him behind me, his arms on either side of me. The hardness of his body, the cords of muscle I can feel even through his clothes. An uncomfortable silence hangs in the air as we travel.

The hours slip away, and we climb higher and higher into the mountains. As the sun begins to fall, we move onto a path that zigzags back and forth up the side of a huge mountain, taller than any around it for miles. The sound of rushing water builds in the distance as we draw closer to some yet unseen river. The last purple streaks of sunset hang in the sky when we finally reach a small plateau beneath the summit of the mountain.

A waterfall cascades down the far side of the plateau, and beyond that one, I see another not too far off. I gaze upward, wondering at the source of the double falls. All I can see from our current vantage point are two twin peaks, as if the summit of the mountain had been split in two by a giant axe. The air at this height is frigid, biting my cheeks and whipping my hair. The path appears to be a dead end, but along the back wall of the plateau, a huge set of wooden double doors framed in black iron is set directly into the side of the mountain.

Zyren dismounts and helps me down, and we approach the massive doors. When we reach them, Zyren raises a thick metal ring built into the front of it and knocks five times. The ring makes a resounding clang like a church bell, a much louder sound than is natural for such an object. It’s clearly enchanted in some way. When the reverberating sound fades, silence falls, and we wait. Stars are beginning to pop out in the night sky, and the temperature drops even more as the last of the sun disappears. It’s going to be a very cold night on this bluff if Zyren’s friend is not at home.

But then, after several minutes, the wooden doors slowly begin to open outward. I blink into the space beyond. No one is there, the doors operating seemingly by magic, too. A stable sits beneath the mountain, and warm golden light spills out into the evening sky. Lanterns hanging from the ceiling illuminate polished wood horse stalls on either side of the aisleway, fancy wrought iron bars along the top half. There must be a dozen stalls, but only two of them are occupied, one by a horse and another by a creature that looks like the offspring of a mountain goat and a green dragon.

Zyren doesn’t seem fazed by any of this, leading Arrow into one of the empty stalls and removing her saddle and bridle. She eagerly wanders to the back of the stall where a trough of fresh hay awaits, her hooves sinking into a bedding of fragrant wood shavings. After her arduous voyage, she certainly deserves it. Zyren pats her on the neck before exiting the stall and rejoining me in the aisle.

“This way,” he says, leading us deeper beneath the mountain.

At the end of the aisleway, a staircase spirals up through the stone, climbing up into the core of the mountain itself. We circle upwards quite a ways, finally emerging into a space that makes a breath of wonder escape my lips.

We’re standing in the mouth of a grotto that opens to the sky on one side. The twin peaks of the mountain rise on each side of us, a river surging between them, no doubt the source of the waterfalls we’d seen below. On either side of the river, rooms are cut into the mountain, like the one we’re now standing in, open to the elements. A stone bridge connects the two sides of the mountain compound farther upstream. The sound of rushing water roars in my ears, and a fine mist hangs in the air.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” I breathe, my eyes wide as I take it all in.

“I’m so glad you like it,” booms a loud voice to our right.

A woman strides toward us, quite possibly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She is tall and curvy, a cascade of black curls spilling over one shoulder. Her eyes are a shade of green like forest moss. Zyren breaks into a huge smile and strides toward her, wrapping her in a warm embrace. They stand like that for long enough to make me feel very uncomfortable, and I wonder what their history is.

Finally, the woman catches my gaze over Zyren’s shoulder and pulls back. “We’re being rude. Introductions are at hand!”

“Riya, this is Sarielle. Sarielle, Riya,” Zyren says, gesturing to each of us in turn.

I extend my hand, and Riya pumps it vigorously. “A pleasure,” she says in a warm voice that holds a purr like a cat. “Welcome to my home.”

“Thank you for having us,” I respond, dipping my head.

“It’s been what—five years, Zyren? And now you show up on my doorstep with no notice…you’d better not be in some sort of trouble.” Riya wears a smile despite her words.

“I’m always in trouble, you know that.” Zyren grins back at her. “But I’ll be happy to fill you in. It’s quite a tale.”

Riya’s eyes rove mine, not in the least bit shy about it. “I’m sure it is. Well, do come in. I’ll need to tell Wyn there are guests for dinner and give him time to prepare, but I imagine you’d like to clean up after your journey, so I’ll show you to the guest quarters.”

---