Page 43 of Duskbound (Esprithean Trilogy #2)

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

The air changed first. Gone was the stale, ashen taste of Umbrathia, replaced by something so rich with life it nearly overwhelmed me. Sunlight—real sunlight—filtered through a canopy of leaves above, casting dancing shadows on ground that seemed to pulse with vibrant green. My knees nearly buckled at the sight.

This was Riftdremar. Not the burned husk I'd always imagined, but something wild and alive. Nature had reclaimed everything, transforming the ruins of my birthplace into a tangled paradise. Vines thick as my arm wrapped around chunks of blackened stone. Moss carpeted what might have once been streets, broken here and there by saplings that had fought their way through old foundations.

The others stepped through behind me. Someone gasped, maybe Effie or Mira, but I barely registered it. My attention caught on a half-standing wall where delicate purple flowers bloomed from cracks in the ancient mortar.

"Time does wonders," Tamir breathed, clutching his maps tighter. "Nature always prevails."

I forced myself forward, letting my fingers trail across stone still blackened from decades-old flames. Life had returned here with a vengeance, but beneath the beauty lay the bones of a massacre.

I pulled out one of the mirrors Raven had given me before we left. "Made it through. No Guard in sight, the entire place seems to be abandoned."

Raven's reflection appeared, that familiar glint in his eye. "Disappointed? I know how much you enjoy a dramatic entrance."

"I'll try to contain my disappointment." I shifted the mirror, giving him a view of the verdant chaos around us. "I guess we'll head towards the mining tunnels now."

"Far North, near the Western border." He shuffled through some papers. "Though I should warn you, these maps are old. Might be slightly less reliable than my usual work."

"Well, that's why we have Tamir, after all."

"Now I truly feel invaluable to the operation, Your Highness," he said sarcastically, then his expression softened slightly. "Stay safe out there."

"You too." I tucked the mirror away, shaking my head as I turned back to the group.

"We'll need to follow the Western ridge," Tamir said, spreading his map across a fallen column. "The mining operations were concentrated near the mountains, tucked away from the main settlements." His finger traced a path through faded ink. "If we keep the peaks to our left, we should reach the entrance to the valley in about three hours."

One by one, we mounted Vordr that were already tearing grass up by the roots. Tamir's earlier hesitation returned as he settled behind Rethlyn.

"Hold on properly," Rethlyn said, amusement lacing his words. "Unless you fancy a long fall."

The Vordr took to the sky in pairs, their massive wings sending ripples through the canopy below. Tryggar followed, and I found myself holding my breath as we rose above the treeline. Riftdremar spread beneath us in a riot of green I hadn't seen since leaving Sídhe. But this was different—this was wild, untamed. Twenty years of nature reclaiming what flames had tried to destroy.

The further North we flew, the more the landscape changed. Dense forest gave way to rolling hills, then jagged cliffs. Massive rock formations thrust up through the greenery like bones breaking through skin. Time stretched on as we navigated the sunlit clouds.

"There!" Tamir finally called over the wind, pointing to a narrow valley cutting between two peaks. "The mining complex should be just beyond that pass."

Tryggar's wings caught an updraft, and my stomach lurched as we soared higher. Below, something glinted among the trees, maybe metal, or glass glinting in the sun. Evidence that this wasn't always wilderness, that people had once lived and worked here.

"We'll need to find somewhere clear enough to land," Dannika shouted from behind Vexa. "Those trees look too dense for the Vordr."

She was right. The valley floor was a tangle of vegetation, broken only by the occasional jutting rock or fallen tree. But then I spotted it, a break in the canopy where something massive had collapsed long ago, leaving a rough clearing in its wake.

Rethlyn signaled, and we began our descent. The Vordr landed in stages, their hooves finding purchase on ground that hadn't felt such weight in decades. As I slid from Tryggar's back, my boots crunched against something that wasn't just leaves or twigs. I looked down to find fragments of dark glass scattered across the moss, its surface still bearing strange, swirling patterns.

I crouched to examine the glass, but Dannika's sharp voice cut through the clearing. "Movement in the trees."

Everyone froze. My shadows coiled beneath my skin, ready, as I scanned the thick foliage surrounding us. The Vordr shifted uneasily, Tryggar's tail flicking with agitation.

"There," Mira whispered, pointing to our left where branches swayed against the wind.

Aether moved first, his form dissolving into shadow as he glided toward the disturbance. The rest of us spread out, weapons drawn. Even Tamir had produced a small knife from somewhere within his robes.

A flash of white darted between trees—too fast to make out any details. My heart thundered. Had the Guard somehow known we were coming?

The creature burst into the clearing, and we all staggered back. Not Guard. Not Aossí at all. A massive stag stood before us, its coat pure white, antlers branching toward the sky. It regarded us with no hesitation. Even the Vordr seemed locked in place, a drastic contrast to the last time they'd chased a deer through Draxon's territory.

"Esprithe," Effie breathed.

The stag's gaze swept over our group.

"Fascinating," Tamir said, his tone tinged with awe. "The white stag is the symbol of Riftdremar."

"I've never seen anything like it," Vexa whispered.

The stag's head tilted slightly, as if considering Tamir's words. Then it turned, taking three deliberate steps toward the cliff face before looking back at us.

But the stag was already moving, picking its way through the undergrowth. Without thinking, I started after it.

Aether's arms caught me before I could follow, my eyes tracing the path it took until it disappeared into the thick brush. "It's best we don't separate," Aether hummed against my hair.

"Of course—I don't…" I stammered. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Aether helped balance me, his arm lingering on my back .

"The mining entrance should be nearby," Tamir said, unfolding his map again.

"Well that was interesting," Dannika muttered, scanning the treeline where the stag had vanished. Her hand hadn't left her weapon. "But we should move quickly. Daylight won't last forever."

She was right. Though Riftdremar's sun blazed bright compared to Umbrathia's endless eclipse, it had begun its descent toward the Western peaks.

"This way." Tamir pointed toward a ridge of dark stone jutting through the foliage. "The main shaft should be just beyond that rise."

We moved carefully through the undergrowth, boots catching on twisted roots and remnants of what might have once been a path. Every sound seemed amplified—branches creaking overhead, leaves rustling in the breeze, the occasional snap of twigs beneath our feet.

"That looks promising," Tamir called out softly, pointing to where two weathered pillars emerged from thick vines.

Dannika stepped forward, pressing her palm against the stone behind the pillars. Her eyes went distant for a moment. "It's stable. The tunnel should be structurally sound, at least near the entrance."

"How far down do they go?" Mira asked, peering into the darkness beyond.

"The records mention three main levels," Tamir said, squinting at his notes. "But there could be more. These operations weren't exactly... transparent."

"We should split into teams," Vexa said, already pulling out her weapons. "Cover more ground."

"Agreed." Aether's voice carried authority as he assessed our group. "Vexa, take Dannika and Effie. Mira and Theron together. Rethlyn, you're with Tamir. I'll go with?—"

"Me," I finished. No one argued .

"The rest of you start with the upper levels," he continued. "We'll take the lowest tunnel. If anyone finds anything?—"

"Or runs into trouble," Vexa added.

"Three sharp whistles," Aether said. "That should echo through the tunnels."

Dannika and Tamir lit their torches, the flames casting an uneven light across the carved pillars. The rest of us wouldn't need them. Our eyes could navigate the darkness easily enough. I took a deep breath, trying to ignore how the shadows beyond the entrance seemed to dance with something more than just absence of light.

The lowest level opened into a vast expanse, empty save for abandoned mining equipment scattered across the floor. Support beams stretched up into darkness, their weathered wood creaking softly in the stale air. No sign of arcanite yet. I tried not to let my disappointment show.

"Well," I said, trying to distract myself, "at least this cave isn't trying to freeze us to death."

Aether's lips twitched. "No ice veins to rescue you from this time."

"Rescue me?" I raised an eyebrow. "I seem to recall handling the cold just fine."

"Is that what you call chattering teeth and blue lips?"

"I think you're being a bit dramatic."

"Of course." His voice carried that dry tone I'd come to recognize as amusement. "Though you seemed rather eager to accept my help at the time."

Heat crept up my neck as I remembered what it felt like with his arms around me, his warmth rushing across my skin. "Yes, well. Life or death situation and all that."

"Indeed." Something flickered in his golden eyes before he turned away, scanning the chamber. "Three tunnels. Any preference? "

I stepped into the path in the middle as a silence fell between us, broken only by the distant drip of water echoing through stone. I studied his profile in the darkness.

"Were you ever planning to tell me?" I finally asked. "About who you thought I was? Or were you waiting for the perfect moment to throw it at Urkin?"

His shoulders tensed slightly. "I wasn't certain. Not until you mentioned the name Fiandrial."

"But you suspected." It wasn't a question.

"There were... signs." He turned to face me, something almost careful in his expression.

"And you didn't think I deserved to know?"

"Would you have believed me?" His voice was quiet, but it carried weight. "I wasn't even sure myself until you told me your name."

"Princess was the first name you ever called me," I shot back.

He was full on smirking now as he ran his hand through his hair, causing it to fall in messy wisps over his forehead. "I wish I could say I'd known all this time. But truly, I called you a Princess because you were acting like one."

I stopped, turning to him and narrowing my eyes. "Seriously?"

"You were in some monstrous version of a ballgown, your hair was in perfect little tidy ringlets, and you began pouting immediately upon waking. What was I supposed to think?" He raised an eyebrow, but that same insufferable amusement had returned to his face, a dimple cracking his features.

"You had quite literally just stolen me away from my home and locked me in a tower. I wasn't pouting—I was enraged . I wanted to kill you," I countered.

"The thought crossed my mind as well." His smirk grew into a smile as he took a step towards me and whispered. "Several times."

I shoved him back a few feet and continued walking, hiding a grin as he chuckled from behind .

"And then you isolated me for weeks, were rude to me any time we dared some semblance of a conversation, assaulted me with your shadows." I carried on as we moved through the tunnel.

"See, that sounds like pouting again," he said as he stepped in line with me, arm brushing against mine. " Princess ."

I jabbed him in the side with my elbow. "Don't start that. I might have preferred it when it held no meaning." My eyes found the ground and I couldn't help the sudden onslaught of discomfort that title now brought. The weight of it.

"I know this was never what you imagined for yourself. That you've been held at a certain expectation for far longer than crossing into Umbrathia. And this only brings more of that." I felt his eyes on me, the lightness of the previous conversation now falling into something more serious. "But for what it's worth, you're more deserving than most."

"Why do you think that?" I asked, my voice quiet.

"Because you put others above yourself. It's a rare quality."

"I don't know if I do that." The words fell out before I could stop them. "Maybe I just find myself in situations where it's convenient to do so. Maybe it's not really my choice, in the end."

Aether stopped, his fingers sliding around my arm as he turned me towards him. "You saved Lael," he said, his eyes piercing through me.

"He appeared on the ground before me. I wasn't seeking him out," I argued back, shrugging my shoulders. Suddenly, the intensity of his stare was too much, and I looked away as his fingers began traveling up my arm.

"Most people would have left him there. You didn't. Most people would have never signed up for the Void—to face something so horrible for an entire realm they didn't know." His hand was moving across my shoulder, guiding my eyes back to his. There was a certain determination in his whisper that nearly made my knees weak. "Everything you've done since you've been in Umbrathia has been selfless. I've never wanted to know someone so much."

His hand slid up to my neck, thumb grazing my jaw, and everything else faded away. The simple touch sent electricity down my spine, making my breath catch. His eyes darkened as they dropped to my lips, and something molten rushed through my veins.

I'd never wanted someone's touch like this—like my skin was starving for it, like every point of contact was both too much and not nearly enough. The intensity of it blindsided me. A month ago, I would have run from this feeling, from the way my body seemed to recognize his touch before my mind could catch up. Instead, I found myself leaning into his hand, craving more.

I wasn't sure who moved first. His fingers slid into my hair as I pressed closer, erasing what little space remained between us. My hands found his chest, feeling the shadows writhe beneath his skin, feeling his heart racing as fast as mine. He exhaled against my lips, the sound nearly undoing me, and then he was leaning down, his forehead touching mine?—

Three sharp whistles cut through the darkness.

We jerked apart, reality crashing back. My heart thundered in my chest as we both turned toward the sound, instantly alert.

"Upper level," Aether said, already moving. I followed close behind as we raced back through the tunnel, taking the spiral steps two at a time. The whistles came again, more urgent.

We burst into the main chamber just as Vexa's voice echoed down the corridor. "Over here!"

The passage opened into a vast cavern, and I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes fell upon the back wall. Dozens of crystals jutted from the rock face. Their violet-blue light cast strange shadows across the chamber.

Arcanite.