Page 102 of The Edge of Darkness

When we reached the bottom, we strained our necks to look up. The cave entrance was completely hidden by the misty clouds that drifted through the mountains like silent phantoms. The trail that was carved into the side of the rock began with a niche that sat several feet off the ground. Aremis scaled the stone first, then reached down to help Nivelle. Auren was next, and I took the opportunity to wrap my hands around her waist and hoist her into Aremis’s grasp. Then, I followed.

“I don’t think I need to remind you all to watch your step,” Aremis called over his shoulder.

The path was so narrow that my shoulder width made it nearly impossible to make the trek without having to shuffle sideways, but we all maneuvered as best we could. Climbing higher and higher, we zigzagged back and forth up the mountainside, the ledge narrowing so drastically in some places that our backs were pressed against the stone, our toes hanging off the edge.

Around the next corner, a gust of wind sent Nivelle wobbling. She shrieked, one of her boots slipping off the edge, sending small stones clattering into the pass below. Aremis caught her by the elbow and yanked her back until she was flush with the stone.

“Goddess be good!” she exclaimed, heaving in breaths as she stared down at what had almost been her grave.

Aremis held her firmly until she was steady, then gave her a nod of reassurance. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”

“How do you know?” Auren asked, her voice practically getting lost within another howling swirl of wind.

“I sent my Aura ahead to evaluate,” he answered. “We should hurry.”

Why do we need to hurry? I asked him mind-to-mind.

A storm is coming.

Damn these springtime storms.

Although, I didn’t complain about the one that raged around us yesterday on top of the mountain, when I was buried to the hilt inside Auren. The image of her naked, wet body sliding against mine, the arch of her ass, and the cries of pleasure she let out as I fucked her for all the gods to see⁠—

Damn, I was getting aroused again just thinking about it.

Ahead of me, Auren scaled the narrow ledge carefully, daintily, as if she’d done this a hundred times. She was light on her feet, steady, and sure. Everything she did, everything about her, made me proud. The way her body moved—in bed and in combat—would be something I’d marvel at forever.

Aremis crested the ledge and hauled Nivelle up behind him, reaching for Auren next. Then, he clasped arms with me. “Let’s pray we only have to do this once,” he murmured as we all turned toward the cave entrance. It was larger now that we stood directly in front of it. The mist was not only swirling in the air around us, but it also seemed to be seeping out from the cave itself.

“I don’t feel any wards,” Auren said, tilting her head as she stared.

“There aren’t any,” Aremis confirmed. “My Aura is inside.”

“No turning back now,” I said as I stepped forward and entered the darkness.

The air was heavy. It smelled like something had crawled into the recesses of the tunnel and died—no, worse. It smelled like many things had entered. And none of them had made it out.

Behind me, Auren choked on a cough, and I brought the collar of my shirt up to cover my mouth, though it didn’t help. The stench was so potent, it had already embedded itself in my nostrils.

“It’s an enchantment,” Nivelle whispered. “The magic I sensed earlier . . . the air is tainted to deter any would-be intruders.”

“Well it’s doing its job,” I muttered. “Didn’t know enchantments could smell like pure rot.”

“You don’t know what beings from our world are truly capable of, High Lord.”

I simply huffed a laugh. She had no idea what I was capable of.

The daylight behind us quickly faded, and Auren lifted a hand, forming a small orb of her own light, which she held in front of her. The white light danced off the walls, illuminating primitive images painted onto the dark stone with some sort of white, chalky substance. Figures danced around fires, hand in hand. Some stretched their hands to the sky as others floated above, wings splayed wide.

Aremis paused to admire the depictions. “The Ancient Fae made these,” he said, touching a finger to the cave drawings.

Auren traced her free hand over some of the figures’ wings, then the ancient depictions of trees. Each image appeared as if it were flitting along the walls—a trick of the light.

Around the corner, we were met with paintings of the Dreki, then wolves, deer, and other forest creatures, all of them seeming to trot alongside us as we ventured deeper into the mountain.

The orb in Auren’s palm split into two, and she sent them drifting down the tunnel ahead of us. I was too busy watching for what else the orbs might reveal, that I was caught off guard when something crunched under my boot.

Everyone halted.