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Seemed a pretty good bet she might be suffering from both afflictions.
Leaning forward a little, she peered into the narrow opening. Five feet across, dark as pitch, light from the torches didn’t penetrate far. Another round of apprehension skittered through her. Goosebumps spiked on her skin. She rubbed the outside of her arms, attempting to rub away the fear.
A huge task.
She didn’t like tight spaces. And the cave looked way tootight. Beyond the entrance, the floor slanted down, chiseling through solid rock to ravine deep underground. Her stomach pitched as she imagined a series of wormholes, unending tunnels leading to things that wanted to eat her in the dark.
Standing to her left, Westvane started toward the entryway.
“Ah…”
He paused to look behind him. “What’s wrong?”
“Apart from everything?”
He sighed.
Truly took a step back as the heebie-jeebies set in.
Looking toward Azalea, she asked, “You’re sure there’s no other way?”
“Well, yeah,” Azalea said, twisting her lips to one side. “Of course, there is.”
Truly’s eyes narrowed on her.
Azalea lost the battle and smiled. “But you’d have to traverse the densest part of the forest and —”
“No fucking way.” Tufted ears swiveled, then flattened, making Montrose look like a pissed-off wolverine. “No chance in hell I’m doing that again.”
“I’ve made peace with the Hollow, Rosy. It’ll let us walk through it safely.”
“Triple,” he said, a rumble of warning in his tone.
Truly pursed her lips. She didn’t want to go in there. Would rather cut off her own —
“Traversing the Hollow will add days to your journey.” Angling her torch higher, Azalea tipped it toward the cliff face. “The cave system folds time. It will not only get you there by morning, but take you right up to the city walls.”
Score one for the cave.
She didn’t have days to waste. Arriving at, sneaking into, then back out of the Hall of Scholars trumped claustrophobia. Getting back to Philly fast mattered, too — before the Wendigo ravaged the entire city.
Westvane raised a brow. “Ready?”
Squaring her shoulders, Truly nodded.
“Stay behind me. Right on my heels.” Dark eyes riveted to her, Westvane stopped in the mouth of the cave. She assessed his physical state, searching for signs that his injuries still bothered him. He looked pale, no wings, the tattoo of Eastbrook on his neck light gray, instead of the usual jet black, but other than that, he seemed fit as ever. “I’ll lead us through safely.”
“I don’t like tight places.” She chewed on the inside of her lip. “Or spiders.”
“Spiders?” Montrose asked, sounding incredulous. “You went head-to-head with the queen’s guard, and you’re scared ofspiders?”
“That, along with anything big enough to eat me in the dark.”
Amusement sparked in Westvane’s eyes. “I can see in the dark.”
Truly blinked. “Finally, some good news.”
Stepping around her, Montrose threw her a disgruntled look.
