Page 126 of Hidden Kingdoms

ELODIE

“All good?” Alouette asked as soon as I stepped outside Arden’s room.

“Honestly, I have no clue.” I was still processing what I had learned. “Arden said I should go to the Fyria Caves, whatever that is.”

“He has a point. It will help with your back.” She began walking, and I followed beside her, slipping the white feather into the pocket of Kaius’ jumper.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” she said, parroting the healer from earlier.

“Ugh, really?” I rolled my eyes at her as I dragged my legs along.

“Fine, I’ll roll them into one. Your old room sustained some damage, so you’re getting a new one.”

“Damage?”

“Yep. The Darkness has a flair for dramatics in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh, I noticed.”

“Well, it took out some of those dramatic tendencies on the Palace. The corridor where your room was being one of them.”

I frowned at the thought of no longer staying in my room. I had been comfortable there, it was what I knew.

“I’m going to end up in the fucking dungeon, aren’t I?” I groaned, as we turned a corner.

“Don’t be an idiot, of course you’re not. Unless you're down for that sort of stuff, because I think I know of two guys in particular who would be more than happy to join you.” She winked at me.

“Fuck sakes,” I groaned again. “How is any of this happening?”

“Why does anything happen, Killer?” She laughed and despite the whirlwind of a day, I found myself laughing deliriously with her.

As we continued, the floor began declining. The walls emptied of their décor and beads of humidity seemed to sweat on the stone walls. Soft heat radiated from behind the wide grey door we had stopped before. Alouette reached for the handle, pushing it to reveal a black tunnel stretching out beyond it.

That’s literally where monsters live.

“You’re kidding me, right?” I turned to her incredulously.

“Nope. You’ll be fine. Just follow that path, it can only lead you to the pool. I’ll give you a few hours in there. That will give me some time to get washed up. Then I’ll take you to your new room.”

“And you can’t do that in there?” Nodding towards the black hole that looked like it was going to swallow me, I’d had enough of darkness for one day.

“Nah, fuck that. Looks terrifying in there.” I stared at her in disbelief as she laughed at meyet again.

“I’m kidding, Elodie, honestly it's fine. Once you get there, you’ll love it. I’ll get some spare clothes sent down there for you, too, because you look and smell pretty gross right now.”

“Yeah, thanks.” I deadpanned as she pushed me towards my doom, and I stepped into the dark. The door shut swiftly behind me, and I could still hear her laughter drifting away.

Taking a small, slow,terrifyingly uncertain, step into the gloom, I shrieked as balls of fire ignited sconces a short distance ahead. My shout echoed around me, and I took some deep breaths to steady my racing heart.

How much more could the poor thing take before it decided to give up?

Also, if there were monsters in here, I’d definitely just given myself away.

Deciding not to linger on that thought,or in this tunnel, I forced myself to start walking. Jumping again when the flames followed my progression, blinking in and out the further I went, meaning I had no idea how long the tunnel was. I forced each heavy step as sweat slid down my back. My heart began to even its beats as a steady, enticing glow became visible in the distance. I sped up as much as my exhausted body would allow, eager to leave the tunnel and see what was up ahead.

A gasp fell from my lips, eyes wide with wonder, as the tunnel opened out into a subterranean cave.

Whether it had been carved from the rocks themselves, or it had somehow naturally occurred here, deep within the palace, I had no idea, but it was pure magik.

---