Page 9 of Hidden Kingdoms

“He was very much into conspiracy theories. He thought the earth was flat and that the sun was just like some big flashlight in the sky.”

“Oh gods. You’re joking with me!” Briar's eyes widened as she pressed her mouth together to suppress her grin.

“Believe me, I wish I was. When I asked him, ‘If the earth is flat, how can there be different seasons in different parts of the world?’ and heactuallycried, I knew he wasn’t the one for me no matter how pretty he was.” I replied with a grimace before we all fell apart laughing, the sound replenishing a part of me that had been running low.

“That’s a shame, he was one of the best-looking men I’d seen stay here,” she noted, wiping a tear from her eye.

“That he was,” Nanna answered with an appreciative nod.

“I do wish I’d have known before the end of our second date,” I said, as the laughter started again.

What I kept to myself was that particular conversation came after we’d been rolling around in bed. There’s nothing quite as off-putting as a grown man crying about the shape of the earth after you’ve just spent the last twenty minutes riding him.

I knew Briar would press me for more later, though not about men. About the things Nanna wouldn’t want us talking about,and I swallowed down more of my coffee trying to decide just how truthful I was going to be.

4

CHAPTER FOUR

ELODIE

The leaves crunched satisfyingly underfoot as we walked through the woods. It was a tradition of ours to visit Rock Ruin when Briar came home to us. Named affectionally by me as a child due to the abundance of jagged stones that littered the outcropping of rocks nestled up one of the steepest hills within the acres of woods we lived in. Their distorted shapes the bones of the giants that once roamed this land. Remnants of what reason says could never be true. A place almost between worlds. If it had a real name, it was a secret it kept to itself.

I went with Nanna sometimes, too, or by myself, but the three of us here just made sense. The path was one we walked with familiar ease, our feet knowing the way without having to put much thought into it.

The conversation flowed as always as we continued side by side. Talk of how Briar had found a rare tanzanite that she would show me once we got back, that Nanna had to remove an entire Rhododendron because the roots had run amok and that Polly was dragging me away for a supposed relaxing weekend.

I’d learned early on to steer clear of asking where Briar had been, how long she would stay.

There was no point.

Soon, the floor started to incline, and I mentally prepared myself for the challenge ahead, knowing we only had a few more turns in the path before things started to get tough. I brushed my hand over Titan’s head, he would stay at the bottom never venturing up with us though I had no doubt with his size he would have no problem.

The hike up to Rock Ruin was rough, intended to ensure sufficient effort was put into accessing it. The mud lining the way was slick beneath our feet and the trees grew tightly together up the steep slope, thick roots weaving over the ground like the world’s biggest trip hazard. The further you went, the harder it became to avoid catching yourself, and I’d lost count of the scraped knees I’d gained over the years. Eventually it was more of a climb, needing to use the exposed roots to haul yourself up. The old timber steps that had been set sporadically into the earth for as long as I could remember were little help against the punishing ascent.

The burn in my muscles wasn’t one I normally welcomed but it was worth it for what was waiting at the top.

As the ground evened out, we found ourselves on the edge of a circular space, one side sheltered by the continuing rocky slope, the rest bordered by a dense tree-line. The colours of the world was different here. A change so subtle it was barely perceptible, lingering on the realm we walked into. Sunlight filtered between the gaps casting a hazy glow as we crossed into the circle, a gentle pulse of energy rippling over my skin as I breathed deep, filling lungs that no longer struggled as we stilled.

The packed earth was interspersed with large, jagged rocks. Most no higher than my knee with the biggest of them reaching shoulder height. Their flat tops were covered with moss, the cracks between them just wide enough to walk through.

We picked our way across, the sun warm and the air cool. Aside from our laboured breaths and the light scuff of our feet over stone, the quiet lapping of water from the pool that spread from the base of the steep stone wall and the chirping of birds were the only sounds to be heard.

Thin trees that I’d never seen grow anywhere else rose from between the stones, the silver bark split in long slashes as the pale trunk expanded, squeezing themselves upwards and displacing the rocks even more than they already were. Their branches were long and low, and on more than one occasion I would use them to haul myself up onto the rocks and cross the space when the floor became tricky to navigate.

All around us the reaching boughs were covered in hundreds of strips of ribbon, creating a woven tapestry that threaded far beyond us. Exposure had bleached the colour from most of them, the faded fabric frayed with age, their tails fluttering like ghostly figures in the wind that blew softly through them. Tied around every available inch, I had always known that while I had never seen another soul here, this place wasn’t just ours. They were wishes, dreams, favours asked.

The same could be said for the blanket of coins which filled the bottom of the pool. Every so often a sliver of brightness would stand out between dull grey letting me know another token had been offered.

Reaching the end of the stone walkway where, the floor flattened out until it met with the edges of the pool ahead of us. Small stones had been placed at the boundary, I wasn’t sure how deep the water was but there was definitely no gentle shore.

Briar caught my elbow as she guided me towards the flattest stone, one we had sat on many times over the years.

“You look tired,” Briar said, as we sat down on the mossy rock, her voice low.

“And you’re not after that climb?” I raised an eyebrow at her as I wiped my sweaty head on the sleeve of my cardigan, keeping my voice equally quiet. This wasn’t the place for loudness.

“You know what I mean.” She laughed softly, her eyes following Nanna as she walked further from us towards the still water and I knew it wasn’t just the tranquillity of this place that we were trying not to disturb. “It’s deeper than not keeping up a decent fitness schedule.”

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