Page 31 of A Court of Bones & Sorrow

“Let me scout it out first,”Vail said from where we stood at the mouth of the cave. The entrance was enormous, towering far above us. Water rushed in, surging around the jagged rocks that broke the surface here and there. It was low tide, which would make things a little easier for us. Vail hesitated before glancing at me. “You remember the path we used on the right side?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “My memory is a little foggy about where I saw that glyph, but I think it’s behind the large, flat rock.”

“Alright. Listen for my call, and then follow in after me.” He slipped away into the darkness, the moonlight reflecting off the large sword strapped to his back. We’d never encountered any monsters when we’d explored the cave system as kids. Given its location on the beach and the tide rolling in and out, it wasn’t particularly appealing to the beasts that roamed the woods.

“I forget sometimes . . . that you and Vail were friends,” Alaric said quietly.

“Yeah.” A bone-weary sigh slipped past my lips. “He was my first friend, really. You always hated me, and Kieran didn’t show up until we were teenagers.”

“I never hated you, Samara.”

“Really?” My gaze cut to his, and I saw desperation and need in his eyes before he quickly turned away. Frustration filled me. Maybe it would be me pushing him into the seawater, but if I didn’t ask him, I knew I’d regret it. “What do you feel for me, Alaric?”

Big surprise, he didn’t answer. I rolled my eyes, lackingthe patience to deal with Alaric’s bullshit right now, and returned my attention to the cave. Occasionally, I’d feel his attention on me and thought he might say something, but he never did. After a few minutes, Vail’s sharp whistle cut through the air.

“Let’s go.” I headed towards the right side, watching my step as we moved from the sandy shore to the slick, algae-covered rocks. “Step where I step. This path was challenging a decade ago, and it’s probably gotten worse. I really don’t want to go for a swim tonight to save your ass if you fall in.”

“You just don’t want to get your hair covered in seawater,” he sniped back.

I looked over my shoulder at the hair he kept closely cropped to his head. “You don’t know what it’s like to care for long hair. There’s a bunch of algae and seaweed in the cave. I’d probably just cut my hair off rather than deal with the grossness of it.”

“No,” he said quickly.

“No?” I stopped and turned more to face him.

Alaric stared at me for a long moment, his lips pressed tightly together like he was debating something huge before finally saying, “I like your hair.”

“You mean you liked having your hand fisted in it while I sucked your co?—”

“Samara!” he growled. I laughed and resumed walking towards the path. He made it too easy.

Silvery beams of moonlight lit up the cavern, courtesy of the random holes in the ceiling. Vail and I used to stare at them and try to figure out what had caused them. Something about them didn’t seem natural, but we’d never been able to figure out what.

Bioluminescent algae shimmered in the water as the waves rolled in. There wasn’t much of it this time of year, but in late summer, the entire shoreline practically glowed an impossiblybright blue. Right now, it was more like little gems sparkling in the dark.

After telling Alaric to be cautious, of courseIwas the one to slip on a loose rock while admiring the water. A strong arm wrapped around my midsection before he tugged me back against his warm chest.

“Careful,” Alaric whispered in my ear. Then he flexed his fingers, his thumb brushing the underside of my breast before he stepped back.

I immediately mourned the loss of heat, even as I wanted to growl at him for being so indecisive. He wanted me, that was certain, but one minute he was determined to deny that feeling, and the next he was running his hands over my body.

Once again, I debated pushing him into the water. It’d serve him right.

With a frustrated exhale, I continued forward, being extra aware of where I was stepping. It didn’t take long for Vail to come into view. The cavern basically went straight back before the rest of the tunnel plunged under the water. There wasn’t actually that much to explore, it was just precarious to do so because the few rocks that rose above the water level were always damp and slippery. During high tide, it was impossible to get to the back without getting wet.

Vail waited for us on a large, circular, flat rock. It was the only part of the cavern that was never submerged. Just as I was about to jump from our path to join him, something below caught my attention, and I stopped to peer into the depths. The water directly in front of the rock Vail was standing on was cast in shadow, and it was difficult to see anything.

“Samara?” Alaric asked from behind me.

“I thought I saw something,” I murmured, my eyes still scouring the water but finding nothing. “Maybe it was just some seaweed.”

“Scared, Heir?” Vail taunted, and I glared at him beforelaunching myself across the open water to the large rock, Alaric landing gracefully behind me a second later.

I brushed past Vail and headed towards the back of the rock but couldn’t resist looking up to the sky above us. This section of the cavern had the most damage to the ceiling. When we’d been kids, I would beg Vail to sneak out with me to come here at night. We’d lie on our backs and stare up at the stars while the waves crashed around the rocks beneath us. Vail would point out all the constellations to me, and I’d hang on his every word.

Then our parents had died, and everything had changed. I’d only come back here once after the night the wraiths had attacked and changed both our worlds forever. Part of me wanted to ask Vail if this was his first time returning to this cave since then, but I couldn’t bring myself to utter the words.

“I remember it being somewhere back here. Be careful around the edges, Alaric,” I said over my shoulder. “This rock doesn’t extend entirely to the wall, so it’s possible to fall through the crack.”

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