Page 150 of Mountain of Mirrors and Starlight
The creature crept into the circle, winding its way through people’s legs on its journey towards the offering. The flames licked at Aislinn’s fingers as it passed, warm and tingling, largely aesthetic—a way to ward off predators, not damage them.
It grabbed the bone from Bell’s outstretched fingers and scooted back, tumbling into Caer’s legs like an overgrown kitten.
The party laughed.
Caer bent down to pet it, fingers twirling round its curved ears and tickling under its chin. The lava lion swiped, no doubt thinking he meant to steal its food.
Caer’s hand spasmed. The lava lion went out like a light, as quickly as a flame in water. Its body slumped to the floor, grey and still—
But only for a few seconds.
Then, it started to move, its limbs flexing, back surging—
Bell launched forward and skewered it through the neck, twisting her blade until the head popped off.
Finally, all fell still, like sound had been leached from the world.
Caer got up and marched off.
Every eye in the space turned to the floor. Diana removed the corpse. Luna started offering people freshments.
Aislinn’s eyes could still make out Caer standing out there in the dark, his back turned towards the fire.
She followed him, not slowing until she reached his side, until they stood perfectly still beside one another, staring out into the dark cavern below.
“I didn’t mean to hurt it.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
“It just slipped out—”
“I know.”
“With the manticore I was able to control it. It didn’t even come back. I’ve been practising with Dillon and Istill can’t keep it in.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It’s too big for me,” he said. “I just… I can feel it. Like it wants to spring out, all the time. It’s a monster in my chest. I’m never going to be able to control it. I’ll have to stay in Avalinth forever.”
Aislinn’s throat trembled. “You can’t. You can’t stay there. Not forever.”
“No? And why not? I love the dwarves. They’ve been a second family to me. Avalinth is safe and exciting. I can find a master blacksmith to teach me the trade. There’s no reason I can’t be perfectly happy here.”
Aislinn swallowed. “You love other things, too.”
“Like what?”
“Like… like the sky,” she whispered, “like horses, and the smell of fresh grass and flowers… like real stars and fresh air and the sun, Caer. You deserve more than earth and stone.” She paused, gathering her thoughts, unable to accept that Caer would never be able to go outside again. “I’ve seen you out there, Caer. I’ve seen the way you are outside, the way you breathe more easily in the woods, the way your shoulders relax in the sun… You deserve to sleep each night beneath a sky of stars, and all the jewelled ceilings in the world are less than you are worth. This… this desire to stay here forever… you’re trying to punish yourself. I know why. I understand why. But I wish I could make you see yourself as I do. I wish I could make you believe that you don’t deserve this.”
Caer swallowed. He turned towards Aislinn, bringing his face so close to hers that she could count every fleck of light in those starry eyes of his. “How am I supposed to avoid kissing you after you say something like that?”
His breath brushed against her cheek, and she angled her lips towards his—only to kiss cold air a second later.
“But I must, Ais, I must.”
Thenextday,withCaer still quiet and Aislinn wishing there was something she could do, they descended down onto the final level.
The place where their map ran out. No dwarf had ventured below this. There were no more stairs, no whispers of mines or carts or technology of any kind. No settlements, no outposts.
