Page 80 of Tangled Power
Luc took them down a winding set of paths, all sloping slightly deeper into the underwater mountain. Finally, they opened into a vast cavern. Rose could only describe this as the heart of the mountain. This was the room she had seen in flashes of Arie’s memories. Three vials, a test, an explosion. It had all happened here. Rock formations grew from both the cavern floor and ceiling. Instead of a set of tables in the center from Arie’s memories, the far wall from their entrance held multiple pathways leading to other tunnel-like corridors.
How much power was needed to reshape this area into something livable? That part of Arie’s memory had been shrouded in fire—not his flame, but a volcanic explosion. It must have been Aterra’s earth element that cleared this cavern out and made it usable after.
Instead of a cool, damp cave, steam broke through cracks in the floor as they walked toward the tunnels. The magma must not be buried all that deep, its heat seeping into the open room. What was the likelihood of this volcano exploding again? Did they have to worry about natural disasters down here as well as godly ones?
The only thing to do was to keep moving. Rose marveled at Luc’s sure steps through this maze. How had he known which one to take the first time? Now, his journey seemed relatively quick, given all the wrong turns he could have taken.
Her spine straightened as it occurred to her that she hadn’t clarified one point of his story. He had returnedtooquickly. There was no way he had found the right path on his own.
Luc seemed to note the shift in her step. “He’s not as much a prisoner down here as you think,” he said.
She paused to make eye contact with Arie, still an unfamiliar action. He blinked, his head tilting, mirroring the familiar gestures of his bird form. She was not going to like what they found at the end of this pathway.
The smaller cavethey walked into could be a family room. At least it was decorated with some living furniture—something that looked like a chair, a few stone tables, and personal items strewn about.
“What is this?” Juliette asked, looking around.
She was right to ask. The room didn’t look plushly appointed enough to belong to a god. However, it was no prisoner’s room.
Before Luc could clarify, a door across the room opened, and Aiden stepped through. Not much of a prisoner, indeed.
“The Compass Points have arrived,” Aiden said mockingly.
The glare Rose shot at Luc could freeze the depths of Lake of the Gods. “Luc?” she asked, a question clear in her tone.
He stepped towards her, his hands raised in surrender. “I know you’re still not sure what to believe about his actions. I didn’t want you to overthink it on the way down here.” Luc turned to look at Aiden. His gaze slowly returned to Rose.
“We can end this now,” Luc said. “I can take care of him, for everything he did to you—your family. Just say the word.”
“You idiot,” Arie said to Luc, realizing what he intended. He rubbed his temples and looked at Rose.
It took Rose another moment. Aiden wasn’t a prisoner. Luc was offering to kill him. It was sweet in a weird way. The weight of Aurora’s dagger was heavy in her boot. She’d missed her chance last time. She had hesitated when the moment was critical, and then Aiden and Aterra had escaped.
If she suspected correctly, though, Aiden had helped Luc through the cavern tunnels—that was the only way Luc would have made it back to the shore so quickly. When Aterra wasn’t controlling Aiden, he didn’t appear to be trying to destroy the continent.
“What’s he talking about, Luc?” Aiden asked. “Aren’t you going to free Aurora?” He looked concerned as his gaze moved across each Compass Point, finally landing on Arie. “Who are you?” he asked, his imperious tone returned.
She searched Aiden’s face as he spoke, looking for the friend she grew up with. How much of this was his fault? The only way to know for sure was to ask.
“What are you doing, Aiden?” she asked, her brow pinching as she tried to stare into his being—to understand his choices. How would she know if he was as corrupted as Aterra? Or if he was a prisoner of his own childhood decisions?
He looked away. “Luc burst in and said you were here to free Aurora. If that’s what you’re here to do, move quickly. Aterra could arrive at any moment.” His eyes finally met hers. “If you’re here to kill me, let’s get on with it.” He lifted his hand in a half-hearted come-and-get-it gesture, as if he couldn’t muster the energy for villainous banter before a fight.
Rose cocked her head to the side, her gaze still searching. Her heart conflicted. She stepped forward. No one said a word as she moved close enough to strike. Aiden’s blue eyes didn’t leave hers. He didn’t prepare to defend himself, to fight. Killing him wasn’t justice. No matter what he had done to her. “You chosethis, didn’t you?” she asked. It was the question she’d wondered about since returning to Compass Lake.
His shoulders stiffened, and his lip curled in a sneer. “Of course I did, Rose.”
But she knew him. As much as she wished she didn’t sometimes, she knew this look—that curl of his lip. He used the same one when he pretended his father’s words didn’t wound, when Rose’s parents asked if he needed to be home for dinner and he said no one would notice his absence.
“I saw the gray eyes the first time I met you,” she said.
He blinked. His face softened.
“How long before that?”
“A few years,” he said with a shrug.
“Before you had any friends,” Rose said, finally knowing the truth.
