Page 50 of The Song of Sunrise
Miki rubs his nose to the tapestry depicting a firelit cave on the side of a mountain. The tapestry ripples under the movement, which seems odd for something hanging on a flat stone surface.
“What the...”
I slowly reach the edge of the woven material and pull it aside.
Miki meows happily and trots down the secret passageway I just revealed.
“Of course, I’m assuming you want me to follow?”
He just looks back at me then flicks his tail and keeps walking.
I set down the book and pat my leather pouch of throwing stars. All accounted for. “This is definitely the part in the Telling when the protagonist goes down the creepy deserted corridor, isn’t it?” I mutter to myself before ducking under the tapestry.
The cool metal of the star in my hand keeps me calm as I walk through the narrow stone passageway after Miki. The stones are stacked like bricks, with a small ledge like a handrail.
“Sunfyre!” I cup my hands with a heatless flame as I continue to slope downward. The ground beneath me turns from small stones to solid rock. The walls transform as well, from structured stone to a more organic shape, like they were molded from where the stone would naturally crumble.
After a few turns, the passageway opens, and my mouth falls agape. The ceiling is full of glowing worms and bioluminescent vines, giving the impression of a starry sky. Faint bubbling and dripping sounds echo throughout a large cave.
“This is incredible,” I say to Miki as he happily trots into the cave, practically purring with glee. I follow, only stopping briefly to touch the enormous rock formations jutting out from floor to ceiling.
I gasp as we turn a slight corner. Bright aqua springs bubble and steam, wrapping around boulders and columns of rock, creating a littering of different steaming,glowing, pools of water.
I reach down and dip my fingers in the glowing spring. A moan escapes my lips almost immediately. The water is deliciously warm.
A low grunt and large splash come from the other side of the cave.
I draw in a sharp intake of breath and duck behind a rock column.
Shit! There is someone else here!
By the sound of the grunt, a man. My heart pounds out of my chest and into my throat.
Breathe, Akemi.
I shut my eyes and focus on my breath. The rough stone presses into the back of my head as I try to concentrate. It’s miraculous that I got this far without alerting the man.
I peek back around the corner of the rock.
And I’m transfixed.
At the other end of the cave, a man is leaning on the edge of one of the springs, luckily facing the other direction. His arms are huge and corded with muscle, curving over the ledge of the spring. Shoulder length white hair is pulled back messily. The glimmering movement of the water makes the shadow dance across his tattooed back, accentuating more muscles that I didn’t know existed.
He begins rubbing his neck and shoulder, hissing and grunting as if he is in pain. Black liquid drips from the gash on his shoulder into the spring.
Blackblood.
I gasp at the realization. This isn’t a man. This is anUnderling.
Hatred flickers deep inside my chest.
His head tilts to the side, showing a little of his angled jaw, full lips, and dark eyebrows. His ears are pierced multiple times with silver metal, and dark, inky tattoos scrawl up from his forearms, shoulder, and back.
He is devastating.
Evil and lethal in all ways. His body is rippled with muscle, built for killing, brutality.
And yet, I cannot seem to look away from his face, still turned ever so slightly to the side. It looks like he is thinking or listening—
