Page 8 of Pippa of Lauramore
I hop off Willowisp and tie her to a tree, making sure to give her a spot with plenty of soft, tall grass.
Galinor dismounts as well, but at a much slower pace, eyeing the opening in the rock face. “This is your cave?”
He doesn’t seem impressed.
I take his hand and drag him to the mouth, careful to step around the jagged rocks at the entrance. Just inside is a flat, open cavern. I pause here, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dim light.
“I can’t see a thing,” he says, trailing behind me.
“I know where I’m going.”
Keeping his hand in mine, I move forward. Our pace is slow until I see a faint white glow up ahead.
“Maid-of-the-shadows,” I say when we reach the lights.
Tiny, delicate bell-shaped flowers grow in clusters along the floor and in cracks in the walls. Their white light does little to illuminate the tunnel, but they themselves are bright.
“They’re amazing.” Galinor reaches down to touch one.
I stop his hand before it grazes the white bloom. “Don’t touch it. They are hallucinogenic. The poison can seep in through your skin.”
“Don’t you usually have to eat a poison for it to affect your mind like that?”
“Not this one. Don’t sniff them either. Their pollen is more concentrated than the powder on the bells. People have died from breathing in maid-of-the-shadows.”
“How are they pollinated deep in this cave?”
“Cave beetles.” I point out the tiny black insect. “Oh, look. There’s one.”
We linger for a moment longer.
“They are stunning,” he says. “Are you ready to go back now?”
He’s clearly anxious to return.
“This isn’t what I came to show you. Come on.” I move farther down the path.
We take several turns. Despite Galinor’s increasing insistence we are going to get ourselves hopelessly lost, the cave opens into a final, gigantic cavern.
His sharp intake of breath tells me this trip was worththe trouble. Thousands of shimmering stars not only wink from the large opening in the cavern ceiling, but they also reflect from the rock floor, where a vast, shallow pool of rainwater has collected.
I pull him to the edge of the pool and hop across rocks of various sizes sticking out of the water. In the very middle is a bigger rock, just the right size for two people to sit on comfortably.
“What do you think of my cave?” I’m feeling more than a little smug right now.
“I have no words for this,” he says, still in awe.
I study him while he watches the stars in the water. He balances on the rock with ease. His arms are built like he favors a sword, and his easy grace tells me he excels at it. He’ll do well in the combat events, but how will he do in the scavenger hunt? How will he do against a dragon?
He looks over and catches me staring at him.
“Did you come to the tournament to win, or did you come for the sake of the competition?” I ask.
“At first, I came simply to compete. Win a title, if possible.” His eyes search mine. “But now I would very much like to win.”
I have found my knight—I have found my victor.
“I choose you,” I say, my tone solemn.
