Page 58 of Stealing the Star Stone
Excitement tempted her to carry on, to not return to Thorne until she had more to share.After all, this could be nothing, even though the precise corners said otherwise.They’d been chiseled into shape.A quick stroke around their sides revealed no lettering.
Reluctantly, she trudged back along the path, crushing flowers in pinks and blacks beneath her boots.The potent fragrances intensified, so sharp her nostrils burned and a headache pinged at her temple.Stepping onto the shore gave her a moment to breathe.
Thorne lay on his back, the half-eaten bar clutched to his chest.
The ass was napping.
She growled and stomped to him, ready to shake him awake.When she approached, he stirred, angling his head to meet her gaze.His hand flopped down, exposing a thousand pinpricks in his arm, each one tainted blue-purple.
She gasped, hurried to reach him, then sank onto her knees.“Why didn’t you tell me?”She took his bottle and poured water over his wounds.
“Didn’t think to pack a med-kit.Didn’t see one,” he slurred, offering her a wobbly smile.“Nothing we can do, honey pot.”
“But find a way out.I stumbled on a piece of a wall.Could be ruins.I don’t know.”She shrugged off the rifle and set it near at hand.“Use this if anyone but me comes near you.”Maybe those vines had venom?She couldn’t be sure.And bandaging them was impossible with them being all over his arm.She had to try though.Shrugging off her coat, then her T-shirt, she sliced the latter into a long spiral, like peeling an apple skin in one go.
Thorne blinked at her, a silly smile in place.“I like you, Nova Blake.”
“Oh, Lord,” she muttered as she wrapped his arm.“You’re delirious.”
He pouted.“You don’t like me back?”
“I do,” she said, tying a tiny bow at the end, just under his armpit.“I’ve left the rifle.Your water’s here, and finish your protein bar.I’m going to see if there’s a way out of this place.”She shrugged on the coat, better to have a layer of protection, then dug in the bag for the leather-bound book.
“I’ll stay here then,” he mumbled, shutting his eyes on a dreamy sigh.
This wasn’t good.She could carry him, but with nowhere to go, that was pointless.No, there had to be an arrow somewhere.“I’ll be right back.”
Without thinking, she pressed a kiss to his cheek, then jerked back.Shit.
Stunned, she rested on her haunches, fingers pressed to her tingling lips.Why did I do that?Argh, it had been instinctual.His eyes stayed shut.He must not have noticed.
Scrambling to her feet, she hurried along the path, only stopping when the pillar was before her.Whack-whack, breathe.On she went, exposing cobbles beneath her boots, a few more pillars—all bare of writing.Her shoulders rose in hope then slumped in despair when each one offered no guidance.A breeze, cooling her sweaty skin, gave her pause.She turned, staring at the unmoving leaves and branches.Where was the wind coming from?A writhing vine reached for her, but she slapped it back with the flat of the machete’s blade.That’s when the corner of her eye caught a flutter.
Obscured by deep blue flowers, the top third of an archway sat at the base of the cavern’s wall where it met the ground.She’d have to wiggle through to reach what lay beyond.For now, it was all darkness, and not the liquid kind from before.She squealed when she brushed aside a few elongated petals and found letters.
Her fingers trembled as she withdrew the book and paged to the alphabet.It didn’t take her long to decipher its meaning.
“To find oneself is to face the shadows.Yes!”Back she sprinted, uncaring if she disturbed the pixie dust or if a vine tried to bite her.“Thorne, I f—”
She skidded to halt on the shore.He floated on his back in the pool, eels squirming over him.Throwing aside the machete and the coat, she waded in, registering the water as refreshing and thicker than normal, almost viscous.The eels and their entourages scattered, one slithering from under his T-shirt just when she reached him.
“Eli,” she gasped, gripping his shoulders.“Are you okay?”
His eyes were closed, but his chest moved…barely.
“Eli?”A chill shot down her spine.The bites… They were gone, now silver circles of tiny scars.“What the—”
His eyes opened.
Relief exploded in her, bathing her insides with joy.She hugged him, crushing him to her chest.“You scared me,” she snapped.
“Sorry,” he whispered.“I was hot, and the water looked so inviting.”He tightened his arms around her, keeping her near.“I feel better too.For a moment there, my mind wasn’t—mine.”He leaned back, sloshing the water, and cupped her cheek.“Find something?”
“I did.”She beamed, caught his hand, and led him to his side of the pool.“Grab your gear.”
He hefted the bag over a shoulder and offered her the rifle.“You called me Eli.”
She scoffed but glanced away.“Thought you’d drowned.”
