Page 137 of Reign of Light
Maybe we will be worthy after all.
Water glistens on the slick stone bridge, and Weston slows us to a walk so we can cross it without risking a fall. I take in the sight of the new twin waterfalls cascading on either side of us as we slowly cross the new pathway to the platform. Our boots barely meet the ground before a loud crack echoes around us, and a gap appears between the two stone doors as they swing inside, signaling torches to light down the tunnel.
“I can’t believe it. It was supposed to be easy,” I breathe. My chest still heaves from the run, and now from the anticipation of the chambers that await. I flex my fingers as the tips begin to tingle, curling them into fists to fight the eruption of emotions. Weston reaches over, taking my hands in his and turns me to face him.
“Lennox.”
I drag my focus away from the entrance and bring it back to him. He brushes a strand of hair off my face, and his fingers wrap around my head, but he says nothing, only looks at me with longing and hesitancy. It’s a look I am familiar with. It’s the same way he looked at me before the night he saved me and got down on a knee to swear his oath.
“What’s wrong, Weston? You’re acting strange.” My eyes search his, but his only grow more intense. His other hand finds my face and tilts my neck gently as he takes a step to close the gap between us.
“Nothing is wrong,” he grumbles, but something deep in my stomach tells me I can’t believe him. “Just remember, nothing could ever happen that will change how much I love you. Not here, not in Blackwood. Without you, I had no purpose, and you will be what I live and breathe for. My life isn’t worth anything without you in it.”
“Weston, you’re scaring me,” I mutter just before he crushes me in a kiss, leaving me breathless before pulling away and grabbing my hand. My mind spins with his words and the look on his face, but he doesn’t give me a chance to do anything about it. Before I have time to think, or even try to decipher what he could be talking about in this moment we’ve both spent years waiting for, he takes the first step into the mountain, and the stone doors slam shut behind us.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Every thought I had a moment ago disappears as we are plunged into darkness and my focus shifts to the torches before us. The magic humming in the mountain feels different from the last time I walked through that stone door, and this time, I’m not alone. I know what lies ahead, what will be asked of me and what the magic will decide. The chamber, the carving, being judged on my worth, but even though I know what lies ahead, it doesn’t quell my nerves.
A prickle of uncertainty tickles the back of my neck as we stand side by side and look down the never-ending tunnel. I don’t want to go through this just to be told I am unworthy again. The blow would be devastating, especially now that I am the queen and am already starting off my reign enveloped by darkness instead of light.
But would the island have let us back if there was a chance that we weren’t worthy?
There’s only one way to know.
My fingers ache as I grip Weston’s hand as tightly as I can when he takes the first step forward. I follow his cue, and we walk, hand in hand, into the darkness with the flare of torches lighting before us down the endlessly winding path. I haven’t even considered how long this portion of our return would take. Every time before, it had taken the entire day to get through the mountain. Now that there is nothing to protect against, no Castaways to get into position on the collection beach, would it be the same?
Neither of us speaks. The only sound beside the flickering of flame is the rhythmic thud of our boots against the ground. Tension emanates from Weston’s body the farther we go. I can feel it in his stilted gait, and the way he clutches my hand.
He shouldn’t be this worried, this uncomfortable, this…nervous. We finally made it. Years of sacrifice on his part and loneliness on mine brought us to this second chance, to get the healing waters and save my mother.
The final torches light ahead, and the darkness beyond tells me we’ve reached the chamber, the step through the portal one of the ultimate tests to show we trust Dawnlin and accept whatever it has in store for us.
But this time, it isn’t Weston leading me forward. It’s me pulling him.
I step into the darkness, tugging him behind me, and the circular room illuminates around us. The names carved into the walls look the same as before, even though I know there are new names scattered around, from Taril and every Voyager who couldn’t leave without trying.
As I look around the room, the sinking feeling I left with comes back to me in full force, and the fear of being unworthy again is stifling. Underneath it all, there’s something I didn’t think I could have again if I ever came back here. A glimmer of hope.
We step into the middle of the room, silently standing side by side. Dawnlin knows we are here, but it is different from last time. The fountain didn’t need our tears to bring us back, so the mountain mightnot be the same either. I don’t know if I should speak or go straight to the basin, so I opt to do nothing, waiting for the island to see that I’m laying all my trust and guidance on it.
The boom of the voice makes my body jolt, even though I knew it would come,hopedit would come. I hold my breath, straining to keep myself under control as I listen to the words, and lay my fate in Dawnlin’s hands.
To the heart of Dawnlin you return
The healing waters you hope to earn.
Deemed unworthy once before,
Unable to heal whom you adore.
Carved already the name in stone,
The magic tied to them alone.
To the basin you may advance,
Full of hope for another chance.
