Page 15 of Fractured Souls
Freda offered me an arched brow. “I heard they only let people in twice a year.”
Shit.
“We know a guy.”
Adriel chuckled, making it hard to not look over at him. My lips pressed up because I had totally meant to just give her a casual answer, but I suppose ‘we know a guy’ was an understatement since he was literally freakin’ king.
I totally wasn’t used to that concept. I had just gotten used to the idea of Desmond being a king and Draven having been a king…and now Adriel?! Until now, his title had been just that—a title—but I had a feeling I was about to learn exactly what it really meant.
I could only hope the experience would go as well as it had in Desmond’s kingdom. Somehow I had a feeling it would be a bit different though.
“We’re nearing the cave; maybe five more minutes. You should arrive right at full sunrise,” Freda said. “Remember, time slows in the Elven realm, so when you get back it may be the same day here.”
I let out a small breath of relief. I could deal with aslowertime frame, I just couldn’t deal with another few weeks lost. Not when so damn much was happening. But… “Cave?”
“Ice cave,” Freda confirmed. I offered Adriel an arched brow. He nodded in understanding, and I knew he would explain further once we were alone.
A few minutes later, my gaze narrowed on the upcoming mouth of a cave. It was actually kind of beautiful, icicles hanging from the top like…teeth. Yeah, never mind, it wasn’t beautiful. It was creepy.
“Keeps the humans away,” Freda said, reading the thoughts written clearly on my face.
“Right…” I drew out.
“Alright, this is where I leave you. Just go right into the cave and you’ll find the portal,” she said happily, beginning to unstrap the luggage Pixie was carrying.
The guys grabbed the bags, waving me off when I tried to help, much to my frustration. I moved closer to the cave as I waited, unable to help myself. Maybe I was right the first time—it definitely was kinda creepy, but maybe there was something beautiful about it too. Inside, the entirety was covered in ice.
“Looks dangerous,” I said to Adriel.
“It’s supposed to be.” His hand ran over my waist, stepping up behind me. “There was a time when the Elven realm was a sought out location, and not for good reasons. A time when it was less dangerous than it is now and a harbor for everything you couldn’t normally do.”
“A vacation place?” I mused.
“A realm where you can do whatever you want without losing much time here? Yeah, a vacation place is one word for it. It was one factor that led to the true darkness this place is infected by now.”
“So why the creepy dangerous cave?”
“To keep people out, like Freda said. It was a poor attempt when it came to the supernatural population, but it worked pretty well for the human one.”
I nodded, and when the others said goodbyes to Freda, I turned around and offered her a wave. Her eyes filled with warmth as she left us, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many people she had led on this exact path. I bet the woman was a wealth of knowledge.
“Alright, let’s do this.” I clapped my hands and continued towards the cave.
“You’re not going first,” Dean rumbled. My lips pressed up, and I took another step towards the cave. “Lorcan,” he warned.
Trying to lighten the mood, I took another step—
“I got it!” Cash appeared next to me and walked ahead, followed by Rhett. Cursing, I tried to get past them but Draven caught me against him, smiling and shaking his head.
“I want to go first,” I complained, though I didn’t really care. “I suppose I’ll stay in your arms instead.”
“Where you belong.” He nipped my ear, and my shiver had nothing to do with the cold.
“Come on,” Adriel called. He and Zander had passed us and were now waiting at the cave entrance for us, the others making their way into the space.
Quickening our steps, I kept my hand intertwined with Draven’s, loving the warm, rough feel of it. The guys’ familiar voices filled the space as I stared up at the icy ceiling in awe, absolutely loving the way it refracted the light from the sunrise behind us. It made the entire cave appear like it was glittering, and despite walking fairly deep into the space, it felt far more open and welcoming in here than I would have thought.
I totally understood why they had wanted the cave to look creepy on the outside, because once you were inside it was really nice—
