Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

R ose hit the ground hard.

She tried to suck air into her lungs, but each gulp proved useless. Panic rose, and something contracted in her stomach as she tried to force a breath. A cough erupted, finally allowing air to pass. She rested her cheek against the cool, damp ground and waited for the rapid beat of her heart to calm.

Juliette had warned them. The magic in the stairs brought forth their worst fears. But damn. That was…worse than she’d imagined. The scenes were so real, and the fears so fresh in her mind. Rose opened her eyes, trying to focus on something else to flush away the images of failure and loneliness.

Her breathing started to even out as she took in her surroundings. She could only describe her location as a cave. Technically, she wasn’t sure she was underground since she’d fallen through the portal, but it was cooler than it had been at Osten house, and moist air tickled her nose. A flame lit the otherwise dark hall, and the soft smells of chocolate and sandalwood grew stronger by the minute. From what she could see, the walls were jagged rock, reminding her far too much of the large cavern under Mount Bury, where the Compass Points had made their stand against Aterra.

A pair of slippered feet appeared in her line of vision. She pushed up to her arms from her sprawled position on the ground and dared to tilt her head back, glancing at the others. Juliette stood before her.

“Alright, Rose?” Carter’s voice called from somewhere else in the hall.

She shook her head. Why did he sound so chipper? Juliette was used to this. Apparently, she traveled that nightmare regularly. Carter had no such excuse.

“Why am I the only one sprawled on the floor, Carter?” Rose raised her gaze enough to see him shrug as he toed his boot at the packed dirt.

“It did get me at first,” he said quietly. “But I’ve had some practice avoiding things I see.” He shrugged again. “So, I was able to get myself out.”

Rose hadn’t thought about it like that. Carter had been seeing spirits his entire life—when had he realized what they were? She shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet, her eyes meeting Juliette’s green ones. “You came back for me.”

Juliette nodded.

“Thank you. I don’t think I would have moved.” Rose rolled her neck, attempting to stretch her body. It felt like she’d physically caved in on herself as the fears took over in the stairway. “Out of curiosity, what would happen if I hadn’t moved…if I’d stayed there?” She wasn’t sure why she asked. It likely wasn’t an answer she wanted to hear.

Juliette ran her fingers through her hair. “You’d remain exactly where you were. Locked in your mind until someone pulled you out.”

“And you didn’t think it helpful to tell us that before we descended?” Rose asked.

“Would it have stopped you?” Juliette responded, moving her hands to her hips in challenge.

Rose laughed as she dusted herself off. “Well played, Juliette.” Rose appreciated the depth of understanding Juliette’s words implied. Rose had made up her mind, and nothing, not even trauma-inducing staircases, would stop her. This left Juliette to sweep in and save Rose when she got in over her head. Her relationship with Juliette had moved past colleagues with mutual respect. If Juliette’s lip-twitching, dangerously close to tipping into a smile, was anything to go by, Juliette considered Rose a friend as well.

“If you two are finished…” Carter tapped his foot on the ground. The steady beat echoed in the cave tunnel. The soft lines on his face in the dim light told Rose he wasn’t actually put out by their banter.

Rose rolled her eyes at him and looked at Juliette. “Alright, where to next?” The cave glowed in firelight emanating from the Vesten Point’s palm. The warm yellow and orange flames made the dark cave walls appear purple. Long shadows moved with them as they filed into line behind the Osten Point, to journey through the tunnel.

“We’re in a cave network on the eastern shore now. It’s not a long walk to where I commune with Zrak, but it has a few obstacles.”

“Worse than facing our fears as we descend the stairs?” Carter asked. Rose could have sworn she saw him shiver. Secretly, she was glad she wasn’t the only one impacted by the descent.

“Less mentally taxing and slightly more physical,” Juliette said as she led them on. The path split in two, and Juliette selected the one on the right without hesitation.

Rose wondered about each Osten Point learning this path. She assumed the previous leader would teach the next. Did Lela already know the sacrifice the Osten Point made for their people? Though she’d never said as much directly, Rose knew from her evaluation of Juliette’s magic that communing with Zrak was a burden she did not wish to pass on.

Juliette’s voice pulled Rose from her thoughts. “I’ve sent my wind ahead to trigger the traps. They are simple but effective ways to ensure intruders don’t make it to the end.” Juliette waved her hand as she continued. “Spears that shoot from the wall and a trapdoor that plummets to a hole the Suden Point would be proud of.” Juliette smiled softly.

“I’m sure he’ll have notes for you,” Rose said as she thought of dragging Luc back through these tunnels. Even if this trip was only a test, it was the first step to reconnecting to his magic. “Are there any left for us?” she asked as the Osten Point continued to list traps. “Or is this just a walk in the dark now?”

“I resent that,” Carter said.

“My apologies to the Vesten Point. A walk dimly lit by flame.” Rose smirked, and the room around her flared in light, the eerie purple glow of the rock walls even more prominent as Carter showed off his magic.

“Are you two done?” Juliette asked, echoing Carter’s teasing words from the start of their walk. “Your only real challenge will be the ridge,” she said, her voice taking on a more serious tone.

Rose and Carter shared a concerned glance. “What is the ridge?” Rose asked when it was clear Juliette wasn’t offering more information.

“A narrow section of the path that wraps around a large opening within the cave network. Rock continues to fall away from the ridge into the expanse.” She reached her hand out to touch the cave wall. “Each step can be quite dangerous. There is no surviving a fall from it.”

“Is that a problem when we can use our wind to hold tight to the wall?” Rose asked.

“Ah, that’s the trick,” Juliette added. “The real obstacle of the ridge is the wind itself. It has a single-minded focus to drive travelers from the wall, plummeting them into the expanse.”

“Really?” Carter asked. “A wind that works against you? Aren’t these obstacles supposed to keep other fae out—not the Osten?”

“I’m sure we have Zrak to thank for this obstacle, too,” Rose commented dryly.

Juliette nodded. “I have to assume it was his doing. It’s the only way to explain the strength and inconsistency of the winds. He knew how to stress test Osten magic, ensuring only the strongest wind wielders could make it through.”

“Are we sure we want to bring Zrak back?” Carter asked, looking uncomfortable. As the only one without wind on this journey, Rose understood his concern. “He doesn’t seem like he’s necessarily on our side.”

Rose laughed, though it held no real mirth. “I’ve decided to withhold judgment until Arie talks to him. Zrak’s actions seem questionable, but Arie still trusts his motives.” She sighed. “Whereas, we know everything Aterra did was in service of obliterating the balance.”

“If you say so,” Carter said as he took another careful step, coming face to face with one of the spears Juliette’s wind had triggered.

Not much farther ahead, the ridge curved close to the wall, and the expanse unfolded to its left. The perceived safety of the tunnel’s enclosed walls had to be left behind to proceed. As Juliette said, the footpath itself was narrower than the tunnel’s. Pieces of it must have been sliding off into the expanse for as long as it had existed. On their right, the jagged rock wall; on the left…Rose kicked a rock, and it tumbled over the edge into the darkness. She listened for an echo as it plummeted—at first, a few clinks as it must have hit a jagged outcrop below them…then nothing.

This was not Luc’s hole in Loch. It had to have a bottom. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the stone hitting the base of the expanse with a resounding thud.

Carter sent balls of flame out over the space to give them more light to guide their steps. Rose wasn’t sure seeing everything helped. She’d rather not know what she could fall into, and the more significant challenge seemed to be staying close to the rock wall.

She had barely stepped from the tunnel onto the narrow ridge when the wind rushed around her. Rose hurried back before it could push her away from the wall and glanced at Juliette.

The wind was completely unnatural, the way it wrapped around her. It blew from the wall, where no wind should come from, as if it were guiding her to plummet into the depths.

“Really?” Rose glared at Juliette.

“Don’t look at me. I told you the wind wouldn’t help you.” Juliette said.

“How do we make it around the ridge?” Carter asked.

Juliette looked at Rose. “It would be easiest if Rose could merge our magic and use the combined power around all three of us to fight the unnatural wind.” Juliette sighed. “But since we won’t be able to access that connection with Luc gone, we’ll just have to join our winds externally—the same way we used our wind together to speed up the horses on our trip.”

Rose didn’t need another reason to hate Luc not being here, but now she had one. Juliette was right. The two wind wielders could combine their shared element externally, but they couldn’t lean on merging their magic through her without all four Compass Points activating their power.

“I have better balance as a veil cat,” Carter said. For the first time, he said the name of his shifted form without whispering, undoubtedly because they were finally in a place where no one else would hear him. She turned to mock him, but he no longer stood behind her; a large cat prowled forward.

“Carter’s right,” Juliette said. “It should help. Not even magical wind can shake natural feline balance.”

The scent of sage and citrus filled Rose’s nostrils as Juliette’s wind rushed around them. Rose called her magic, too, joining it with Juliette’s. This wasn’t as strong as when she pulled from her internal lake of power, but if Juliette could make it around the ridge herself, then Rose supposed this method should be good enough.

“It will work,” Juliette said as if knowing Rose’s unspoken thoughts.

“If you say so…” Rose said slowly, stepping forward as she and Juliette’s wind twisted together and wrapped around them.

Juliette led, the veil cat in the middle, and Rose brought up the end of the line. She wrapped the wind shield around them tightly, pushing back on any force attempting to knock them off course. The wind spiraled out from the safety of the wall, pushing them toward the depths of the expanse. It was strong as it pressed against the combined magic of both Rose and the Osten Point. Rose took another step as she focused on flexing their shield to push back the onslaught.

Rose placed her foot down, the rock cracking and slipping beneath her. More rocks careened into the expanse. The noise of falling stones was deafening. She almost preferred the whistle of the wind whipping against them. The veil cat growled in front of her at the noise. Rose glared at him—unhelpful since she knew he didn’t see it, but it made her feel better.

“I know. I know. I’m not quite as light on my feet as you are,” she said.

“We’re almost there, Rose,” Juliette said. Her voice was tight. She must be focusing more than Rose expected. “Keep going,” the Osten Point called.

Rose took another step, reaching deep into her magic to support the shield. She focused on Carter—on keeping the veil cat steady—as the ridge’s winds tore at them.

She knew Juliette was right. They wouldn’t be able to connect their winds through the heart of her magic. But as she closed her eyes and reached for more power, she dove into her quiet center anyway. Her body froze in place on the ridge, but she couldn’t help searching for the now-familiar door. Her wind led her around the lake. As expected, no door was present. Her shoulders sagged in disappointment.

Rose felt the moment Juliette cleared the ridge. The Osten Point’s body no longer required the support of their joint shield, but Carter still needed her.

The wind raged against their defense as she started inching around the ridge again. Even Carter’s balance couldn’t stop the rock from slipping beneath him. She wasn’t sure she could hold off the unruly wind. Rose paused and dug deeper to fuel Carter’s last few steps on the exposed path.

The usually still water in her lake shifted violently as she dug for more strength. The rolling waves must have been enough to disrupt the sand of the lakebed. Rose’s gaze caught on something dark and shiny in the movement.

The black stone.

Images from her dream—or not dream—flooded back in. This stone was some connection to Luc. She was sure of it. Zrak’s wind assaulted her shields again, leaving her unable to investigate further.

The veil cat yowled, pulling her focus. A gust of wind swept from above to try to push him off course. Rose’s shield was still in place, but the unnatural angle wasn’t one she or Juliette adequately defended. The black stone in her lake shook like a readying earthquake, but didn’t crack as she pulled more magic to support Carter. Steadied, he stalked the last few steps to safety.

She took another step on the ridge.

Another gust swept down on her, the only remaining target on the treacherous path. Juliette’s sage and citrus rushed around her, but still, Rose’s foot slipped as another piece of the ridge fell away. Unable to catch her balance, she dropped to her hands and knees, her left knee slipping off the side.

“Rose!” Juliette call.

The black stone in the heart of her magic shook again, a deeper rumble, growing in strength. Power flooded her, bolstering the wind she and Juliette wielded.

“I’ve got it,” Rose said shakily. She let the power boost stabilize her. Once again, Rose and Juliette’s combined wind wrapped around her body, covering every angle for the remaining distance to the tunnel. She put weight on her hands as she worked to get both feet back under her. She righted herself and stared down at the remaining steps.

Just a few left.

She took a deep breath and sprinted, not bothering to check where the other Compass Points were in the tunnel she aimed for. Rose barreled into Juliette as she left the ridge and terrifying expanse behind.

“What was that?” Juliette asked as she caught and steadied Rose in the tunnel’s safety.

“What was what?” Rose asked.

Juliette’s brows raised skeptically. “The flood of power? Were you holding back as we crossed?”

“No!” Rose said, shocked Juliette would ask such a thing.

Juliette held up her hands. “I didn’t think so. Your wind felt at full strength as we walked. I just don’t understand where the last burst of power came from.”

Rose shook her head in disbelief. She hadn’t imagined any of it: the smooth black stone in the heart of her magic, shaking as if trying to set something free, and the power flooding into her. “I’m not sure I could put my theory into words,” Rose said. Now, more than ever, she wanted to get beyond the veil.

She wanted to get to Luc.

Juliette gave her a final, lingering glance as if sensing Rose’s renewed focus on her goal and said, “We’re almost there.”