Chapter 12
Callum
“Go home, Flora!”
I’m so deep inside the cave that I no longer find these tunnels familiar.
“No! You can’t be alone right now!”
Stubborn girl.
I use my phone as a torch. Behind me, the lantern clatters, and soon, the warm glow snakes across the cave floor, casting my shadow on the walls around me.
“It’s not safe for you here.”
“Where are you going?”
She knows perfectly well where I’m going. “To find Bird Eye Black’s treasure!”
I wait for the scoff or a noise of derision, but it doesn’t come. I continue on, deeper and deeper into the mountain. What can I do to make her leave?
“There are snakes!”
She’s closing in on me now. “You said there were no snakes in here!”
“I lied!”
“You would never lie to me, Callum.”
Flora catches up to me. A rock sits against the wall, which looks like it’s not supposed to be there. I press my full weight against it, but it doesn’t budge.
Flora’s hand goes to my shoulder. “Let’s go back and get you something to eat.”
“I’m fine.”
“Callum, look at me! You’re not fine. You need to rest and to grieve and let Sigurd and I help you with the funeral arrangements. You’ve had a shock.”
She reaches up to cup my face, but I dodge away. “You don’t need to take care of me. You’re the princess. I take care of you. That’s why I’m here. Once I find the treasure, I’ll be able to take care of you whether or not your family cuts you off for being in love with a commoner.”
Flora closes in, reaching her arms around my neck.
“None of this is necessary,” she says.
She has me in her grip, and there’s nothing I can do to escape.
“It is necessary, princess.”
Her body pushes into me, and I press against the immovable rock behind me.
“Hush. You want me to be your girl, don’t you? Then you have to let me be there for you, even when you’re not at your best. You must let this treasure thing go, or it’ll drive you insane.”
I relax into her embrace, letting my frustration turn into something else.
Her breath is warm on my neck, and I cinch her close. We fit so tightly and perfectly.
“Flora,” I say, pressing my lips to hers. “Thank you.”
We kiss like that for a moment, passion building between us.
I hadn’t come here with any intention, but the desire builds the more we kiss. Our shared friction through our clothes drives us toward a deeper connection.
The rock behind me moves with a great groan, sending us both tumbling to the floor.
“One thing I find helpful in life is to not go into underground rooms without knowing what or who is inside there,” Flora announces.
That’s generally good life advice, but we’re already inside this newly discovered nook in the cave wall.
“It could be here,” I say.
“Callum,” she says, raising the lantern light. “I think you should—oh my gods!”
I’m too busy staring at her face to realize what she’s seeing.
“Flora?”
Her voice trembles through a half-whisper, her eyes wide as if looking at a ghost. Or an army of ghosts. “Oh my gods, Callum, why did you bring me here?”
Flora hyperventilates, as she stares wide-eyed at the wall behind me.
Grabbing the lantern from her, I turn, at first seeing nothing. When I hold the light up, I see it. Rows upon rows upon rows of human skulls and bones make up the walls of this room.
“It’s the catacombs,” I whisper. “I’ve heard about the governors burying people under the monastery during plagues, famine, pestilence…but the official historians said it wasn’t true.”
“C-catacombs? We don’t have those here,” Flora says in defiance of the clear evidence laid out before her. Her body shakes as she asks, “Who are these people?”
“I don’t know,” I tell her.
“Can we go now? Please?”
“We’re close to the treasure, Flora. I can feel it.”
“We need to alert the authorities. This isn’t supposed to be here. People shouldn’t be buried like trash in an unmarked grave.”
She’s right, but I can’t help but get the sense of some strange order in this place. All the bones and skulls are lined up one next to the other, all arranged the same way.
I want to see more, explore more, and see where these winding paths of human remains lead, but Flora’s having a panic attack.
Her eyes are squeezed tight, and she can barely breathe.
There’s no question of what I should do. I pick her up and carry her, and we make our way slowly out of the cave.
“Promise me you’ll never make me go back there. Don’t ever go back there, Callum. It’s not a good place,” she whimpers.
“Yes, princess. I won’t come back,” I tell her, fully planning to return at the right time.