Northeast of Tigaera—the capital of Elysia and home to the Kiri and her Circle—Caederan was all that separated the rest of the Chosen from the closed realm of Talyria, the land that belonged to the massive winged felines known as Talyrians.
For centuries, none that ventured into the mountainous territory returned. It was rumored the Talyrian queen destroyed all interlopers. While the exact method of her execution—teeth or fire—had long been under debate, all agreed it was done to protect the land . . . and their secret. The Talyrians had been thought extinct.
Until one returned.
“All here?” a voice boomed as the top of a dark head appeared out of a nearby cave.
“Khouman,” Ronan greeted, extending his hand.
The top of Khouman’s head barely reached the bottom of Effie’s rib cage as he strode past her to shake Ronan’s hand. For such a small man, he had a powerful voice and build. A barrel-like chest and heavily muscled arms were covered in visible scars that he wore with pride. His long, braided beard hung half-way to his chest and had a few tinkling bells woven into its length. He wore the deep orange and reds of his people, colors that were selected to mimic the fiery sunsets unique to their realm.
“Welcome to Caederan,” he intoned, dark eyes sweeping over them as if searching for someone.
“Helena is away at the moment. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me in her stead,” Ronan said, answering the unspoken question.
“Then you will have to do,” Khouman replied with something that resembled a smile. It was a little too close to a grimace for the joke to land true. “Since this is not a friendly visit, would you mind if we skipped the formalities and I take you to the site directly? Our people are terrified and would appreciate some answers.”
“Not at all,” Lucian said, speaking for the first time.
The little man eyed him skeptically before giving him his back and staring expectantly at Ronan.
Kieran didn’t bother to disguise his snicker.
For her part, Effie had to bite down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. No one showed Lucian outright disrespect. Ever.
Well, except for her.
She could feel Lucian go still beside her, his pride demanding he address the insult. They weren’t going to get any answers if Lucian accidentally murdered their guide, so she shifted her weight. The move allowing the side of her body to brush against his.
Answering tingles raced along the rest of her as he shifted his focus to her. A silent question burned in his eyes.
Effie gave him a small smile and whispered, “You said you liked it.”
There was a sharp intake of breath and the bronze flecks in Lucian’s eyes blazed as he stared at her for an endless moment. Effie watched as Lucian forced himself to relax. His fists uncurled and tension around his mouth softened. The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched as he released the breath he’d been holding.
Finally, the expression in his eyes shifted, the bronze fading.
Feeling like she’d just tamed a wild animal, Effie couldn’t stop the smile from stretching across her face. Realizing the others had already started walking away while they’d been distracted, she started moving.
Lucian’s voice stopped her dead.
“When it’s you.”
She twisted, looking back at him over her shoulder, not sure she’d heard him correctly.
“Only you.”
Those words from his lips, in context or not, were beyond potent. Especially when he was looking at her with that banked heat in his eyes.
An answering heat gathered between her legs. A disinterested Lucian had been distracting enough, but one that said things like that while looking like he was about to devour her?
Mother’s tits, I’m in trouble.
“You coming?” Kael called, breaking the moment.
“Yeah,” Lucian answered, his eyes never moving from her. With a nod, he gestured for her to walk ahead of him.
Remembering what he’d said the other day, Effie added a little more roll to her hips than usual as she walked away.
Lucian let out a strangled groan.
Effie chuckled the entire way down the path. At least she wasn’t the only one suffering.
Khouman led them to a different cave about a thirty-minute walk from where they’d arrived.
The view below was spectacular, the land coming to life as the sun rose higher in the sky, and the path they walked was wide enough for five of them to walk shoulder to shoulder if they wished.
Carved into the mountains were several caves. From what she remembered of the handful of history lessons she’d been allowed to attend, the Caederans had discovered a way to access the water trapped within their mountain. She’d yet to see anything that hinted at how.
“Where’s the town?” Effie asked.
Khouman spared her a glance but did not slow. “Most of these caves are connected by a series of tunnels. Follow any tunnel long enough it will spit you out in the heart of the mountain.”
Frowning, Effie tried to make sense of the answer.
“Their town was built inside the mountain itself,” Kael explained in a soft voice.
Understanding dawned and Effie’s curiosity bloomed. What a sight that must be; an entire city hidden within the heart of a mountain.
Just ahead of her, Khouman came to a stop. Shoulders stiff, he waved a hand at the cave entrance beside him. “No use trying to explain it,” he muttered. “You’ll see for yourselves soon enough.”
Lucian took the lead, stepping into the dim cavern closely followed by Ronan and Kael. Effie and Reyna followed with Kieran bringing up the rear.
With each step, the now familiar buzz built beneath Effie’s skin. Her gift was warning her.
Torches blazed along the dark walls leading them deeper into the cave. It was impossible to tell where they were going, the path winding and narrowing at times so that only one of them could pass through.
Effie shivered as her fingertips skimmed the damp surface. It was entirely too similar to her recent visions of a cave of blood filled with floating corpses. Swallowing back a wave of nausea, she prayed that’s not what was waiting for them below.
The path dipped down, growing darker despite the flickering lights. Effie tried not to let her imagination run wild. Whatever had happened here, it couldn’t be any worse than what they’d found in Sylverlands.
It didn’t take long for the smell of wet earth to be replaced with rot and decay. We must be close now. The thought was proven true when Effie followed Reyna into a large empty expanse. The space was awash in torchlight, but almost more eerie with the shadows flickering along the back wall.
Something about the wall seemed odd, like it was further away than it should have been, given where the reddish-brown floor stopped. Moving closer, Effie noticed that the platform they stood on overlooked another space below.
She knew without even seeing it, that whatever they were here for waited down there.
Lucian stood at the edge of their platform, his hands on his hips and his gaze fixed on something beneath him. Beside him, Ronan reached for his weapon, but his hands were frozen just above it, as if he wasn’t entirely aware of the instinctual response to a perceived threat.
Whatever they were seeing couldn’t be good if it caused two such strong men to react that way.
The buzzing was almost painful in its intensity as Effie moved to Kael’s side. The Guardian’s expression was grim as he studied the area beneath them.