Tainted roots

I stumbled out of the portal, nearly crashing into the rocky wall in front of me. Ari stirred in my arms, and leaned over to hack up black water. Coughs racked her body as I lay her on the rocky ground, away from the portal. Luckily she hadn’t lost her bag when diving into the water, but the same couldn’t be said for her bow.

Koa shot from the portal, his momentum had him crashing into the same wall I’d narrowly avoided. He grabbed the jagged surface, keeping himself upright. His shoulders heaved with his ragged breaths, while strain and exhaustion shook his body. My entire body tensed when I smelled his blood. I hated when he bled.

I grabbed his shoulder, reassuring myself that he was alright. At my touch, his shoulders loosened. The muscles in his arms bunched under his skin, holding up a good deal of his weight. He had to push off the wall to turn to face me.

Scratches ran down his left cheek, and blood dripped from the shallow cuts. The scratches on his chest were much deeper, his shirt was torn in multiple places, and had it been white instead of black, I imagined it would’ve been red. My blood felt like it froze as I stared at his wounds. My wolf clawed at the surface in a panicked frenzy. I vaguely heard Gemini tumble through the portal, gasping as she did so, as well as the far-off screeches of the sirens.

I never took my focus off Koa’s seeping wounds. My shaking hands hovered over the three deep lines. “Here,” Gemini murmured, holding out a small damp towel and a tincture.

Quietly thanking her, I took them from her, waiting until Koa removed his torn-up shirt. The fabric clung to his torso, almost like it didn’t want to leave. The breath stalled in my lungs when I got an unimpeded view of his torn skin.

Keeping my touch gentle, I pressed the white towel to his chest. Even with how light I kept the pressure, his body still jerked and tensed. I didn’t let up, even though I hated seeing the tension coiling in his muscles, and the strain on his face. By the time I cleaned all the blood from his chest, the scrapes on his face had completely healed. Keeping my strokes soft, I wiped off the remaining blood from his face. The towel was completely stained red now, making my stomach turn at the sight.

“I’ll take care of it,” Gemini said softly, holding out her hand for the towel. I was more than happy to be rid of the towel and never see it again. There was something about seeing him bleed and smelling his blood that made me feel sick to my stomach, leaving my legs feeling weak.

Inside the tincture was a minty-scented salve, and was cool to the touch. His muscles tensed under my hands as I smeared a thick layer over the significantly smaller wounds. To my relief, the mint and herbal scents of the salve helped hide the smell of his blood.

He gripped my chin, lifting my head so my eyes clashed with his. “Jade,” he whispered, his fingers splaying across my jaw, warming me through. Now that we were no longer in immediate danger and my brain was no longer muddled by the siren’s song, I was now able to register how close I came to losing him.

My legs threatened to give out, and if Koa’s other hand hadn’t been resting on my hip, I might’ve fallen over. I knew we needed to get a move on, especially after Gemini used her magic, but I was unable to think about that right now. I kept remembering that horrifying moment when Koa leaped into the water, and how close he and Ari were to those sirens.

A sob broke free, my head dropping to his chest, careful to avoid his injury. His arms wrapped around me, his hands gently stroking my back. I wasn’t usually this emotional, but I didn’t feel embarrassed by my reaction. Instead, I allowed this small moment in time to rid myself of that icy fear, and once again reassure myself that he was still here. Still alive.

He kissed the top of my head between whispering soothing words. Being held by him, feeling his strength and warmth, was a soothing balm on my frayed nerves. If someone hadn’t cleared their throat behind me, I could’ve stayed here for hours, but I knew now wasn’t the time.

Pulling away from Koa, I hastily wiped the tears from my face, noticing our surroundings for the first time.

A blanket of fog prevented me from seeing more than twenty feet in front of me, hiding how far it was between the rocky ledge we stood on and the ground below. The air was colder here, which wasn’t great when your clothes were nearly soaked through. The rocky wall behind Koa towered over us, disappearing into the fog. We stood on a surprisingly flat ledge, roughly ten feet long and seven deep. Luckily we landed here and not somewhere else on the mountain.

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but there is no way I’m climbing up this fucking mountain,” I commented, hands on my hips as I stared up at the steep mountain.

“Portaling somewhere you’ve never been isn’t an exact science, I was aiming for a cave, but I must’ve overshot.” Gemini moved to the end of the ledge, peering up and then down the side of the mountain. “Found it.”

Joining her at the ledge, I eventually found the small opening of a cave with a five-foot-wide ledge, about thirty feet down and twenty to our right. “That’s worse.” Climbing up a mountain seemed way easier than climbing down.

“I’m all ears if you have a better plan.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t.” I heaved out a sigh, glancing around at the surrounding fog, knowing we needed to get moving otherwise we risked creatures finding us. Based on the dragon I saw earlier, I didn’t want to meet the creatures that called these mountains home.

Gemini went first, carefully observing the wall, plotting out where to place her hands and feet next. Ari followed almost thirty seconds after, letting Gemini get far enough away. Her skin was less pale than it had been only minutes ago. Even though she appeared to be back to normal, I still held my breath when she first stepped off the ledge. I let out a sigh of relief when her arms and legs held strong, with not even a shake or a hint of exhaustion in her movements.

Koa crowded behind me, his warm breath fanning the back of my neck. He’d changed into another black shirt, this one long-sleeved, the fabric clinging to his muscles and wet skin.

Once Ari was far enough away, he waved his hand at the wall, signaling me to go first. It wasn’t all too surprising, he preferred to keep me within his sights at all times. Ander was the same way, only less intense.

I glanced back at Koa, looking him over with a critical eye. He no longer needed to use the wall to hold himself up, nor did his legs seem weak. As if he could sense my train of thought, he groaned, pushing a wet strand of hair, that had escaped my braid, behind my ear. “Give me a piece of mind, and go first. Please.”

That please stunned me into silence. I’ve only heard him say that word once before. Hearing him say such a vulnerable word had me so stunned, I nodded mutely. A smile lifted the corner of his lips. “Good girl.” I was going to ignore the shot of desire those words stirred in my body. Never before did I think I’d be one of those girls going weak at the knees when a guy said that to her.

If any other guy had said those words to me, I would’ve kicked his ass.

Shaking off my reaction to Koa, I tried following the path Ari had taken down the mountain. The jagged wall cut my hands, smearing blood around the wall as I continued my descent. I had a couple of missteps where my foothold crumbled under my foot, and all of my weight went into my hands. Each time my knees would smack into the wall, resulting in short bursts of pain. I managed to hold on each time until I found a new foothold.

The plus side of the blanket of mist was that I had no idea how high up we were.

The descent down the wall wasn’t as fast as I would’ve liked it, but eventually, I found myself on solid ground. My hands ached and bleed, as well as my knees where my jeans had torn.

The opening of the cave was probably three feet wide and a little above six feet high. Gemini was the first to enter, holding a glowing crystal out in front of her, illuminating her way.

I wasn’t a fan of how close the coarse walls were to arms as I entered the cave behind Ari. The rough ground sloped down at a slight incline downwards, taking us deeper into the mountain until the light from the entrance no longer reached us. We were in complete darkness, other than the light coming from Gemini’s crystal, and even then that wasn’t much. Normally I’d tap into my wolf’s senses, as she was begging me to do, but this wasn’t the kind of place you’d want to attract attention. I couldn’t even lift my arms out to the side without brushing the walls.

It was a really good thing I wasn’t claustrophobic.

* * * * * * * *

As time went on, the slope in the ground increased to the point where I felt like I was walking down a hill. A faint musty and damp earth scent grew stronger the deeper we went.

The path wasn’t straight, it curved sharply at random times and as a consequence, my shoulder ended up scraping the wall and drawing blood in the process. “Motherfucker!” My voice echoed through the tunnel making me cringe.

The deeper we descended the now steep tunnel, the colder the air became. Warmth wafted off of Koa, seeping into my body as he walked close behind me. But even then, a chill still invaded my body. My clothes were nowhere even close to being dry, especially my jeans. It wasn’t like I could stop and change, at least not without smacking the shit out of my arms in the process. I really wasn’t looking forward to the chaffing that was to come.

Why did I keep wearing jeans to this fucking realm?

With how deep we were inside the mountain, it was hard to know how much time had passed. It felt like we had been shuffling down the tunnel for hours. I could’ve checked my wristband, I was pretty confident the creatures couldn’t sense it, but I chose not to just in case.

We were clearly moving through a tunnel, but was it the tunnel? And if it was the right tunnel, how would we find the key? That was assuming it was a key we were looking for. Would it put off energy that we could track to its location? Have neon arrows directing us to its location?

That'd be nice.

The tunnel began having sharp turns more frequently. So much so, that I began lightly trailing my hands along the sharp walls. At one point it almost felt like we were walking in circles. If it weren’t for the sharp downward slope, I might’ve thought we had gotten trapped in a loop. Even without being able to see, I was still able to get slightly dizzy, reminding me of the spiral staircase at Gemini’s shops.

Relief washed over me when the turns became less sharp and the tunnel straightened out.

No matter how much I tried to stop, I couldn’t keep myself from overanalyzing every word the woman said. How there were beings out there with the ability and desperation to possess Mythics. Did they not have bodies of their own? Could they not touch the keys? I had more questions than I did answers and it was frustrating as hell.

My thoughts drifted to Koa, acutely aware of how closely he walked behind me. In all the chaos of the past day, I hadn’t been able to take a moment and let myself absorb everything I learned.

He wanted this, wanted me. His words hadn’t been bullshit or sweet nothings. Every word he spoke, every touch between us was real. I felt it. Words and actions could be faked, but emotions couldn’t. Especially ones you didn’t mean for the other to feel. The agony passing through the bond from him to me when I sobbed against his chest, had been real. I didn’t need Ari to confirm his word’s legitimacy. I felt it deep in my soul.

There was no distancing myself from him emotionally. I was in, I was all in. If he ever tried to leave again in a moronic attempt to keep me safe, there was nowhere he could go, or being in any realm that could stop me from following him. I’d already tried living without him. I wouldn't do it again. Not now that I had experienced what it was to be his and to have him as mine.

I hoped he meant it when he said he wanted me because now he was stuck with me.

Almost like he sensed the direction of my thoughts, Koa’s hands landed on my lips, his thumbs lightly tracing circles on my hips. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to. The weight of his hands on me was a comfort, and his moving thumbs sent tingles down my body, breaking up the monotony of this damn tunnel.

There was a moment I began fearing that this tunnel led to a dead end, and we’d have to retrace our steps. More intrusive thoughts bubbled to the surface. The tunnel collapsing on us. Creatures attacking. The walls suddenly moving in on us.

A firm squeeze on my hips—hard enough to get my attention, but not enough to hurt—pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts and back to the present. I threaded my fingers through his, squeezing back in thanks, taking comfort in him and his touch.

Eventually, the ground began leveling out, and after another bend in the tunnel, light pierced through the endless darkness. Relieved sighs echoed through the tunnel as our steps picked up. The closer we got to the exit, the brighter the light was.

My eyes didn’t appreciate such a bright light after being in complete darkness for so long. I furiously blinked against the blinding light as I stepped out into the fresh air. It was such a relief not to have to breathe in the stagnant air any longer.

We were in a small valley between two mountains. Grass blanketed the ground, wild, untamed, and alive. Fog above us covered the peaks of the mountains, and possibly the dragons flying about.

“That’s one way to climb down a mountain,” Ari murmured, popping her neck.

I was about to ask what we were supposed to do next when I felt the telltal sign of a portal nearby. Gemini looked puzzled by its presence, having not experienced them in this realm.

“There are portals in each region, connecting them,” I said, answering her unspoken question.

“Is there a way to control where you go?” She asked as we wandered down the valley.

“Not from what we’ve experienced.”

Situated in front of a towering evergreen in the middle of the valley, was the swirling translucent portal. We gathered around it, wondering if we should take the gamble. I knew we wouldn’t end up in the lava region or the wastelands, but I wasn’t sure if that was all too reassuring. The other regions had the potential of being just as awful. One thing I did know, was that we weren’t going to find what we were looking for standing around. Whether we wanted to or not, we needed to take the leap.

“Who wants to go first?”