Chapter 20: Dead?
"Anna?" Azalea called out, floating just outside the mouth of the cave. She’d been in there a long time. Too long. Even the flight spell tethering was beginning to waver.
"Hey," he called again, but there was no response.
His brow furrowed.
They’d found it—the original cave. He could feel it.
Without hesitation, he willed himself forward, gliding into the frozen maw of the cave. He maneuvered past massive stalactites, sharp and glassy, suspended like icicles of death from the ceiling. The air inside was deathly cold.
He closed his eyes.
Fire.
The tattoo on his hand pulsed. A thin warmth began to spread through him, not blazing, but just enough to fight off the cold—minimal ether usage, efficient and steady.
A smile crept onto his lips. "Now this is convenient."
He drifted deeper in—then stopped.
There it was.