Chapter 9

Kailen hurried down the passage heading away from Petrona and I followed. I don’t know which direction that was exactly, there was no way to tell down there. Before we left Drake, Kailen had consulted some of the older villagers who had explored parts of the underground world over the years, so I trusted him to lead. The villagers told him that there were several more caverns along our route and that eventually we would have to cross a large underground river. No one had really explored any farther than there, so once we crossed it, we were on our own.

A few hours into our journey my feet started to ache and I started to moan. I was still wearing Bree’s servant dress and matching black ballet slippers. The slippers did not provide much protection for my tender feet against the rocky ground. I knew that Kailen had some extra clothes packed for me but I didn’t want to use them yet because I didn’t know how long it would be until I could get more if they were ripped or torn.

“Come on Callie,” he encouraged. “You can make it a little farther.”

“Why can’t we just fly? Isn’t that what these huge wings are for?” I whined.

“This passage is not wide enough to fully open our wings, and there are sharp boulders jutting out everywhere. You have only tried to fly a few times, it just would not be safe.”

I pouted but I trudged on. The tunnel looked wide enough to me, but I figured he was probably right. I was already pretty bruised up from everything that I had gotten myself into over the past few days. I did not need to add a concussion or broken limb to the list of things that were wrong with me.

“Look Callie!” I looked up to see that Kailen was pointing to something up ahead on the floor of the tunnel. He ran ahead of me to investigate. I watched as he picked up some kind of rag or cloth and turn it over in his hands.

“This is not good.” He was shaking his head.

“What is it?” I asked as I hurried to catch up.

“It is an insignia. It is from one of the guards uniforms. They must have already come through here. I just hope that they have already made their way back.” He looked very grim when he said that.

I started getting worried that we would get caught. I never imagined that the guards would have made it this far ahead of us. The party that ransacked the city must have not been the only guards out looking for me. This was the last thing that we needed. I certainly did not feel up to having to fight anyone else.

I looked down at my hands to find that my knuckles were still swollen and sore from the fight that I had with Brokk. Well, it was not much of a fight really. It was more like me, kicking his ass. Regardless, I was too exhausted to take on much more in one day.

“Maybe we should start looking for someplace that we can hide out and get some rest.” I said to Kailen. “If they do come back through here and we are out in the tunnel they will definitely catch us.”

“That is true,” he said thoughtfully. He started looking around for a good spot as we continued to walk. Several moments later, he stopped in the middle of the tunnel and stared up toward the top of the tall rocky wall.

“Do you think that we could make up to there?” He pointed to a crevice that was at least four feet above our heads. “We only need to be able to climb in and lie down. There should be just enough space in there for that.”

I didn’t see what it would hurt to check it out and I was definitely ready to take a break. I had to give him a boost to where he could pull himself the rest of the way up onto the ledge. Once he checked things out, he leaned back out.

“This is a pretty tight squeeze, but it should do for the night. Here, let me pull you up.”

He reached down for me and hoisted me up onto the ledge with ease. I had to crouch down in the shallow space to keep from hitting my head on the ceiling as I turned to stretch my legs out over the blankets that Kailen had already spread out as a make shift bed.

The crevice was only about five feet wide and about three feet tall, so it was pretty close quarters. Especially since, it also had to accommodate our backpacks.

I picked up the remaining blanket and fought to spread it out over the both of us. Kailen grabbed one side and pulled it over him to help me get it straight.

“Sorry.” I said, feeling a little bashful all of the sudden. “I hope that you don’t mind sharing.”

“I don’t mind.” He said with a reassuring smile.

We laid there in the crevice chest to chest, just looking off into space for a long time without saying anything. It was the first time that I had felt truly relaxed in a very long time.

Although we were trying to avoid the royal guard, and we were searching for a place to make a new start, I wasn’t afraid. Yes, my future was looking pretty uncertain at this point, but that really didn’t bother me. Right there in that hole high above the rest of the world, the underworld anyway, I finally felt like everything was going to be okay.

“Callie?” Kailen said in whispering, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Do you remember anything about the time you spent in Petrona when you were young?” He asked.

“No, all of my memories are from my time on the surface. At least I think they are. I remember taking ballet lessons, and my first day of school. All of those things happened around my home in Louisiana. Why do you ask?”

“It is just that I remember you, from before you left. You were very young, maybe five or six years old. I took you by the hand and walked with you to the depot on the surface where a driver was to pick up you and your family and take you to your new life.”

I closed my eyes and tried hard to remember anything from that time. It struck me as odd that all of these guys remembered me from when I was young but I had no recollection of them.

“I was eight years old. I just remember how you were so scared, you did not want to leave your home here. I gave you a coin and told you to always keep it close to you. That way you would always know that I was with you in your heart and you would never have to feel alone.”

I could not answer. I could not find the words. My body started to tremble involuntarily. How could this be? I thought to myself.

“Callie?” He said. I could hear the fear in his voice.

I opened my eyes and stared into his as they searched my face for an understanding of my sudden change in mood.

“Callie? Is something wrong?” He asked again.

I could not seem to find my voice. Without pulling my eyes from his, I reached into my shirt and pulled out a long gold chain. On the end of it dangled an ancient gold coin. It had a crescent moon with a god’s face stamped on one side, and a horse over a rising sun on the other.

He pulled his eyes from mine and watched the coin spinning as it dangled from my fingertips. He reached out, caught it in his hand, and twisted the chain gently around his fingers, and then he cupped my hand in his. He pulled me toward him gently, and softly touched his lips to mine.

I held my eyes closed as I savored the gentle warmth that was spreading from my lips throughout the rest of my body. I felt that if I opened my eyes at that very moment, I would be glowing.

He pulled away from me all too quickly as we heard a sudden clambering on the tunnel floor below us.

“The queen is not going to be happy.” A voice drifted up.

“We have searched every inch of this tunnel. There is no sign of her. She probably fell into the water as she tried to cross the river and washed away.” Another answered.

“Perhaps you are right. I doubt that she could have made it past there. I just hope that is good enough for the queen.”

I froze wide-eyed as I stared at Kailen. He held one finger to his lips to remind me to keep quiet. There was a brief moment of the sound of shuffling feet, and then all was quiet again.

“Do you think that they are gone?” I whispered.

“It sounds as if they are, but we should try to keep still and as quiet as possible just to be sure.” He answered.

I peered out into the darkness, nearly holding my breath, but no more sounds came from the tunnel. I looked back to Kailen to find him watching me intently. I allowed myself to relax a little and gave him a soft smile.

He reached for me again and pulled me to him. I turned so that my back was pressed against his chest. I could feel his warm breath on my neck as he buried his face in my hair. I had just had my first kiss. I was not sure how I felt about that. I didn’t know what it could have meant. Kailen had never shown any interest in me romantically until that moment, but now I was nestled in his arms.

My mind kept going back to Brokk lying in the tunnel. I should not have lost my temper like that, he did not deserve it. Once again, the tears started to slide down my face. I didn’t think that I had ever cried so much in my whole life as I had in the last few weeks.

I had not known either of them for very long, but already I found myself lost in confusion. I truly believed that Brokk cared for me, and I was feeling almost ashamed that I was here with Kailen but Brokk kind of fed me to the wolves. He handed me over to Lilith without a thought. At least that is what it felt like to me.

Kailen has done nothing but try to help me from the minute that he met me. I had thought of him more as a brother or a teacher than a potential boyfriend, but I let him kiss me. I didn’t even try to resist. Actually, I kind of liked it.

“Callie,” he whispered softly in my ear pulling me from my thoughts. “Tell me about the necklace.”

I rolled slightly so that I could look at him, but not enough that I would break his embrace. I closed my eyes and tried to picture that day.

“I remember being scared.” I started. “My parents were very nervous. We were going on a trip and I could not understand their anxiety.”

“I remember seeing the sunlight. I remember how the warm rays touched my face as I looked up into the sky.” I sat for a moment trying to picture that day. “I remember you pressing the coin into my hand. I remember your smile and your reassurance as I was loaded into a car. I remember watching you standing on the street as the car pulled away.”

“You had red hair.” I said with a grin.

“Yes.” He said with a nod and slight smile.

“I held this coin in my hand throughout our entire journey.” I said. “My mother tried to get me to put it away once we had made it to our new home. But I only held it tighter. I told her that I could never let it go, so she had it made into a necklace. I have rarely taken it off since.”

He kissed me gently on my forehead, and then he moved to my lips. His tender kisses sent waves of emotion like I have never felt rocking through my body. Brokk may have been who I was supposed to be with, according to what I’ve heard anyway, but I was beginning to think that I could definitely get used to Kailen. It may not be so bad living as an outcast after all.

We both finally managed to fall asleep at some point during the night. It was the most peaceful sleep that I could ever remember, wrapped there in his arms.