She rubbed the ring between her fingers. “And how long will you leave it that way as a reminder?”
“Until I make things right again.”
She took a deep breath. Making things right again meant reclaiming his manor. And that meant she had to die. Dread coiled around her heart. “Will you make sure I have a quick death, if it comes to it?”
His icy gaze slid to her, and his jaw tightened. “Of course. And I’d ask that you do the same for me.”
“Do you really think I’d stand a chance against you?”
“Like you said, F.U. knew how to fight. You move like a phantom.”
“Too bad I have no idea why.”
“That’s a mercy.”
Surprise flickered through her. “You think severe retrograde amnesia is a mercy?”
“Believe me. There are far worse things than forgetting.” Ice laced his tone.
Okay. So that’s an awkward topic.
As they walked, Ursula ran her fingers along the rough walls. “Did the oneiroi carve this?”
“No, it was here when I won the manor.”
She frowned. “So the previous lord made it?”
Bael paused, reaching out to touch one of the glyphs in the stone, his powerful body just inches from hers. She could feel the heat coming off him, and his delicious smell distracted her. Maybe her attraction to Bael wasn’t totally crazy after all. If she was going to die soon, at least she could enjoy her final days.
“No one knows what the symbols mean,” he said. “Not even the oneiroi. These tunnels have been here for as long as anyone can remember—even before Nyxobas arrived.”
He turned, walking again, his heels echoing off the tunnel ceiling.
Ursula picked up her pace to keep up with him. “I don’t understand. Why would anyone take the trouble to burrow through one hundred feet of solid rock?” And more importantly, is there a way I can use this as an escape route? Though it was pretty difficult to escape an entire moon. Perhaps I can hide down here for decades like a mole person, living on mushrooms.
“I’m not entirely sure why it’s here,” said Bael as he reached the end of the passage. “But I think it’s on account of those.” He pointed to the giant indigo crystals on the cavern’s ceiling. Together with the luminescent mushrooms that clustered around them, they bathed the cavern in a pale violet light.
Ursula stiffened as a subtle vibration began to hum inside her belly, tugging her closer to the source of the magic, as if on an invisible thread. “What are they?”
“The light of the crystals amplifies magic,” Bael continued. “I think whoever carved the tunnel wanted to be closer to them.”
They crossed to the narrow stone bridge that hung between the stalactites. Following Bael, she took a tentative step onto the bridge. Her stomach swooped. On either side of the stone strip, the cavern floor dropped away. She shuddered. “It looks like Nyxobas’s void.”
He turned, violet light sparking in his eyes. “You’ve seen the void?”
Her heart raced. “Can we have this conversation on the other side of the bridge?”
“Of course.”
He moved swiftly to the other side of the bridge, turning to offer his hand. “Is everything okay?”
“Just a little vertigo.”
“As long as you don’t try to stab me with a corkscrew again.”
“Was that supposed to be a joke?”
“I have been known to tell a joke in my twenty-two thousand years.”
“And are they the best jokes the world has ever known?”
He shot her a sharp look. Apparently, her jokes weren’t funny.
When they reached the central platform, Ursula saw a small, black marble table standing in the center, with two chairs on either side. Two silver domed trays lay on the table, along with a bottle of chilled champagne and glasses. Bael gestured for her to sit.
She pulled off her cloak, wrapping it over the back of her chair. Bael’s eyes slowly slid up and down her body, and he took a deep breath.
She sat across from Bael. His gaze locked on hers. “The clothing you wear distracts me.”
A blush warmed her chest. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. Yes. It’s hard for me to think straight when I can see your skin through your dresses. Or when I see you standing naked in the portal room. Or that corset—”
“Is this why you asked me to dinner? To lecture me about nudity?”
“No.”
“I thought you were supposed to be a legendary lover, not a major prude.”
A smile curled his lips. “Is that what you’ve heard?”
Blushing, she drummed her fingernails on the tablecloth. “That’s what the lords’ wives say.”
Suddenly serious, he frowned. “But you understand that we’re not lovers, nor will we ever be. One of us will die soon, and I could never be with a hound of Emerazel in that way.”
Angry heat warmed her cheeks. Well, now I feel like a total idiot. “Of course I know that. That’s not what I meant. And anyway, I’d never want to be with a...an ancient shadow warrior...” she spluttered. She was pretty sure her cheeks were a fetching shade of crimson right now.