“More than anyone?” Aldrik asked.
“More than anyone.” She forced a smile on her mouth in a hope to encourage him.
Aldrik nodded, and they rode on through the soundless wood.
Eventually, the trees grew thinner as they began to ascend out of the valley. It was a slow slope upward, and Vhalla hardly noticed they were heading up a mountain until it was already upon them. They had ridden hard through the night; the horses were beginning to struggle with the pace.
Aldrik had not said a word for hours. He hardly even looked at her. There was no sign of pursuers, and yet they rode as if a pack of wolves were on their tail. No one had known where they were going, and the heavily falling snow was slowly covering their tracks. Even if the Emperor had caught wind of his only remaining son running off with the Windwalker, he wouldn’t assume that they’d head for the Crystal Caverns.
Her horse lost its footing for a moment as its hoof slipped on some ice. Vhalla couldn’t stop a call of surprise, and she tugged hard on the reins to right the steed. The mountain path was thin with a sheer edge on one side. Vhalla looked down and realized they had already ascended quite far.
“Are you all right?” Worry marred Aldrik’s brow.
“I am.” Her racing heart indicated differently.
“Let’s take it a little slower. This path is not well maintained, and it can be a little treacherous in good conditions.” He pulled back on his mount’s reins. “We’re close now; it’s not much farther.”
The sun began to rise. The concealing snow clouds finally began to lighten and fade into gray patches across the blood-red sky. Vhalla took a deep breath.
“There!” He pointed up ahead. “There’s his horse.”
The path curved around the mountain and eventually reached a small cliff area. Set into the mountain face was a large, pointed archway, carved directly into the stone. It was a gaping hole that was taller than thirty men on each other’s shoulders. Vhalla squinted and made out a horse standing before it in the hazy dawn.
“We have to hurry!” she called back.
“Carefully!” Aldrik replied, and they increased their pace as much as possible, inching around the mountain wall.
The massive entrance to the Crystal Caverns made Vhalla feel even smaller as she pulled her steed to a stop before it. It felt like the gaping maw of a dragon that was ready to swallow her whole. The stone sculptures of wyrms and gods that guarded around the archway had to have been ancient, and yet they looked as though they had been polished to perfection that morning. Vhalla dismounted in awe.
Aldrik grabbed a pack from his saddlebag after dismounting, slinging it over his shoulder. “We need to go. We’re close now.”
“Right . . .” Vhalla was frozen in place. There was an epic and wild power and it sizzled against her magic. A primordial essence hung heavy in the air and warned her about crossing the threshold between her world and the Gods’.
Aldrik paused, something out of the corner of his eye catching his interest. He dashed over to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Raising a hand, he shielded his eyes from the rising sun, squinting at the horizon. Vhalla followed his stare. Six riders were barely visible at the edge of the valley.
“We need to go!” He turned and started running for the entrance.
Vhalla dashed after him, plunging herself into the Crystal Caverns. The darkness was dizzying after they entered. The advent of the sunrise could not penetrate the heavy atmosphere that now shrouded her.
Aldrik was one step ahead of the darkness and produced a crystal. Vhalla lost the opportunity to ask how or why he carried such a thing as it flashed a brilliant turquoise. He placed it carefully in the center of the pathway where they had been walking. Like water, magic rippled outward from the small stone and into the floor they stood on. Its glimmering pulse stretched forward, branching out at points and creeping up the walls like magical vines.
The caverns had to rival the palace in size. A pathway had been cut into the center that led forward through another smaller gateway. Giant towering crystal columns lit up the space. The roof glowed the same pale greenish-blue.
Vhalla was reminded of the ruins from which she had pilfered Achel. It was a cosmos of magic, sparkling infinitely before her. The shining colors bled from one crystal to the next in magical conversation. Vhalla could see dark pockmarks from where men had tried to claim powers from the cavern.
“There’s no time.” Aldrik strode forward, and she fell into place behind him.
Vhalla clenched her fists, opening her Channel. The crystals surrounding her compounded her magic, making it greater than she had ever felt. She tried to brace herself for any surprise that could lurk around any corner, and she prayed she would be ready.