by Chant, Zoe
Jared hesitated for a moment.
Then he threw the coin—not towards the three different entrances, but away from them.
“What—” Chiara began in confusion, then suddenly fell silent.
When the disk hit the ground, it bounced off a small rock and changed direction. It rolled forward, right in between Jared’s feet—straight towards the shadowed openings.
Then it began to wobble. For a moment, it looked like it would fall over.
Instead, it suddenly changed direction again. As if drawn by a magnet, it rolled straight towards the opening to their left.
Then it wobbled again and finally fell over, resting right in front of the dark arch of stone.
Chiara gave him an impressed look. “Smart. How did you know it could do that?”
“If we’re looking for a dragon, the coin must once have been part of his hoard. And a dragon’s gold always wants to return to its owner.” Jared took a step forward and picked up the coin.
He couldn’t see through the opening. There was nothing but further darkness awaiting.
But at least now they knew they were on the right path. Somewhere inside this mountain, a dragon was calling out to its treasure.
Of course, maybe the coin was part of the defense mechanism and was meant to trick any intruders. That was also possible.
But right now, this was the best option they had.
“Wish I could do that to my keys,” Chiara muttered as she followed him. “Do you think your dragon can teach me how to do that?”
Jared laughed in response, then fell silent when the sound echoed eerily. “Let’s ask him when we get there.”
Together, they stepped through the opening.
In the dim illumination of their flashlights, they found themselves in yet another tunnel. This one was a bit narrower, but the following minutes went much the same. They followed the tunnel that sloped downward, every now and then turning a corner, making their way deeper and deeper.
Until all of a sudden, the tunnel ended without warning, and they found themselves facing a deep abyss.
“Shit.” Chiara grabbed hold of Jared’s arm, her fingers clenching around him as she held on tightly.
Another step forward, and they’d both have fallen.
“It’s okay,” Jared said, although his own heart was racing as well.
He could have shifted in a heartbeat and saved them both, but it was still unsettling to have the ground vanish beneath his feet all of a sudden. “I’d never let you fall.”
“I’m glad you’re not a werewolf.” Chiara’s fingers were still digging into his skin as she stared at the rock that dropped away right before them. “I really am.”
Despite the shock of almost having fallen, Jared found that he was laughing softly.
“I’m glad, too,” he said. “Wings can be pretty useful. Shall we explore?”
Chiara swallowed before she nodded decisively.
A moment later, Jared shifted, waiting for her to climb onto his back before he took off.
Chiara tried to light the way for him, but after a moment, it became easier to see, his sharp eyes picking up on a dim light source hidden somewhere.
Maybe it was daylight falling in from a shaft far above them. Or maybe...
Narrowing his eyes, Jared beat his wings, rising up a little.
He couldn’t make out the source of the strange light, but it didn’t feel like daylight.
The light of the sun felt warm and golden. This light felt cool and soothing, silver instead of gold.
There was nowhere for them to go that he could see. On the other side of the precipice, there was a stark wall of rock—no openings or doorways to lead them deeper into the mountain.
He could have flown down—but there was only darkness below.
And something inside him yearned for the light that was coming from somewhere just out of sight. Somewhere above.
He hesitated for a moment. Then he began to rise quickly, his strong eagle’s wings carrying them higher and higher as Chiara’s arms tightened around him in surprise.
“Hey. Isn’t this the wrong way?” she called out. A moment later, she fell silent.
The light was brighter now and had to be visible even to human eyes.
Jared still couldn’t see where it was coming from, and it still didn’t feel like sunlight—but something was drawing him towards it.
He could almost hear it now. It was a strange sensation. He’d never experienced anything like it before.
But the closer he came to the light, the more secure he felt.
He felt warm all over—warm and safe. It was like being held in the arms of someone who loved you. And in his head, he heard a faint memory, a wordless, gentle hum, like a long-forgotten melody.
Higher and higher he rose. He could see the source of the light now. Above him, there was a ledge, large enough for a griffin to land on. And behind it, there was another opening in the stone from which the light spilled out.
“Can you see that?” Chiara asked excitedly, then laughed. “Stupid question, of course you do!”
She relaxed on his back as he brought them closer, shining her flashlight upwards—but there was no need to. The closer they came, the more brilliant the light was.
By the time he was close enough to land, she’d switched off her light, making a sound of awe when he brought them down carefully on the ledge.
“What is this?” she asked softly. “It looks as bright as day here.”
Jared shifted back. Chiara was right: even seen with his human eyes, the strange light filled the area with brilliance. It still didn’t look like sunlight—but it didn’t feel unnatural either. It wasn’t at all like the artificial light from fluorescent lamps that made everything seem dead and cold.
This light was clear and strong.
It didn’t hurt or burn—but there was a strange quality to it, as if it could shine right through flesh and bone, baring all secrets and hidden desires.
Chiara’s hand found his own, and he pressed it in reassurance.
There was nothing they had to hide, after all. They hadn’t come to steal the dragon’s treasure. They were here to help protect the world from Darkness.
And that was a truth Jared was happy to let the eerie light expose.
Together, they stepped forward through the doorway.
And then they stopped dead in their tracks, gasping in surprise.
The light shining out had made it impossible to see what was beyond. Even so, it was not what they had expected.
They were in another cave filled with crystal. And now, at last, Jared realized that he’d seen this light before. It was the same light that had shone from the crystals in the mountain in France—only this time the light seemed even purer, brighter.
All around them, walls of crystal glistened a brilliant white, changing into gentle hues of rose and pale blues and greens as their eyes moved past them.
It was an overwhelming sensation. It was like nothing Jared had ever seen before—like light itself was being born into existence right here, right now.
Chiara pressed a little closer, and he wrapped his arm around her as they stared.
“This is incredible,” she whispered.
Even though she’d spoken softly, her voice carried, echoing through the crystal cave.
In response, the light pulsed a pale purple, then blue, then green, before returning to its usual rhythm.
“Sorry,” she said, the clasped a hand over her mouth as the light reacted to her words again.
“It’s all right,” Jared said—although even he felt a little unsettled when the light changed with his own words.
It felt like they were being watched. Which made sense—the new elemental dragon had to know that they were here. Surely this cave was his home.
All the same, it didn’t feel like being watched by a dragon. It felt like being watched by something incredibly old and powerful—and something that was neither human nor shifter
.
Jared took a deep breath. Then, determined, he took a step forward.
The ground beneath his feet was crystal as well, and it lit up in pulsating hues of pastel colors where his feet touched the ground.
But nothing else happened. There was no angry dragon’s roar, and the cave didn’t collapse.
Whatever this place was—it seemed that for now, they were welcome here.
Chapter Twenty-One: Chiara
“Let’s go and find our dragon.” Chiara tried to ignore the dizzying way the light changed when she followed Jared. “I think I’ve figured it all out.”
“Oh?” Jared said as they slowly moved deeper into the cave.
“It’s obvious now, isn’t it? You said you didn’t know what element was left. Well, we’re surrounded by it now. It’s going to be a crystal dragon.”
“I’ve never heard of a crystal dragon.” Jared sounded thoughtful. “But it would make sense, given that neither of us knew there could be a fifth elemental dragon.”
“Whoever it is clearly likes his secrecy.” Chiara reached out and touched a crystal spire without thought. In response, a clear, ringing sound filled the cave, vibrating like the high note of a golden bell.
Chiara winced and immediately pulled back, looking around in alarm. “Sorry!”
Jared chuckled. “I think you just rang the doorbell.”
“Hope I didn’t wake our dragon from a nice nap. We wouldn’t want him to get angry,” she said, still looking around, waiting for a dragon to burst forward.
But nothing happened. There was no reply to the sound, and after a moment, they continued on.
“Maybe he wants us to come to him,” Jared said. “Dragons are like that.”
“Your chimera is like that.” It did feel remarkably similar to how she’d felt when she’d first entered the cave of the council of elements, summoned by the chimera.
Fortunately Gareth hadn’t turned out all that scary. Surely this new dragon would be just the same.
After all, a prophecy had foretold that the council would gain a fifth ally in their fight against darkness. They were meant to be here. And they were meant to become friends with whoever lived here.
“He is, isn’t he?” Jared gave her an amused look. “I suppose that’s what happens when you’re old and very powerful. You need to get your amusement from somewhere.”
“Especially when you’re stuck in a cave all day every day.”
They shared a soft laugh. Rings of pale gold, orange, and the lightest red spread out from where they stood, then faded again.
But there was no answer to the light’s reaction to their presence, and so they kept going forward.
It had been hard to make out at first, because the walls all around them were all made from the same, shining crystal. But once they made it further into the cave, they realized at last that the cave wasn’t as big as expected.
The brilliant light had distracted them, or perhaps it was meant to trick the eye. But now, when they’d made it deeper into the cave, they realized that they’d been walking straight towards a wall of crystal.
The wall gave off the same clear light that seemed to penetrate everything it touched.
Frowning, Chiara raised her hand. She felt strangely translucent. But her hand was still just as it had always been. She hadn’t turned invisible. She was still flesh and blood.
Relieved and feeling a little silly, she let her hand sink.
And then she realized that she’d been wrong. Something was off about the light.
There were no shadows.
Unsettled, she looked around, but no matter where she looked, she and Jared didn’t cast even the smallest shadow.
Maybe that could be explained by the way the light shone at them from the walls all around them. But still. It felt strange.
The light didn’t feel exactly wrong, either—there was something curious about the way it lit up everything so brilliantly. Still, it made her feel strangely insecure, too. It felt a bit like being x-rayed.
And maybe that was what this new dragon did. Maybe he had an infrared gaze, like an old-school superhero.
But he was on their side, no matter who he was. That was the only thing that mattered.
“How do we get in?” There was no opening in the wall that Chiara could see.
Jared reached out and carefully touched the wall. New ripples of light spread from where his fingers brushed the crystal.
“It’s solid,” he said. “Maybe there’s a door we have to find.”
“You could use the golden disk again,” Chiara suggested. “There’s got to be a way past it.”
“We’re in the right spot.” Jared flattened his hand, pressing all of it to the crystal. “I can feel it. There’s something very powerful behind the wall.”
“I don’t think we’re supposed to knock down the crystal. That would feel impolite. And we didn’t bring any tools.”
Maybe they should have brought a power drill. The golden disk really should have mentioned it, in that case.
“Maybe if you shift, you could knock it down with your wings?” Chiara suggested.
Jared shook his head, giving the crystal a dubious look. “This feels solid. I doubt it would make a difference.”
The crystal pulsed again where Jared’s hand touched it.
Intrigued, Chiara raised her own hand and covered Jared’s with it. The light was pulsing faster now, cycling through hues of pale pink, pastel blue, shades of lavender, purple, silver and gold, faster and faster. It was hypnotizing; it felt like watching a giant heart beat.
And then, so slowly that she didn’t even realize what was happening at first, the colors lost their luminance. The crystal was still pulsing—but the light no longer shone as brilliantly.
Startled, she pulled her hand back, but it made no difference. The light in the cave had subtly dimmed. It was still bright enough that she could see clearly, but the otherworldly clarity of it was gone.
Instead, it almost felt like a dark fog had begun to fill the air...
She cried out, realizing what was happening a heartbeat before she saw the tendril of darkness spread through the crystal wall.
Jared must have felt it at the same time. He twisted around, a look of shock on his face. And when Chiara followed his gaze, her heart pounding with terror, she saw that there, at the entrance of the cave, shadows had begun to gather.
Darkness swirled, like black clouds covering the sky before a storm broke loose.
Then the shadows pulled together, becoming deeper and darker—and at last turning solid.
“Zane,” Chiara breathed in horror.
There was the shadow dragon they’d escaped once before. Only now he seemed even darker. His scales pulsed with a dark energy, a black so deep that in the light of the cave, it seemed almost an oily purple.
The dragon opened his jaws and roared—and Jared grabbed hold of Chiara’s arm, pushing her behind him.
“Search for the door. That’s our only chance.” Hastily, he pulled his amulet free and dropped it into her hand. “I’ll keep him distracted for as long as I can. Hurry!”
A second later, he shifted, the powerful griffin spreading his eagle’s wings to shield her.
Her fingers trembling, she clenched them tightly around his amulet. She was terrified—she’d seen what the dragon could do, and how would Jared defeat a monster like that?
They had to find a way through this wall. They had to—or they’d both die here.
Through the mate bond, she could feel Jared’s own terror. He was afraid—but not for himself.
Jared was afraid for her.
That realization broke through the shock that had settled around her until she was numb with horror.
Suddenly, focus returned. Her heart still pounding, she felt as if time had slowed down. Behind her, she could hear the dragon’s roar, and the griffin’s answering cry of challenge.
But all she had eyes for now was the wall.
Sh
e ran along it, trying to find an opening in the wall—anything out of the ordinary that might give her a hint on how to get it to let them pass.
But there was no hidden doorway, no cleft in the wall.
Grinding her teeth in frustration and trying not to listen to the sounds of giant wings beating behind her, she ran her hands over the wall as she hurriedly made her way back into the other direction.
There had to be a door somewhere! They’d made it so far!
We’re meant to be here. And there’s that damn prophecy.
She pounded the crystal with her fists. “Let us in, damn you!”
Behind her, there was the terrifying sound of large claws on rock.
Again she pounded the wall. “Wake up!”
If that fifth dragon was so powerful, why the hell wasn’t he helping them?
Behind her, the dragon roared again. All of a sudden, the lights in the cave seemed to dim.
And then a griffin screeched in pain.
Her head whipped around in horror.
Jared was hovering above her—but there was a cloud of darkness swirling around him. It was drawing tighter and tighter until it almost looked as if he was wearing chains of darkness.
They hurt—she could feel his pain through the bond.
But she could also feel his immense strength and determination as he kept struggling.
She blinked back tears, knowing that Jared would never surrender. A moment later, he succeeded at last in beating his eagle’s wings, cutting through the strange shadows that had tried to hold him immobile.
Jared was free once more—but already the shadow dragon was opening his jaws again, preparing for another attack.
There’s no time left.
Furiously, she hit the crystal wall again.
“Open, damn you! I don’t know the magic word. Just let us in!”
The crystal was cool and solid beneath her hand. Her fingers hurt, but she barely felt it through her terror.
Again she raised her fist to hit the wall. Nothing happened.
She spread her palm flat against it, gritting her teeth as she tried to think of something, anything, that would wake the dragon hiding behind—and that was when she felt it.