Own to Obsess, page 18
Finally, the guard turned into a cavern that was a similar size to Kardos’ temple, except there was no waterfall, instead a shimmery frost covered the walls.
“Your discovery begins here,” the guard said as he turned to Shaya.
She hesitated. Her discovery? What did that mean? She looked around the cavern but there was hardly anything in it—only a smaller version of the rock that was on the ship, that she now knew was called izak-rock, and much to her surprise, some plant beds.
She headed over to them and peered down, frowning. How could any plants survive in these kinds of conditions? It was most unusual. She knelt down to feel the soil, and wasn’t surprised to find it cool, but moist. The guard turned to leave, and she dropped the soil and jump to her feet.
“Are you leaving me here?” she asked hurriedly. “How will I find my way out?”
The guard paused and turned to her. “This is your discovery,” he said. “That is for you to decide.”
“What discovery?” Shaya asked, but he was already walking again, gathering up the cord in his hands as he turned quickly down the corridor.
Shaya rushed after him but within a few steps, he had turned down another corridor and was gone.
She froze, unsure what to do. If she ran after him, it was unlikely she would be able to find her way back to this particular cavern, and based on his cryptic answers he’d suggested this cavern would lead her out. Her mind pulled her in two different directions at once, and the pressure of her situation rose until finally she realized that she had remained undecided for too long. There was no way that she would find him now.
Turning back to the cavern, she properly examined the space. The plant beds were newly planted with fresh soil, and bunches of green leaves shot out of them in a neat row. Shaya couldn't tell what kind of plants they were, but they looked similar to tomato leaves.
On the other side of the clearing, the izak-rock was purely gray—no other color emanating from it. As she circled the rock, trickling water echoed from behind her, and she followed the sound to find a small opening where a stream of water tumbled over a ledge and down a number of rocks.
Shaya examined everything in the clearing again but still couldn't figure out what she was supposed to do. Why did Kardos need her to come here? She looked out along the corridor the guard went down but there was no one, and it was deathly silent and still. A sense of awe crept over her at the thought she might be the only person in the entire mountain range.
The cold began to seep into her. She rubbed her arms and turned back to the clearing, realizing the walls were not as bright as when she came in.
Panic writhed in her chest as the light faded quickly. Shaya took deep breaths and held onto the gray rock, sinking into a huddle next to it. Soon, the entire cavern was pitch black. Night must have fallen—maybe the bright mountain walls reflect sunlight.
Her mood descended as she realized there was no one to help her. No chest for her to sink into, no familiar scent for her to breathe. She was on her own and no one was coming. How could Kardos abandon her like this? Especially in the dark. It was one thing to do it as punishment when she’d done something wrong, but what had she done?
The cold was slowly making her tremble, but if she could just sleep, maybe she wouldn't feel it. Her body reacted the way it always did to the darkness, with anxiety and fear, but the difference about her current environment was that she knew there was space around her. She knew the clearing was bigger than the box room. And for some reason it made a difference.
She spent the night curled up next to the rock, her eyes shut tight, making sure it was always at her back. Her mind turned constantly with confusion as to why Kardos wanted her to be here instead of with him. It was the first night since he wildly mated her on the ship that she spent apart from him, and a mournful ache came over her that she didn’t have him surrounding her. Curling into herself and pretending the rock behind her was his chest, she was soon asleep.
Bright light on Shaya’s eyelids woke her up, and for a moment she was disorientated. Her heart sank when she realized where she was. Her body was stiff with cold, and her stomach rumbled, but she was glad it was bright again.
As she washed her face at the stream, she tried to analyze what Kardos had said. He needed her to be here, but he couldn’t tell her why. And he said that Islanders used the mountains to learn things. Was this supposed to be some kind rite of passage, liked she’d heard about in the stories Kyus told her? Was the discovery some kind of journey. Was she supposed to discover herself? Discover a way out? One thing she did know was that she was going to freeze if she didn’t find some kind of heat soon. Her fingers already felt numb after using the icy cold stream.
She examined the gray rock in more detail, knowing it could produce heat, but not knowing how to get it hot. It had something to do with rotations and changing color.
Thankfully, this rock was smaller than the ones Kardos and his men had lifted. It took some effort, but she was able to tilt up one side to push it over onto a new side, but it didn't change color.
She rotated it again to a different side, then again to another. Nothing happened.
Sitting next to it for a moment, she examined the rock carefully. There had to be some kind of order to it that she wasn't seeing. She noticed that each corner of the rock had a slightly different shape carved into it. That had to be a key of some sort. She began to rotate the rock again, turning it using the shapes in the corner to measure what she was doing.
Finally after one rotation, the rock glowed an icy blue. Shaya grinned in excitement. It was working!
She tried a different side, but the icy blue remained. After a while, it began to fade, and she couldn’t get it back. Before she knew it, darkness was approaching again.
The next day was much the same; she managed to get the icy blue back but didn't make much progress.
The energy she used pushing the rock was the only thing that was staving off the cold, but she also wasn’t eating.
That afternoon, she sat down to rest, sweat pouring from her brow. She went to find the stream to wash her face, and after momentarily struggling to find the opening, she decided to feel along the entire cavern in case she was missing anything. She was shocked to find another crevice. Inside sat a small bench with cups and saucers, and next to it, a hand rake.
Shaya stared at the items on the bench. Fevvoli tea. Unbelievable!
They couldn't leave her with blankets, food, or any other necessity, but bland fevvoli tea? She burst out laughing in a fit of hilarity, fully realizing that she was probably insane, but at least it warmed her up a bit. As she carried the bench and rake back to the clearing, she decided fevvoli tea was better than nothing, even if it was cold.
She filled the strange teapot with water from the tiny waterfall and made the tea slow and steady, with no pressure on her this time from anyone. As she poured, she was amazed that steam rose from the water and into her face.
She stared at it. And then examined the pot. How had it made the water hot? Thinking back, she’d never seen anyone fill the pot before. It always had hot water in it. Maybe the tea wasn’t so pointless after all.
Holding her face over the cup for a short moment, she sighed at the feel of the steam rising and hitting her face. However, when she took a sip of it, shock hit her hard.
The tea tasted completely different. Rich, warm, complex flavors burst into her mouth tasting almost like a meal. She took another sip, trying to pinpoint what meal, but it was difficult.
As she sipped the tea down eagerly, she wondered what made it taste so different this time when the other times she had it, it was bland. Maybe anything tasted better in a starved state?
She finished the fevvoli tea much quicker than she’d ever drank it before and immediately she poured another cup. As she sipped, she wished that maybe there was some kind of spice in the tea that provided dessert flavors. Immediately, the taste on her tongue changed and became fruity and light. Shaya savored the tea in her mouth for a long time before she swallowed, her heart lifting she was able to finally taste something.
Clearly, fevvoli tea worked differently in the discovery mountains. She was able to make it taste like anything she thought about, whether it was something delicious or something she didn't like.
The teapot ran out of water as she was pouring her fifth cup, but she felt more energized now that she “tasted” so many meals.
She worked more with the rock, rotating it to its different sides and managed to get it to a deep blue, but the rock had to get to orange before it was hot… or was that red? The one in Kardos' bedroom was always a deep fiery orange….
After discovering the fevvoli tea, being in the cavern was beginning to make sense. There were things for her to do here, things to discover, and maybe Kardos wanted her to do that. But why? Why didn’t he just tell her in advance why it was important to him?
He knew that this cavern would include darkness, and yet he didn't warn her about it. She couldn't understand his lack of communication especially since they’d made so much progress lately.
The emotions coming from him through their bond were confusing. A strange blend of pride, contentment, anxiousness, and worry revolved within it, and each one dominated differently per day. It didn’t seem like he was thinking about her at all.
Still, there wasn't time to focus on him right now. She would get her chance to ask him when she left this place, but that meant trying to get warm.
Using the hand rake, she dug into the soil to see what kind of plants were buried.
Deep down were types of vegetables she hadn’t seen before. They looked like strange multicolored potatoes, but when she bit into them they tasted like tomatoes, though some hadn’t yet ripened. On a hunch, she poured the fevvoli tea over a ripe tomato and bit into it. Suddenly she was chewing perfectly cooked roasted vegetables in thick gravy with tender roasted boar. Squealing with delight, she ate all the ripe tomatoes in one go and then fell asleep next to the rock.
However, upon waking she quickly realized her mistake.
There were no more tomatoes to eat until more were ripened. Also, sleeping during the day couldn’t happen, not if she wanted to be able to make progress on the rock during daylight when she could see the carvings.
And so, a pattern began to emerge.
When she woke, she attended to the tomato garden, drank tea, and then spent hours trying to figure out the rock. She had to mentally remember the combination, since she had nothing to make a note of things.
She lost count of the days, but she knew it had been awhile; she was weakening and pushing the rock was decidedly more difficult.
Surely Kardos would not leave her here to die, would he? Confusion and disappointment crept into her the more her starvation and deep-seated chill grew. Kardos said they were family, but how could anyone leave their family in such a dangerous position? It must have something to do with the high chief’s seat. That’s the only thing he cared about. Clearly he didn’t care about her more than that. She could die in here before anyone found her. She’d already been in here for at least a week and no one had come. How could she trust him now?
Finally the rock changed from blue to green, and she rejoiced, tears stinging her eyes at the progress.
As the tomatoes ripened, she rationed herself and managed to maintain a steady schedule of “meals.” She noticed a repeating pattern with the rocks; it went from blue to green, then yellow, orange, and finally red. Orange was more manageable in terms of heat, red was almost overbearing but she didn't care. The cold in her body had been so unbearable, she withstood the near pain of the red heat as it radiated heat on her skin.
The next few days as she enjoyed the heat and her meals, something strange began to happen. After her belly was satiated, and her body was warm next to the rock, a strange glow bloomed in her. It wasn’t from the bond; it was something separate growing from within. Shaya simply let it settle over her and found it a peaceful, calming influence she enjoyed. Yet, the nagging sense she needed to escape remained.
As the cavern warmed up, and frost on the walls melted, a map appeared embedded into the wall. It looked to be a sketch of the tunnels she’d traveled through, but she couldn’t be certain. Stepping back to look at the whole thing, it seemed to mirror the shape of the mountain range and a chip in the rock had to be where she was on the map. But the corridors were so complicated; how would she remember it? And yet, she realized bitterly, if she wanted to escape, she had to.
For the next few days, she memorized the map, closing her eyes and tracing her finger along to visualize a way out. Finally confident she knew the way, she ate her last batch of ripe tomatoes, and sat with the peaceful glow for a short while before leaving the cavern, armed only with the hand rake.
Shaya traveled through the tunnels, carefully turning down the corridors she had memorized, but as night fell and the farther she traveled from the cavern, the colder it got. Shivering, she hurried along the corridors, eager to get out from the inside of the mountain before darkness descended completely.
But as she turned the final corner that should lead to the exit, she stopped dead in her tracks.
A white wall blocked her path.
Shocked, Shaya stood stared at it, her panic rising. This was not on the map!
She looked back the way she came, but there was no way of seeking an alternative route or attempting to head back to the cavern, not now—not in the dark and not tired and cold.
The cold gripped her harder the longer she stood there wondering what to do, and as the darkness descended quickly so did her dismay. She was never going to get out.
Curled up in a corner by the wall, shivering, the cold seeped deep into her body and the trembling buried right down to her core. It was likely she would not survive the night. Her eyes prickled with thoughts of failure. She grieved for the loss of what she thought she had with Kardos. He’d lied. Whatever his reasons for abandoning her in here they were meaningless. He’d said she was special, but how could he do this if she was? Every time she thought she understood him, every time she lowered her guard and gave him a chance, he treated her badly. She’d accepted his way of life, the punishments, the horrible attack, the confusing traditions, and what allowances did he make for her? None.
In the bond, worry overshadowed everything else. But was he worried about her or something to do with his seat? She couldn't tell, and she no longer cared.
She hated that her body loved everything about him. It fooled her every time.
And annoyingly, as the hours wore on and her body became stiff, she still wanted him. He should be here with her; his hard, comforting body, his warm scent, beautiful eyes, and reluctant smile. Even though she was furious, all she craved was her Alpha’s arms—one last time.
Shifting, she leaned against the wall and realized it didn’t feel like solid rock. She pushed her finger into it and was shocked that it made a dent. The whole wall was made of snow! Shuffling onto her knees, she grabbed the hand rake and stabbed at the thick wall. Her limbs were so heavy she barely made any impact, but she had to keep going.
It was slow progress and the rake wasn’t the right kind of tool—what she needed was a scoop. She put it down and tried scooping with her own hands, and relief filtered through her as chunks of snow fell away. Encouraged, she scooped harder, hoping the wall wasn’t too thick for her to get through. Hours seemed to pass as she scooped away in the dark, her mind determined and focused.
Suddenly, the entire wall collapsed and even though she jumped back as far as she could, a mass of icy snow fell on top of her. It would take all her remaining energy to claw her way out from under, but her heart lifted seeing a gleam of light reflecting through the frigid white.
She took a moment to take a shallow breath, but with the snow covering her entire body, she was losing feeling in her limbs, and she knew she wasn't going to make it.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
KARDOS
“Have you gone fucking mad!” Rozalia fumed, sweeping toward him.
Kardos clenched his jaw, annoyance hurtling into him that Rozalia would speak to him that way, but it wasn't though he wasn’t prepared for it. “No, Rozalia. This was the only way.”
“Only way for what?” she hollered. “For what, Kardos. Tell me! She is going to die in there.”
“She will not!” Kardos bellowed back, an uncomfortable feeling twisting around his chest. “She can survive.”
“There are plenty of Alphas who do not survive it,” Rozalia snapped at him. “Each year many think they can conquer the discovery mountains—they do not survive it! She is an Omega! What makes you think she can do something designed for Alphas?” By the time she finished speaking, she was shouting.
Kardos turned to her, his face hard. “You watch the way you speak to me, Rozalia,” he growled, his voice low. “I would not have put her in there if I thought she couldn't survive the discovery.”
“You have done many things, Kardos,” Rozalia glowered, her hands shaking, anger in her eyes. “This is beyond my understanding.”
“You are not required to understand it,” he bit out.
“Do you think the tribe will forgive you if she dies?” Rozalia said. “You think anyone in the Isles will forgive you?”
“Everyone in the Isles has had plenty of things to say about her,” Kardos said, turning to Rozalia, the anger in his chest burning him. “When she emerges from those mountains, there is only one thing they can ever say.”
Rozalia shook her head, seemingly once again to be speechless, and stormed away.
Kardos kept his eyes on the mountain entrance, where he had been for the last week waiting for Shaya.
When his tribe had heard what happened, of course, there was an uproar. No woman had ever entered the discovery mountains before, and certainly no one who wasn’t an Alpha. It was the only thing, other than the weather and natural aging, that caused significant deaths in the Southern Lands. Some of the younger Southern Islanders felt the discovery mountains was an old, barbaric method of learning survival techniques, especially as it no longer had any influence on how tribe leaders were selected. The older generations thought it added significant weight to any Alpha who completed it, but couldn’t deny that many died trying to get out.
