WebNovelChapter 0700 Nina "Are you coming or not, little wolf?" Luke and I shot each other an uneasy look as the man stood in front of us with his unlit lantern.
"Where are you taking us?" I asked tentatively.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe man huffed. "To the queen," he said annoyedly. "And if you don't hurry, we might be too late for your husband. The ritual only takes so long." That was all the convincing I needed. Despite Luke's worried glance, I followed the man out the door and back into the humid air. More onlookers had gathered now, intrigued by our sudden appearance, but I hardly noticed then with my thoughts churning so dizzyingly.
I didn't know where exactly we were going, but as long as it brought us closer to Enzo, then I would take whatever I could get.
Over the next half hour, our silent guide threaded his way easily between lush tropical foliage without glancing back or slowing to match our clumsy foreign footsteps. I stumbled over tangled roots in an attempt to keep up, my skin caked with sweat from the heat and the damp air.
"Hey, could you slow down a little?" Luke called out, his arm catching my elbow when I nearly fell over an exposed root. But the man didn't look back.
"Keep up, little wolf," he called out over his shoulder. "No tto waste." Before long, the vibrant vegetation began to thin out, the soft soil replaced by smooth, bare stone. My breath caught in my throat from the ascent we had unwittingly taken through the foliage. We had been climbing up and up for a while, but nothing seemed to show itself to us.
Luke and I paused, glancing at each other warily again. I was just wondering if this strange man was leading us on a wild goose chase when a yawning cave opening caught my eye up ahead.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe man stopped in front of the opening, tinkering with his lantern until it flickered to life. "Ready?" he asked, glancing over at us for the first tsince we had gone on this strange hike.
I peered into the dark cave. "In there?" I asked, swallowing. "Seems... dangerous." The man huffed again; at this point, I couldn't tell if it was an actual huff of annoyance or if it was just a cough. "I thought you wanted to find your husband." "I do." "Then follow me." Without another word, the man walked into the cave mouth. Luke and I stood there, unsure, before I took a deep breath and went after the man. But Luke's hand caught my arm, his eyes wide and uncertain.
"Nina, I don't think this is a good idea," he whispered.
I threw my hands up into the air. Already, the man's lantern light was fading, swaying off into the distance. "It's either this, or let whatever 'ritual' he mentioned before play out," I said. "And I'm partial to this." Luke let out a sigh, but didn't protest any further. Together, hand-in-hand, we made our way into the cave with only the man's swaying lantern to guide us.
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