CHAPTER 16
832 Words
THE MAN WHO FOLLOWED MY SHADOW
We reached the abandoned railway tunnels just before sunset.
Riven was already there.
He was sitting on a broken stone pillar as though he'd been waiting for us for hours.
His eyes immediately went to the cloak around my shoulders.
Then to Darian.
His smile disappeared.
"His?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"The cloak."
"Yes."
Riven looked amused again.
"Interesting."
Darian ignored him.
"There's shelter ahead."
Riven jumped down.
"Three miles."
"You've been there?"
"Yes."
"Is it safe?"
Riven smiled.
"Nothing is safe."
I sighed.
"Can both of you stop speaking in riddles?"
"No," Riven said.
Darian answered at the same time.
"Yes."
I looked between them.
Riven laughed.
"She's going to be the death of us."
"I thought you didn't fear death," I said.
His smile softened.
"Not anymore."
The words were strange.
Almost intimate.
I looked away.
We continued walking.
The tunnel smelled of damp stone and rust.
Old railway tracks disappeared into darkness.
Riven walked ahead.
Darian remained behind me.
Protecting.
Watching.
Never touching.
I wondered how long he'd been doing that.
"Why are you still following me?"
Darian looked at me.
"Because you're being hunted."
"That's not the only reason."
His expression didn't change.
"No."
I stopped.
He stopped too.
"Then tell me the other reason."
Silence.
He looked away.
"I don't know yet."
My heart gave an unexpected little jump.
Before I could respond, Riven called from ahead.
"Found something."
We hurried toward him.
He stood before an old metal door.
There was a symbol carved into it.
A crescent.
Surrounded by black flames.
My pendant became hot.
I touched it.
The door opened.
No one touched it.
Darian immediately drew his weapon.
Riven smiled.
"She's getting stronger."
We entered.
The chamber beyond was enormous.
Ancient shelves lined the walls.
Books.
Scrolls.
Weapons.
Maps.
Everything had been abandoned.
In the center stood a stone table.
And on that table—
was a portrait.
I approached slowly.
A woman stared back at me.
Silver hair.
Silver eyes.
The same crescent beneath her collarbone.
My breath caught.
"Mother."
Riven stood behind me.
"Yes."
I touched the painting.
"How did she know about this place?"
"Because she built it."
I turned.
"What?"
Riven's expression was unusually serious.
"Your mother didn't disappear."
My heart stopped.
"What are you saying?"
"She was taken."
"By the Council?"
He nodded.
"Twenty years ago."
My knees weakened.
Darian caught my arm.
I pulled away.
"She's alive?"
Riven hesitated.
"I don't know."
The answer shattered something inside me.
I walked to the wall.
There were names carved into the stone.
Hundreds.
Most had been crossed out.
Then I saw one.
ELARA VEYNE.
My mother's name.
Beneath it was another inscription.
STATUS: ALIVE.
I stopped breathing.
Darian stepped beside me.
"Lyra..."
I touched the words.
My fingers trembled.
"She's alive."
Riven looked at the inscription.
His face had become grim.
"Maybe."
I turned.
"Don't say maybe."
He stared at me.
"Then we'll find her."
Something in his voice made me believe him.
For the first time in years—
I allowed myself to hope.
Then a bell rang somewhere deep inside the tunnels.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Darian turned.
"Someone triggered the alarm."
Riven's smile disappeared.
"Then we have company."
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