Heir of Obsidian (A Throne of Glass Fanfic)

14 - Wrath of the Scholars

Quinn shivered, the perilous wind whipping her auburn hair across her face. Beside her, as they trudged along the worn, beaten track, Luka was quivering like a leaf, his tanned skin betraying his sensitivity to the cold. Above them, tendrils of dusk whirled, the clouds darkening to a thick, merciless grey. Silence descended upon the world, the usual woodland animals having retreated to their deep burrows and buried homes. A storm was brewing.

"Asterin - there." Quinn raised a pointed finger to a small alcove carved into the rockface beside them. The last couple of days, the forest had thinned until it was replaced with deep, perilous gullies. Gullies which - just like the dense trees they'd trudged through the last few weeks - held their own demons, hidden not in the woodwork, but in the cracks between rocks and sharp, granite peaks. The cave peaked out, a monster's winking eye, kindly providing shelter from the ruthless beast above.

Asterin nodded, her eyes scanning the cliff-face beside them. There was a cave about fifty feet up, its entrance wide enough to fit the horses and themselves. For a human, the climb may have been deadly, but for a fae - for a fae, it was child's play. Slowly, the dismounted riders guided their horses, rock crumbling beneath strong, hard hooves and pebbles scattering under careful feet, up the steep slope and towards the gaping hole in the landscape.

It's entrance was so much larger, its chamber so much bigger than their hideout in Terresan. The walls stretched up so high that it was impossible to discern the ceiling above. As Quinn padded into its shadowed embrace, an involuntary shiver coursed down her spine. This was an ancient place - a place where centuries of weary travellers had taken the night to rest from their travels. The charcoal and scorch marks spread across the stone indicated as much.

"This place is so cool," Benji intoned loudly, his voice echoing off the granite walls. Their horses' hooves clacked against the worn, weathered stone as they came to an abrupt stop.

Quinn slipped off Atlas' soft back, landing loudly on the cave floor. She tossed her leather satchel towards the cave wall, already forgotten as she unrolled the map to plan their next move. Just because they had to camp out for the night didn't mean that she couldn't be productive. She brought a finger to the crinkled parchment, tracing their journey. They were so close - so freaking close to Meah. They'd crossed the border into Adarlan yesterday, her heart skipping a beat as they passed the sacred, swirling rock which marked the entrance to Terresan. If this storm hadn't struck, they might've been able to make it to Meah before nightfall.

"Alrighty, I am going to check this place out," Benji announced, his voice echoing off the stone walls. Quinn nodded, waving a hand in his direction, not bothering to turn her head as she heard his footsteps fade into the back of the cave. Luka plopped down beside her on the cold floor, his forehead saturated with sweat from the contrast of the chill and the humidity of the storm.

"We're just going to let him walk into the back of a strange cave?" Luka enquired, worry painted across his face. Quinn looked up from the map in her lap, an auburn eyebrow raised.

"I'm certainly not going after him, but I understand if you feel the need to honour your bromance - " She didn't give a crap what Benji did, so long as he didn't manage to get them all killed. But Luka - Luka always seemed to worry for the golden-haired male.

"Shut up," he growled, turning towards the dark, stone walls, his face flushed. Gods, he was so sensitive sometimes. You'd think that, growing up with six siblings, he'd have thicker skin. Lightning flashed across the cave's entrance, illuminating Asterin's figure. Her platinum hair billowed in the wind as she patted down Friesian, face shadowed by the gloom of the cave.

"I'm going to go get wood - It's freezing in here," she said, her voice muffled by the increasing winds. Quinn looked up sharply. Asterin's senses were the keenest, her fighting leathers the thickest, but... It was a freaking hurricane out there. Quinn had no doubt that Asterin could handle herself, but, still, it was dangerous. Luka seemed to reflect her feelings, his brown eyes widening in concern.