In order to save the world from eternal night, Red must find a way to unlock the dormant power of the Sun Goddess running through her veins without killing herself and everyone she loves.
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"I need to get out of here," I said, pointing at the ceiling of the cave. "Back up there, where my friends are."
Halbrom scratched his beard. "We can't go through the water without our gills, but I do know a way through the underground caves. I, for one, will gladly escort you to the Above."
"Aye!" shouted the rest, in a chorus of assent.
"What about yer lad?" another man asked. "Ye sure ye don't wanna wait for 'im?"
I shook my head. "The longer I wait, the more likely he is to drown himself trying to get down here. Better to save myself and catch him by surprise."
"If ye say so," he said under his breath, catching the attention of the group edging towards the mouth of the cave. "Have you louts forgotten your manners? Ladies first, so she doesn't have to look at your sorry worms!"
The laughter was contagious, and soon the cave network was ringing with it, the walls sending it back and forth until it petered out into a roar just as steady as the water. My cheeks warmed as I made my way to the head of the group, but this time it was the whispered thanks and bowed heads that made me feel self conscious.
Walking into the darkest part of the cave, I felt like I could already see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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It didn't take long for my tension to ease. The darkness yielded readily to the glow-worm lamps that marked the trail, and while the path was narrow and difficult at times, there was a sense of camaraderie that propelled me along it, even when we had to wade chest-deep through icy water. Strong hands pulled me up onto the ledge every time and not a single one lingered.
Nalia's harem was curious about the events that led me to their doorstep, but once I mentioned Gretchen's apple crumble and that it was the best I'd ever tasted, they launched into a heated debate about whose mother or wife or son could make it better. Dennis, a long-haired man who'd been quiet and aloof up until that point, launched into a passionate tirade about the proper techniques for coring apples, leveraging his experience as a cook to persuade the others. Once they started debating the finer measurements of spice — everyone seemed to agree that nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar was key, but how much of each was a contentious point — I tuned out and fell back to the middle of the party, enjoying various snatches of boisterous bickering.
They were monsters no longer, simply people who'd been trapped in the dark for too long. Their conversations were fascinatingly mundane as they discussed their plans for the future and who they hoped to reunite with. For many, there was no telling how much time had passed, if their families and kingdoms even existed anymore. Some knew that they'd come from loving homes, but the specifics were foggy, lost to the low, hypnotising roar of water over the years. Some had been beasts for so long that they struggled to speak at all.
And then there were those who could barely recall their own names. Those shades flocked to Halbrom in droves, as if so used to being told what to do that they craved the structure he afforded their lives.
