The God & The Shadow

Chapter 31

VERONICA

Two nights have passed since our stop at the inn and we were only hours away from the northern mountains.

Nixon and Warren only got their powers back this morning, while Lore has been avoiding me like the plague since our departure from the inn.

Of course. It was always like that with him. Pretend like he's hellbent on insulting me one day, then pretend I do not exist the next. And I fall for it every time.

"Just a little more and we'd be at the foot of the mountain." Cassian whispered from behind me.

I nodded and looked up at the towering mountain above us. It looked beautiful. Snow covered the top and trees and lakes surrounded the entirety of it.

"How are we supposed to get in?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face, though I knew he couldn't see it.

He quietly laughed behind me. "There's a hidden doorway to the left of the mountain."

I silently nodded. That made much more sense than Taylor's theory that the blacksmith carved out the top of the mountain and made it his forever home.

I turned my head to the right to see Taylor braiding a bunch of twigs and flowers she had collected earlier when we briefly stopped to replenish and rest.

"Might as well bring the little witch something from the trip.", was the only thing she told me when I asked her what it was for.

I tilted my head a bit to look past them and at the god and the warlock who kept prodding on about all things random.

As if sensing my stare, Lore turned and looked at me. His face, like usual, was an unreadable blank one. The only indication of his acknowledgment was the deep breath he took when he turned away.

I rolled my eyes at him. Fine. I could play his game too.

"We're here." Cassian announced, cutting my thoughts off. He dismounted the horse and held my hand to help me down. He told everyone to remove their packs and carry it on their person in case of any wandering travelers that might pass by and come across the three horses.

Everyone followed his order and went to the Prince. "A few reminders before we go in," He started.

"The blacksmith is a creature you do not want as your enemy. You stay silent unless spoken to. He is not one to be contested. Understood?"

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreements, save for Lore that just looked at the mountain.

"Good. Let's go meet the blacksmith, shall we?"

《♤》

Cassian led us to the west side of the mountain that had multiple boulders stacked on top of each other. We had to carefully navigate through the rocky path, which Warren saw as an opportunity to parkour through like an obstacle course.

We entered a hidden tunnel covered by the rocks and it led to a small cave with metal plates sticking out of the right side of the wall, faded roman numbers at the other.

"What is this?" Taylor asked as we all assessed the small room.

"This," The prince started picking up rocks scattered around the room. "is the entrance."