The Wishing Tree - Book Two [Completed] - Caverns of Fate - Part 40 (2024)

 
I tried demanding answers from Mason as soon as we woke up, but he waved me off by saying, "It's not written yet. There's no point in getting worked up about all the scenarios that could happen." When I caught Clara's eye as we left the cave, she looked away quickly.
 
We are walking to the caverns and I fall into step beside Clara. "Are you feeling any better?" I ask.
 
She laughs, but it holds no humor. "No, not really," she says, her dark eyes looking at me out of the corner of her eye. "I never told Mason the part I'd played in your bonding ceremony because I was afraid of what he'd do to seek his revenge. It was already bad enough when he thought it was your fault. Any chance he had, he made me pay for even being there that day. Can you imagine if he'd known then that it was my fault?"
 
I think about what Mason said he would have done; it would have had nothing to do with her. I'm not sure if she'll find that comforting or not. "He says he would have gone looking for me."
 
Clara seems to think about that for a little while before she answers. "Maybe he would have. That's the thing about a choice, once it's made, you can't look back. When he thought what he thought, he made a choice and whether he wants it to be different or not, it will never be." She moves closer to me and I lean down. "And truthfully, he loves your Ryan just as much as he loves you. It's like the weirdest non-love triangle, triangle I've ever seen in any realm. Whenever he talks about either of you, there's a light in his eyes that's not there otherwise." Clara looks at Mason's back and then meets my eyes again for the first time in a while. "You want to know the stupidest part?"
 
I raise my eyebrows and look into her dark depths, marveling in her petite features.
 
"I miss the bastard. I miss chatting with him and calling him names and laughing at him. In any other life, he just would have killed me and I wouldn't have had to face what I did. If anyone ever told me that this would be the consequence for that moment, I probably would have laughed in their face. But, here we are." She shrugs.
 
"You could try talking to him," I suggest, knowing that it's probably too soon. I know Mason well enough to understand that his loyalty is fierce. I can only imagine his grudges are just as extreme.
 
Clara shakes her head a little and looks at the ground. "Maybe at the tree. He'll need me then and maybe he'll listen. 'Sorry' doesn't feel like a big enough word sometimes, does it?"
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I think about what drove us here, to this place, this moment and I know exactly what she means. Sometimes, words just aren't good enough in lots of situations; it's not possible for them to convey the depth of your feelings.
 
"You know another word that doesn't always feel like enough?" I ask.
 
She smiles a little as she looks at me. "Love?"
 
"Yeah, that one too, but I was thinking of 'thanks'." I grin at her. "Thank you for what you've done so far and for whatever you do next. I'm grateful that you listened to Violet and that you came to us. I don't remember my other lives, so all I feel for you in this one is gratitude."
 
She reaches up behind me and pats my back. "You're alright, Queenie."
 
Just then, Mason calls out, "We're at the entrance to the Caverns of Fate. Everyone hold up for a minute."
 
I was so busy chatting to Clara that I didn't pay attention to the passing scenery, but we're suddenly at a rocky cliff face that seems to take up the horizon for as far and wide as I can see. The rocks are almost a golden colour or a brassy yellow. I step up to the cliff face and put my hand on the rocks; they are slick and damp.
 
"What is this?" I ask, putting my hand up to my nose. The liquid smells coppery.
 
"This is one of the few things in this realm that might actually be fun," Rocco says with a smile. "Unless one of us takes a wrong turn."
 
Mason pats the entrance to the caves and smiles. "That's why it's called the Caverns of Fate – they are magical and can either take you where you need to go or chuck you out in exactly the wrong place."
 
"Uh, isn't that risky?" I ask, mentally listing all my problems with getting lost: Ryan, the Third Realm, Grayson hunting us.
 
"For anyone but me, yes." Mason nods. "But, as Lord of the Realm, I can influence the magic of the caverns. No stress – just a nice ride down a very long slide. It might be your last few moments free of stress. At some point, Grayson will catch up with us. I hope it's after we've opened the tree, so we have an army of our own, but there are no guarantees."
 
I think about that army we're counting on, and I know it's far from a sure thing. We could spring them out, and they could immediately try to kill us. Mason is immortal, but as far as I know, I'm not.
 
"Single file, into the entrance, go to the chute on the right and wait for me." Mason points to the entrance. Riven is at the front and Mason, it appears, will be at the back.
 
"You're last?" I ask, looking at him.
 
"I have to control the chute. It's easiest from back here," he says, avoiding my gaze.
 
"What's going on with you? What'd Ryan say?" I ask, sensing his uneasiness.
 
"Probably the same thing he said to you. Whatever choice you make, he loves us both." He gives me a bored look. "Sound familiar?"
 
I know his bored looks always mask strong emotions, but I have no idea what that emotion might be. The only choice I'm making is the one that takes me back to Ryan – no matter what I have to do. "There is no choice; whatever it is, I have to do it. Let's just get this over with," I say, stepping in front of him and sitting down behind Clara.
 
"When we get to the bottom, you may want to draw your weapons immediately. I don't know what'll be there waiting for us," Mason says, sitting down behind me.
 
He lights the chute with his hands and then we're flying down the slick, damp tunnel at an alarming pace. It's like a combination between a dark waterslide and a rollercoaster, and I can't help smiling. I throw my head back and let the breeze run through my hair. When we suddenly dip down, I can't contain my giggle. Riven, ahead of us, is hollering every time we crest a hill and surge back down. 
 
I clear my mind for the first and possibly the last time in this realm. I enjoy being here, with these people, in this moment. We take a sharp turn, and my body jars sideways but I stay on the track. I wonder how Mason is controlling all this. I turn my body slightly to see him waving his hands like a conductor. The light in the tunnel doesn't waver, but his hands never seem to stop moving. It's amazing, really and when my eyes connect with his, he grins at me. I can't help giving him an answering grin. Not everything in this realm has been bad.
 
Mason yells, "Land ahoy." The light from his hands shuts off and Riven stops yelling. We're all riding in silence the last few minutes, and I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'm trying to listen above the rushing noise of the fabric on the rocks to see whether there is anything waiting for us on the other end.
 
Author's Note:
 
Clara and Hannah talk about words that never seem big enough for the feelings attached to them. Of the three: love, thanks and sorry - which one do you often feel is most inadequate? Why?
 
Do you think Mason is telling Hannah the truth about what Ryan said to him on the balcony? Do Mason's words make sense to you?
 
Vote. Follow. Comment. I'd love to hear from you. :)