One Last Time by Denise Daisy

Author:Denise Daisy [Daisy, Denise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

The fireflies are playing hide-and-seek, dodging between the moss that hangs from the massive branches of the giant oaks. In a way, they seem to be blazing a trail for Quillan and me as we walk hand in hand along the riverbank, keeping up our pretense as a young married couple, taking an evening stroll after dinner, or supper, as they call it around here. We’re headed for the cave we discovered our first day here. It’s the place we are to wait for the cargo. Emily informed us it has a back entrance, too. Another covert tunnel that comes in handy for runaways.

As soon as we are out of sight from the estate, Quillan drops my hand. My heart falls along with it. His integrity will not allow him to start something he cannot finish. He believes it’s best this way, even though I might be willing to live with a broken heart. I’ve heard the old saying, better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. I know what it means now. I’m thinking I might tell him once we arrive at the cave. We will have a couple of hours to kill while we wait for the cargo. I can bare my soul. If I humiliate myself, I have the peace of mind knowing Quillan will never remember it happening. I sigh and hug myself, rubbing my arms as a shiver tickles at my skin.

“You nervous?” he asks, picking up on my anxiousness.

“A little,” I lie. I am scared as hell, but it’s more about the risk I will take in vomiting out my feelings, and not so much the risk of transporting the cargo. Even though that has me just as nervous.

We arrive at the mouth of the cave. It’s much creepier in the dark than it is in the light of day. I duck to enter, making sure not to bang my head on the low rock ceiling. Again, Quillan’s places his hand on the small of my back as we go in. He leads me farther inside. We pass the large boulder I dressed behind our first day here. Even though it has been a little over a week, it seems like months ago. So much has happened in such a small amount of time.

“Lunar told me there are lanterns, oil, and matches here,” Quillan informs me as he searches behind the rock. Using my hands for eyes, I stumble around. The sound of metal sliding across the dirt tells me I found them. Quillan takes them from me. “We’re not to light up until we are deep in the cave. Lunar told me to keep the glow low, a signal to let the cargo know we are here.” I follow along, totally trusting my guide. Never in my life would I have entered this far inside a cavern. I’ve always feared caves. Not only are they dark and creepy and more than likely full of bats and bears, but these hollow rocks are also capable of collapsing and burying me alive until I suffocate.

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