Claimed By The Mistborne Alpha - Chapter 44: Cavern
Chapter 44: Cavern
Valden’s hand brushed the damp hair away from my forehead as he lathered the soap up my legs and thighs. We were both huddled opposite each other in the tiny bathtub, him cleaning off every remnant of himself from my wet skin. His touch was light and so careful in a way that almost undid me more than his wildness had.
His hands moved with infinite tenderness as he moved a wet cloth down my skin, trailing it down my body but without the hunger that was visible in his eyes just moments ago. There was something so much more intimate in the way he looked at me now. We both used to crave moments like these.
When he finished washing me up and himself, he tossed the cloth aside, tugged on his clothes, and held out his hand for me. “Come on,” he murmured, a smile breaking out on his face. “You’ve seen nothing of this place yet. Let me show you.”
I hesitated. I was finally changed and washed up and by the time I got out of the small bathroom adjacent to the room, I was ready to fall back into the blankets again and forget about everything else. But curiosity outweighed my exhaustion and I took his hand, mirroring his smile and letting him guide me out.
Outside the room was a narrow dark tunnel illuminated only by the green glow from the Stargar Stone. The path seemed endless for a while, but after a few more turns, everything widened, and I gaped at the view in front of me.
This was no mere hideout. It was an entire world, executed after severe planning for God knew how long.
The tunnel had opened up to a massive cavern, everything lined by the same glowing protective stone. Walkaways ran along the walls, weaving into countless doors and chambers. Other rankless ones and Lycans, some still in their dark uniforms, moved everywhere– some of them sparring in a training ring to the left, some others gathered around crude wooden tables stacked with food, maps, and weapons. In there, under the abandoned quarters the air had been alive with the smell of sweat and steel and fur and something very similar to hope and no one up there never knew. It was astounding.
It took a minute to take it all in and Valden waited patiently at my side as I clutched his hand tighter.
A group of soldiers in uniforms moved mid-step, their bones cracking as fur rippled above their skin, practicing their control on partial shifting. And on the far side, a wide hall opened into what looked like an armory, blades and weapons hanging proudly on the walls, lit up by lanterns hanging above them.
It was like a mini city down there.
All this made me realise the extent of the Rebellion. There were so many people going against the rules of the Elitists and Darek. So many of us, ready to fight against the tyrannical rule. Planning and watching, waiting for the right time.
I even saw Lesra and Joren among them. Joren was busy balancing two crates filled with some kind of liquid, his face obscured. Lesra saw me from the other side of the room and smiled knowingly, giving me a hand salute. I smiled back, warmth spreading through me at the gesture.
“Have you known them for long?” I turned to Valden who seemed suspiciously quiet.
“They pretty much saved me so yeah, I have. I met them when I came to Parthenn in the beginning. I was an Omega then, and the things I experienced…I don’t think I would have survived without them.”
He looked sad when he said it, as if there were so many of his feelings he’d been keeping suppressed for the sake of everyone else. It didn’t take him long to be a Beta Captain so it wouldn’t have been easy in any sense of the word.
I wondered if he’d ever open up to me about everything that happened after he left. How it felt to see me after so long. But I was willing to wait. I knew he’d tell me when he was ready.
Valden’s hand guided me away gently from where I stood rooted at the centre of the hall, his thumb rubbing circles on the small of my back. He didn’t comment more on Joren or Lesra, just led me deeper into the far corridor where the noise began to thin out.
We climbed a narrow, dingy staircase, the stone damp beneath our steps. At the top, a wooden door groaned as Valden pushed it open, and a roll of musty air brushed against my face.
The room beyond was smaller than the cavern below but had a strange sort of weight to it. The walls were lined with old bookshelves, their contents scattered and frayed. Lanterns flickered against stone walls draped with maps and faded tapestries. The air smelled of dust and parchment, yet everything was arranged neatly, as though the mess was intentional, like some sort of controlled chaos.
At the center of the room, a single rolling chair sat, turned halfway toward us. And in that chair, was a woman.
Her skin was the color of midnight, flawless especially beneath the light glow of the stone. Her hair fell like a dark waterfall over her shoulders, gleaming with an almost unnatural sheen. She was older, late forties, maybe, but carried herself with such stillness and command that the air seemed to still around her. Her gaze lifted, sharp and steady, and those deep-set brown eyes met mine without flinching.
The weight of it was like a hand closing around my throat. There was a warning in her eyes, but also something of a warm welcome I didn’t expect.
Valden’s hand tightened protectively around my waist, but he didn’t speak yet. He didn’t have to. Something in me already knew, this woman mattered.
And somehow, she had been waiting for me.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Book Empress