Silent as ghosts, they wound their way through a narrow path that was sandwiched between the base of two mountains. Once they were well past the beginning of the trail, Rox kept his voice low as he told of the sister mountains.

“It is said that everything in life comes in two. This tale is no different. For long ago, there were two goddesses. They were sisters. Twins, in fact. Yes, yes. And they—I think they were sisters. These are them. Sister Mountains.”

Sophia stopped listening. The mountain was devoid of any life, and the ground seemed charred in places where other spots looked as red as blood. What plant life grew on the mountain was black and held little beauty compared to the rest of what she had seen of Ripthorn.

There was also a change in the air. Her magic hummed just beneath the surface, waiting to be released. She had a sinking suspicion they were being watched, followed, or both. That vexsnare was still after them, and she didn’t want to let her guard down, being distracted with a very confusing tale of how the mountains came to be. Her efforts were best suited to keeping an eye and ear out for any surprises.

Rox muttered something she didn’t catch just before he took a sharp left into a crevice within the wall of the mountain that was wide enough for her and Andreas to walk through side-by-side. It narrowed toward the top which made Sophia wonder if it was created with a specific purpose or just happened upon itself naturally through weather and age.

Upon entering, Sophia faced tumbled down rocks, as though something or someone attempted to seal the cave from ever being used or found. Though she wasn’t sure what the purpose of that was, she hoped that this place wouldn’t end up leading to another dead end or riddle for her to solve.

Rox climbed over the collapsed rock with ease, while she and her men struggled to maneuver through the space without losing balance over the shifting debris. Once they finally made their way over to the other side, Rox reached into his robes and pulled out flint and steel, creating sparks against something along the wall. A bright light burst forth and Sophia noted that there were torches along the walls.

She figured this was the place Rox came to for some of his supplies. He seemed to know the location well despite his resistance to coming. Perhaps something had scared him before. Either way, he pulled the torch from the wall and led them farther into the cave where it was too dark, and the air was too thick and cold.

When they arrived at a spot where the passage narrowed, Rox stopped and handed off the torch to Ezekiel.

“This is where I leave,” he said. “I refuse to go further. Not even for another ounce of Sophia’s magic.”

Sophia agreed that there was something foreboding and unnerving about the place, but not enough to keep her from her goal. She said, “Thanks for your help.”

He shrugged as he walked away, muttering something to the effect of “your death, not mine.”

Ezekiel passed the torch to Edric and used some of his magic to conjure up some witchlight to go with it. Sophia allowed Edric to take the lead, since he had the torch, and Ezekiel took the rear. This way, if anything was down here, they would know of an attack beforehand. Around them was a maze of natural mineral crystals—stalagmites and stalactites—that led to a door at the back of the cave. All around them gold glittered, and things scurried from the light, deep into the shadows.

As they drew closer to the door, the key began to glow. The aura brightened the closer they got. It seemed to react to some kind of magic on the other side. That brought excitement to Sophia, feeling drawn to whatever lay on the other side of the door. She knew whatever it was, it was an answer. The very moment that door opened, she believed everything would change for her.

Even as they arrived, she noted the door hummed with power. This place wasn’t so bad. She couldn’t see anything wrong with the cavern other than it being dark and murky. She almost giggled to herself as she inserted the key. The lock clicked, and the door opened into a room filled with massive jewels and treasure and gold.

The men whistled at once and started to search through the items to find the clue they were promised.

Sophia took the back end of the cave, finding a small alcove hidden in the shadows, beyond the jewels. Something glinted in the light as it shifted behind her and she was pulled toward that direction. As she drew closer, she realized it was a coffin made out of crystal. She stepped to the side and looked down at a girl, about sixteen. The coffin pulsed with dim light, slow and steady, reminding her of breaths spaced too far apart or of a heartbeat that pulsed in time to the minute versus the seconds.

The girl was alive. She had to be. That was the purpose of the coffin, it seemed. Sophia wouldn’t accept any other reason. This girl was preserved with magic.

Sophia examined the girl’s form, finding she was wounded, covered in deep gashes along her torso and arms. It’s almost as if the coffin had preserved her in the middle of a fight. Most telling of all was the crest on the pendant around the girl’s neck. The royal crest. And that of the royal family of Nighthelm.

“I’ve found her,” Sophia said softly to herself, almost not believing her own eyes for a moment.

She called her men to her, and they came running, stopping short and gaping at the girl in the crystal coffin.

“You don’t possibly think…” Ezekiel’s voice trailed off and he ran his fingers along the edge of the coffin.

“She’s the one,” Sophia said. “I feel it.”

“Well what do we do now?” Andreas asked.

Sophia said, “Obviously, we need to figure out a way to wake her up. But we also need to find a way to get her out of here.”

Edric nodded. “What do you think, Zeke? Finding anything?”

Ezekiel was busy muttering to himself and pulling out his book for notes and such. “I think these are the runes of the druids. Similar to the tablet we found. There’s a chance someone who can decipher them is still around here. They may know of a way to get her awake without the wounds killing her.”

“You don’t think you could do it?” Sophia asked.

He shook his head. “Whoever did this was much more powerful than I am. It would take much more than just me to get the coffin open. Even more to keep her from perishing from her wounds.”

“First we have to find a way out of here,” Andreas said. “Won’t do us much good to resurrect an heir of Nighthelm only to perish within the mountain.”

That was true. Albeit, apart from Andreas, her men were starting to show signs of fading again. They were growing weaker, and though she knew they would never admit it, she could tell the trip wore on them and took more energy to get them here than it would otherwise. As she studied the girl in silence, she knew she had a decision to make. Get her men to the surface or stay within the mountain and risk their lives trying to find a way to wake the girl. It wasn’t a fair choice, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to help restore the heirs if her men were to succumb to the mountain’s poisonous magic. Before she did anything for the girl, she needed to know exactly what she was dealing with, who she was, and who had the power to wake her and heal her. Not to mention what befell her and caused her to be placed in this coffin.

“He’s right,” Sophia finally said. “We’ll have to come back when we can. Then we can wake her and find out if she’s an heir.”

“It’s possible she is,” Edric said. “Few ever met the heirs in person and even fewer know what they would look like. Though we always suspected the heirs to be men.”

“Maybe that was part of the point of keeping them hidden,” Andreas said.

“Either way, we will have to come back. We can’t do her any good now,” Sophia said. She stared at the girl a little longer, something pulling at the back of her mind. There was more to this girl than met the eye. “Let’s not share what we’ve found here until we know for sure who she is and why she’s here.”

The men agreed, and they turned around to head back to the enclave.

Sophia couldn’t help but ponder the mystery of the girl in the crystal coffin. She finally had a lead. A promising one. She felt even closer to finding the heirs, and she had a feeling she was either an heir or was associated with them. First thing was first, get her men out of the mountain and fast. She didn’t think they could survive in the mountain much longer. There was only so much her magic could do, and the amulets did well at staving off the effects, but like the elder arbors said, it wasn’t a permanent fix and could only work for so long.

Her new mission: to get her and her men out of the mountain before they died and to return once they were fully prepared to bring this girl back from her crystal-encased death.