The closed passage
The path to the cave brings Anastacia closer to Aurora and the world of the gods.
After the guard left to organize the search for Aurora, Anastacia remained before her father’s desk. Flor rested on the floor beside her, her head against her leg.
“There is something else you need to know.”
Alfred sat down again. The princess told him what Elyra had explained at the shelter: the cave, the opening between the planes, and the creatures returning from it unable to control their actions.
The king listened to the end.
“Is that the cave the bears went to?”
“Yes. They know the way. Elyra believes we need to close the passage to stop other creatures being affected.”
“And how do you intend to do that?”
Anastacia bent down to stroke Flor’s head.
“We don’t know yet.”
Alfred leaned back in his chair.
“Then I will not send you in there simply because that elder believes you can solve everything.”
“She also said I shouldn’t go alone. I am asking for help, Father.”
The king looked at his daughter. Anastacia continued before he could answer:
“Aurora heard the same explanation. She asked whether someone could cross the rift and wanted to know exactly where the cave was. Then she left without waiting for us.”
“Do you think she went there?”
“I think we need to look. She left after learning the way.”
Alfred stood and opened the door. He called one of the men waiting in the corridor and ordered him to prepare a small escort. He also ordered provisions sent to the shelter, with word for Elyra that Anastacia would return at dawn.
When they were alone again, the princess made another request:
“I want to speak to Leon before I leave.”
“About Aurora?”
“He was telling the truth about freeing the prisoners. Perhaps he can help us understand why she ran away.”
Alfred agreed.
“Afterward, I will hear him too.”
Anastacia left Flor settled in her rooms and went down with a guard to the cell block. This time, Leon was already at the door when she arrived. Aurora’s husband approached the bars, searching the princess’s face for an answer.
“Did you find your friends?”
“They are well. Flor came back with me. The others confirmed that Aurora was the one who took them out of here.”
Leon closed his eyes for a moment.
“Does your father know?”
“I just told him. But Aurora has disappeared.”
He gripped one of the bars.
Anastacia explained how Aurora had left the shelter, the missing horse, and her absence from the castle. Leon listened without interrupting. When she finished, he stepped back from the bars.
“She came to see me today.”
“When?”
“After your first visit. She asked the guard to speak to her husband, and he let us talk through the door.”
Anastacia remembered the time she had spent telling her father about her first conversation with Leon, before looking for Aurora in the gallery.
“What did she say?”
“I asked why she had lied. She said she needed time and I should not have insisted on going to the king.”
“She left you in prison to stop you telling what you knew?”
“That is what I asked. Aurora told me to lower my voice. She said she would return to get me out.”
Leon glanced at the guard, who remained at the start of the corridor.
“I thought she would ask Charles for help. Your uncle still has men and influence, even after leaving the council. But she said she had no intention of asking anyone for anything.”
“How would she free you?”
“She said Alfred would not remain on the throne much longer. And that you should not occupy it either.”
Anastacia took a few moments to respond.
“She said that?”
“She said you cared more about the forest than the kingdom. That if the crown came to you, everything would stay as it was. She wanted to rule, Anastacia. She looked at me and said it.”
The princess remembered Aurora sitting beside her while Elyra explained Sião’s choice. She tried to recall her expression, but she had been too focused on the elder’s words.
“And you?” she asked. “What did you say?”
“That she needed to tell the truth and get me out of here before talking about taking the king’s place. Aurora said she would do both things her own way. Then she left.”
Anastacia rested her hand on the stone beside the cell.
“In the forest, she asked whether it was possible to cross a passage into the world of the gods.”
Leon drew closer again.
“Do you think she went looking for it?”
“I don’t know. But that is where I am going to look for her.”
He lowered his head.
“She is carrying our child. When she told me, I thought she was frightened and needed me beside her. Now I don’t even know whether she meant to come back for me.”
“We will try to find her,” Anastacia said.
Leon nodded slowly.
Before going upstairs, the princess asked the guard to confirm Aurora’s visit to the king. Alfred would need to hear what Leon had just told her, but she wanted the investigation to look for what could be verified as well.
At dawn, the horses were ready in the courtyard. Anastacia found her father with the escort, giving his final instructions. She had already told him about Aurora’s promise and her intention to take the crown. Alfred had heard Leon during the night and had left without announcing a decision.
When his daughter approached, he turned to her.
“The men on the roads will keep searching. We will not stake the whole search on a single direction.”
Anastacia agreed.
“And Leon?”
“He will be taken back to his rooms, with a guard at the door. The witnesses confirmed part of his account. I still need to establish the rest.”
Flor followed Anastacia through the courtyard. The baby dragon was already bigger and, when the princess stopped, she pressed her muzzle to her hand. Alfred looked at them both before approaching his daughter.
“If you find Aurora, bring her back. If you find something you cannot face, retreat.”
“We will be careful.”
The king held her arm for a moment, then let her mount. When the escort departed, Flor trotted beside Anastacia’s horse.
Elyra was waiting at the hunters’ shelter. Mili had returned from the Hidden Village, where she had warned the inhabitants to avoid the trails near the cave. Satobear and Gili stood by the stream.
Anastacia told them that Aurora was still missing and explained why she meant to look for her there.
Mili tightened her grip on her staff.
“She heard Elyra say it was dangerous.”
“She did,” Anastacia replied. “That is why we need to find out what happened.”
Two soldiers stayed at the shelter with the provisions, tasked with helping any residents who needed to leave the region. The others followed the group along the stream. Elyra rode one of the horses, with Mili close by; where the bank narrowed, they all dismounted and led the animals on foot.
Satobear led the way. Gili walked beside Anastacia, glancing often at the trees.
“Do you hear anything?” the princess asked.
“Only the water.”
“Tell me if that changes.”
The she-bear nodded.
Farther on, they found broken branches and deep marks in the earth. One soldier put a hand on his sword, but Satobear crouched to examine the ground.
“Something large ran through here.”
Gili sniffed a trunk with its bark torn off.
“It was like this near the village, before the attack.”
The group moved on more slowly. None of them knew whether the creature was still nearby.
When they reached a bend in the stream, a small herd of deer was crossing the water. One fawn slipped among the stones and drew back, unable to follow the others. At the sight of the soldiers, its mother stopped on the opposite bank.
Anastacia raised a hand, asking them to wait. She moved away from the horses and crouched a few steps from the fawn. The animal trembled, but did not flee as she approached.
Carefully, Anastacia planted her feet in the water and helped it out from between two stones. As soon as it regained its balance, the fawn ran to its mother. The deer stayed beneath the trees for a moment before disappearing.
Gili waited for Anastacia to return to the bank.
“They are leaving this part of the forest.”
The princess looked in the direction the animals had gone. Then she continued with the others.
The rock face appeared above the canopy when sunlight was already reaching the treetops. Satobear stopped before two large rocks and pointed to the opening between them.
“There.”
Anastacia searched the entrance for movement. First she saw a rope tied to a trunk. At its other end, a horse grazed among the roots.
She recognized the saddle before she even drew near.
“That is Aurora’s horse.”
One of the guards who had accompanied the previous day’s journey confirmed it. Bootprints in the damp earth led toward the cave.
Anastacia dismounted and called for Aurora.
No answer came from within, but a faint glow moved across the rocks at the entrance.
Two soldiers stayed with the horses. The others lit torches and followed the group along the narrow passage. Gili drew closer to Satobear as daylight began fading behind them.
“This is where we heard the call,” she said.
Anastacia slowed to wait for them both. Farther ahead, the glow grew strong enough to light the floor.
The passage ended in a high-ceilinged chamber. In the far wall, a luminous opening stretched almost to the ceiling. Light moved within it, but nothing on the other side could be made out.
Aurora stood before the portal.
Her cloak was dirty with earth and one hand rested against the rock. At the sound of footsteps, she turned quickly.
“Aurora!”
Anastacia stepped ahead of the soldiers. Flor followed and stopped beside her, looking from Aurora to the portal’s light.
Aurora looked from Anastacia to the guards and backed up until she stood beside the opening.
“Stay back.”
The princess stopped a few steps away.
“We came to bring you home.”
“I am not going back now.”
“Then explain what you are doing. Elyra and the others told us you opened the cells. Why did you lie to me? Why did you accuse Leon?”
Aurora pressed her fingers against the stone.
“I needed to leave the castle.”
“And you left your husband imprisoned in your place.”
Aurora looked away. Before she could answer, a shadow appeared in the light.
Mili called Anastacia’s name and raised her staff.
A figure crossed through the opening and stopped beside Aurora. It was tall, wearing a cloak marked with crescents. When it turned toward the group, Anastacia saw four eyes following their movements.
Elyra approached the princess.
“Morteus,” she said softly. “The god of exchanges.”
Anastacia knew the name from stories she had heard since childhood. He granted requests, but demanded something in return.
She looked at Aurora at once.
“What did you ask of him?”
Aurora remained beside the portal.
“That is my decision.”
Morteus watched Anastacia for a moment, then turned to Aurora and held out his hand.
“We may go.”
The princess took a step forward.
“Aurora, wait. You do not even know whether you will be able to return.”
Aurora looked at the offered hand. Her breathing was rapid, and it took her a while to lift her fingers.
“Leon is waiting for you,” Anastacia insisted.
At the sound of her husband’s name, Aurora looked at her again.
“Tell him I will return.”
Then she took Morteus’s hand.
Anastacia ran toward them. Aurora had already turned when the princess reached out to catch her.
Morteus stepped through first, leading her by the hand. Aurora crossed just behind him. For an instant, Anastacia could still see her face turned toward the chamber; then the light swallowed her completely.
The opening began to narrow as soon as they had passed.
“Aurora!”
Anastacia reached the wall as the last sliver of light disappeared. Her outstretched hand met cold stone.
One guard stopped beside her, having had no time to reach them. Mili and the bears drew near soon afterward.
Where the portal had been, a vertical mark remained in the rock.
Anastacia passed her palm over it, searching for an opening. She called Aurora again but heard only the echo of her own voice.
Elyra raised the torch and examined the wall.
“The passage has closed.”
“Did you see where they went?” Anastacia asked.
The elder shook her head.
“The light would not let me see.”
Anastacia stepped back far enough to see the whole wall. She had seen Aurora cross. Everyone in the chamber had seen it. Even so, there was no path to follow her.
Flor gave a low call and pressed her muzzle to Anastacia’s hand. The princess crouched beside her and wrapped her arms around her neck.
“Is there any way to open it again?”
“I do not know how,” Elyra replied.
Anastacia looked at the mark in the stone. They had come to stop the rift from continuing to affect the forest. Now it was closed, with Aurora on the other side.
The princess remained there for some time. She prayed to Sião, asking for help to find her, but no voice answered.
Before leaving the cave, Anastacia spoke with Elyra and the escort’s commander. Two men would keep watch near the trail, away from the entrance. If they noticed any change, they were to retreat and alert the castle. No one would attempt to cross if the portal reopened.
“And the village?” Mili asked. “Can we tell them it is over?”
Elyra looked into the cave’s dark interior.
“We can tell them the rift has closed. We still need to care for the creatures that were affected.”
Anastacia asked the elder to come to the castle and speak to Alfred. This time, she would go as a guest. The king needed to hear her account of the prisoners’ release and learn who had appeared in the cave.
Elyra agreed. Mili would accompany the bears back to the village, bringing the news and the supplies left at the shelter.
On the way back, Anastacia led Aurora’s horse for a while. The animal tried to stop beside the stream, and she let it drink. The empty saddle still held the dust of the journey.
When they reached the castle, Alfred received the group before the horses were taken to the stables.
“We found Aurora in the cave,” Anastacia said. “Morteus appeared before us. She took his hand and they both crossed the portal. The passage closed before I could reach her.”
Alfred looked at the soldiers. They confirmed what they had seen.
The king asked Elyra whether there was any way to search for his niece on the other side. The elder explained that she did not know how to reopen the passage, or where it would lead them.
Alfred ordered the watch near the cave reinforced. After hearing the account of the cells as well, he decreed that Elyra and her companions could return to the village without being detained. If he needed to speak to them again, he would send for them.
He invited the elder inside to continue their conversation.
Anastacia followed them as far as the main corridor, then asked leave to see Leon. She found him in the rooms he shared with Aurora. A guard stood at the door, as Alfred had ordered.
Leon stood as soon as he saw her. His eyes moved past her, looking for someone in the corridor.
“We found Aurora,” Anastacia said.
“Where is she?”
The princess drew closer before answering.
“She crossed the portal with Morteus. I was there, Leon. I tried to reach her, but the passage closed.”
He remained standing.
“Was she taken by force?”
“I saw her take his hand. I asked her to come back with us, but she would not.”
Leon sat down slowly.
“Did she say anything?”
“She asked me to tell you she will return.”
He looked at the empty chair by the window. One of Aurora’s cloaks lay folded over its back.
Anastacia pulled up the other chair and sat near him. She did not know whether Aurora could keep her promise. Nor did she know where Morteus had taken her, or what would happen to the child Leon was expecting.
Flor lay beside Anastacia’s chair and rested her head on her knees.
“If we learn how to reach her, I will come and tell you.”
Leon nodded. For a while, they remained there, while downstairs Alfred listened to the elder he had once ordered imprisoned.
The rift was closed. Anastacia’s friends no longer needed to hide from the king’s soldiers. But when the bell announced the closing of the gates that night, the princess still remembered Aurora’s hand disappearing into the light.