ARIA
If I had thought of running before, it vanished the moment I saw Grandfather Patrick and the Shaman.
I shivered, staring around the cave. The walls pulse with an ancient energy, veins of glowing silver threading through the stone like a heartbeat. In the center lies a natural basin, filled with moonlit water dripping from a skylight directly above, the moon's light a perfect beam.
Crystals jut from the floor in a wide circle, forming a natural barrier. Carved markings in a lost language spiral out from the center of the basin like a celestial map.
"Aria."
I stiffened as I felt Lance's hand on my back, gently nudging me forward. I swallowed, not turning to him, but I said. "I'm still scared."
"I'm with you." He answered. "Just look at me and think about me."
I nodded, then allowed him to lead me forward. I hadn't been to an unbinding ceremony before. This would be the first, and I'd be experiencing it firsthand. I guessed it was the reason the fear in me kept spiking up.
