Page 30 of Sinful Curses
Most of the kids had jumped off the bar to run around the dusty floor while their parents and older siblings watched in amusement. The sound of their laughter made her smile. It had been far too long since she’d heard such joy from anyone, and she hadn’t realized how much she missed it.
It reminded her of when Lexi was a little girl and they would chase each other around the manor, playing hide-and-seek. Lexi was the worst hider.
She’d sit there and giggle behind doors, or if Sahira called out, “Where are you?” she’d yell back, “I’m in the living room.”
Sahira had to stifle her laughter while trying to act like she still couldn’t find her young niece and her increasingly high-pitched giggles.
With the joy of that memory came sadness. She was stuck here, away from the family she loved so much, and they were no closer to escaping than they were before.
But theyhadto be making progress. They’d gotten further than anyone else who’d left Belda’s town, the symbols were different here, and everything would eventually make sense… it had to.
“How did the grain get here?” Orin asked.
“We have no idea, just like we have no idea about the furniture, the alcohol, or anything else in this realm. It was all here when we arrived.”
“Shit,” Zeth muttered as he downed his drink.
“Andnoother immortals have come here since you arrived?” she asked.
They’d already said no, but she had to confirm it.
Eisel bounced a two-inch tall toddler on her knee as she spoke. “Not in the nearly three hundred years since we’ve been here. With the grain being here, the buildings, and things in the mercantile, there were signs of someone having been here before us, but the place felt so empty, and there was enough dust to make it feel like no one had been here for years before we arrived.”
“Some of those who left Belda’s town behind still could have gone and found answers,” Zeth said. “Just because they didn’t find this town doesn’t mean they didn’t findsomething.”
“They never found anything to help them escape,” Orin stated.
She glanced at him as he leaned back in his seat and drummed his fingers on the table. His attention was on Puth and Eisel, but when his gaze shifted to hers, their eyes locked.
For some unknown reason, she had to restrain herself from walking over to hug him. She needed comfort or something to let her know she wasn’t as alone as she felt, but seeking it from him would be a big mistake. Still, her traitorous heart ached for it.
Breaking his stare, she shifted her attention back to Puth and Eisel. “And you live underground?”
“Yes,” Eisel said. “Originally, we stayed up here, but we prefer being underground, and we’ve made a home for ourselves down there.”
“Will you continue through the mountains?” Puth asked. “Or stay here?”
“We’ll continue,” Sahira said and looked to Orin, Zeth, and Elsa, who nodded their agreement. “With the difference in the symbols between this town and ours, we’ve found something here. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s more than anyone else has ever found, and we have to continue.”
“There’s no other choice,” Orin agreed.
“When will you leave?” another brownie inquired.
“I think we’ve spent enough time here; tomorrow morning is as good a time as any.”
Sahira wanted to argue with him. They had a shower here, a roof over their heads, and warm beds; they didn’t have to rush out tomorrow. If they did some hunting, they might find more food, but she kept her mouth shut.
If they spent much more time here, she might decide against leaving. Orin was right; it was better if they left tomorrow before they got too comfortable here.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Elsa was mutteringabout chocolate chip cookies when Sahira crawled out of the bed they’d shared for the past two nights. She padded across the cool wooden floor to gather the clothes she’d set out to dry after washing them last night.
She didn’t look at the trapdoor as she crossed it but was acutely aware of its presence. It was another mystery and oddity about this realm.
Who had constructed these buildings and towns so similar to each other, yet each with tiny differences? And why?
She was beginning to fear she’d never uncover the answers. A growing concern they would continue endlessly through this realm, finding more towns and more questions but never anything to help them solve the mysteries, was building inside her.
