Chapter Thirty-One

After trudging across rivers, forests, and open grasslands, hiking miles along a winding and rocky terrain that went higher and higher with each step, the entrance to Lyklos Keep was a glorious sight to behold emerging from the side of the mountain.

Ronin could hear a myriad of voices echoing along the path just beyond the stone archway, chanting a sacred hymn to the Goddess that he hadn’t heard since his youth. A fleeting memory teased his mind: sitting on his mother’s knee as she braided his hair, singing a sweet ode that often sent him off to sleep.

He wished he could hear her sing again.

“Going in?” Thaddeus touched his arm lightly, jolting him from his reverie.

“You go,” Sybl urged. “Phoebe and I will keep watch out here until you return.” She moved to the side, sitting on the large boulder near the entrance.

Ronin nodded, going in first with his council trailing behind him. Torches lined the walls along the path, shining brighter the deeper they got into the cave. He kept hi