Elemental Heir | ✔️

Chapter 28

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I walked behind Ronan through the dark, dreary hallways, wondering where he was taking me. He'd shown up at my door shortly after I'd finished getting ready, and to my displeasure, told me that he had a surprise for me. I detested surprises. I never understood what people found so appealing about them.

I hoped I'd dressed appropriately for whatever it was he had planned. My hair was braided over the sides of my head, leaving the rest to fall down my back in thick, dark waves. The dress I'd found in my closet was lovely, but nothing too extravagant. I didn't want to overdress. It was a simple, strapless, floor length black gown with matching, black heels.

The only jewelry I wore was a pair of pearl earrings, a matching pearl necklace and the Fae ring, which had become a permanent part of my attire seeing as it was impossible to remove.

I grew more and more curious as we entered a spiral stairwell and descended. We seemed to walk down the stairs for an eternity and my feet were beginning to hurt. Why had I worn these ridiculous shoes?

"Ronan, where are you taking me? This is ridiculous." I whined as we exited the bottom of the stairwell and made our way to another one.

He grinned at me over his broad shoulder. "Don't worry, it will be worth it." He promised.

I eyed his back distastefully as he began walking down the next set of stairs, his posture perfectly relaxed, his breaths even and calm. I was practically heaving, exhaustion catching up with me. I silently cursed the gods for not giving me my Fae abilities yet. If I was Fae, like Ronan, these stairs wouldn't even phase me.

Ronan was dressed formally, which did not help my nerves. He wore a black suit, perfectly pressed, and it was even complete with a tie.

When I felt that I couldn't possibly walk down another step, we finally emerged at the bottom. My legs felt like jello beneath me and I sighed in relief as we walked out into a large, open room.

I gazed around and then above me, and I realized that the empty room had an open ceiling. The night sky was visible through the opening in the roof and I could almost feel the fresh breeze on my face.

"Where are we?" I asked, blinking up at the stars.

"You'll see." Ronan said softly.

He reached out and gently took my hand in his own. I glanced down at our joined hands, and then settled my gaze on his face. He smiled softly at me and then began to lead me toward the single, open doorway of the room.

He led me through the dark hallway briefly before we emerged on the other side. I gasped as I looked around and found that we were outside of the Aviary. We were near the base, not completely on the ground, but on a grassy extension of the lower part of the structure.