Chapter Forty-Two: Deeper In

"Did we take the wrong turn?" Lilith scanned the cramped stone around them. The wall before her held no hint of a doorway. The Little White Dragon tapped it; a dull thud said it was solid through.

The tower was a maze by nature. Lilith knew finding a matching stair down wasn’t that easy. On this side, she and Nidhogg had only this single stair to the depths. To reach the other half, she'd have to cross a central hall packed with Undead warriors—an ant nest of iron and bone. That would be trouble.

"Mm… really nothing?" Lilith refused to give up and tried another wall. She didn’t want to charge off alone. If she got hurt, Nidhogg would lecture her. If she wouldn’t brave the hall solo, she'd have to go find Nidhogg and beg a lift across.

She kept her little face set, stubborn as frost, and knocked around the walls again. This time, the sound changed. Not the pure dullness from before—there was a faint bite in the echo, like gears sleeping in the stone. A mechanism.

The Little White Dragon bit her thumb. A bead of crimson welled from soft skin. She smeared it over the gray-white stone and held her breath, eyes wide, waiting for the wall to answer.

The floor shivered under her feet—danger prickled first, thought later. Lilith sprang back on instinct.

Thankfully, she was quick. Lilith alighted on the stair behind her. Where she’d stood, a pitch-black mouth yawned open. And inside, if she wasn’t mistaken, something glinted white.

"Starlight." Lilith drew her Astrolabe. A pinch of Star Energy gathered at its tip into a ghostly blue glow. The long marble Astrolabe carried that light like a lantern on a pole. She gripped the end and dipped the blue starlight into the black throat of the hole.

Now she could see what lurked inside.

The dark shaft did lead to the next level. She could even make out the floor below, dusted with clean white snowflakes.

But the way down wasn’t friendly. Even by eye alone, countless knife-sharp spikes jutted from both walls, like iron thorns. And that was without whatever traps lay hidden.

With Lilith’s soft skin, the Little White Dragon half suspected she’d come out the bottom with nothing left but bones.

"What do I even do…" She raked her hair, frustration rising first, answers nowhere. The Little White Dragon stared at the tunnel, stumped. If it were just those exposed spikes, she could shell herself in ice, a makeshift armor, and probably be fine.

What gnawed at her was the unseen—devices with more bite than bare spikes, waiting to spring the moment she jumped. One snap, and the Little White Dragon could get skewered clean through.

"Lilith." She was pinching her chin, lost in thought, when a tall shadow slid up behind her. Before she could react, a slender hand settled on her shoulder—cool as night water.

"N–Nidhogg." Lilith turned on reflex and met the Black Dragon’s stormy face. She tugged a smile out of herself, then shrank from the near-murder in those eyes. Her voice went small, awkward. "You… you finally came."

Nidhogg didn’t answer. The Black Dragon simply scooped the Little White Dragon up and carried her aside. Lilith went quietly. She knew she’d made Nidhogg angry; resistance wasn’t in the cards.

Lilith knew the Black Dragon indulged her moods. If it wasn’t serious, no matter what trouble she started, Nidhogg rarely got mad. For all her sly, teasing nature, Nidhogg’s spoiling of Lilith was unmatched. But when that anger showed plain on her face, Lilith knew she’d kicked the beehive.

"Why did you sneak off?" Nidhogg’s voice was as cool as ever, winter air distilled, a chill like Lilith’s magic woven through it. But Lilith heard what lay beneath—the quiet ember of anger, unspoken and hot.

"I… I…" Lilith stammered. The Little White Dragon had no good answer. She couldn’t admit she’d run off sulking because Nidhogg hadn’t praised her.

"I just… wanted to go on ahead." After all that dithering, it was the lamest excuse she could manage.

"Alright." Nidhogg nodded, as if buying it. "Then tell me—does your leg still hurt?"

"N–No. It doesn’t." Lilith answered small. Truth was, a deep ache lingered in the bone. Sliding down that ice path had pressed the injured calf; it still throbbed a little.

"Really?" Nidhogg pinched her right shin. The Black Dragon didn’t use much force, yet Lilith still hissed cold air through her teeth.

"Still playing tough?" Nidhogg pinched again, harder. Pain bit deep. Lilith bared her teeth, her little face scrunching into a knot.

"I won’t, I won’t—ow, it hurts!" Lilith begged for mercy. Only then did the Black Dragon let go.

"Why can’t you take care of yourself?" Nidhogg caught her cheeks and tugged them gently apart. "You know I worry when you’re hurt. Why can’t you give me some peace of mind?"

"Mm-mm… s’rry…" The Little White Dragon mumbled, words mashed by the pinch.

"I want you, from now on, no matter what happens—even if you’re just in a bad mood—to tell me first. Alright?" Seeing her discomfort, Nidhogg let her cheeks go. The Black Dragon crouched, took Lilith’s hand gently, and met her gaze with steady warmth. "Believe me. I love you, Lilith. Whatever you want to do, whatever you ask, I will stand on your side. Always. So trust me the way I trust you. Can you?"

"Mm." Lilith’s face went rosy. She nodded, wordless, heart thumping like a small drum.