Emil’s throat tightened. “I must sound so miserable to you, but I’m not like this all the time. And I do love this forest. I love my house. I love living next to a stream and going on horse rides. It’s just that… sometimes I feel trapped, you know?” He and Adam had led such completely different lives, but what made them similar would be enough for Adam to understand where he was coming from. The night they’d spent together felt special, and he didn’t want to hide behind a mask any longer. “But I turn thirty tonight. I don’t know how yet, but I will turn over a new leaf.”
Adam’s mouth twitched, and he let go of Emil before digging into the pocket of his cassock. “Maybe this can bring you some luck,’ he said and unfolded a delicate golden chain necklace with a tiny cross pendant.
“Is this to save my sinful soul?” Emil asked with a smirk, but wrapped his hair around his hand and pulled it up, exposing his neck.
“I know you’re not religious, but I am. And I will pray so the tide turns for you,” Adam said as he stepped closer. Hesitation passed over his features, but he eventually reached behind Emil’s neck to fasten the necklace. The dainty chain of metal links was warm from Adam’s body heat when it brushed Emil’s skin, but neither of them said anything until Adam leaned back and put his hands in his pockets. “Happy birthday.”
The urge to kiss him was so violent he took a step back to create more distance between them. “Thank you. I’m sure it will bring me good fortune.” Sparks flew off his skin and jumped onto Adam’s cassock, but he stood no chance in setting Adam on fire. Adam’s resolve to resist him was far too great, and it wouldn’t have been fair to test it again and again. Adam smirked and looked away, settling his gaze on the rock cavity once more.
“Have you ever been in there?”
Emil shook off the sense of inaccessible sweetness beyond the reach of his lips and raised the torch, trying to inspect what was farther in, but it seemed the passage came to an abrupt end only a few paces into the cliff. It was empty.
“No. Doubt anyone’s tried to go in there, to be honest. It’s pretty well disguised, and we’re far from the village. But don’t worry, I know how to find my way back to civilization.”
Adam met his gaze, swallowing. “We could see what’s inside.”
Emil stared back at him, but his heartbeat already picked up. “What? Since when are you into caves?”
Adam took a deep gulp of air and stepped closer, as if the cavern lured him in as much as it pushed Emil away. “I’m curious.”
“It could be dangerous, and you’re not exactly dressed for climbing,” Emil said, indicating Adam’s cassock, but Adam pulled at Emil’s sleeve.
“We’ll be careful.”
Emil froze with the sense that something very odd had just happened, but Adam no longer waited and slid his hand over the mossy stones as he stepped into the crack, his black-clad form about to disperse in nothingness if Emil didn’t follow.
Emil’s throat tightened, but instead of waiting for Adam outside, he followed straight into a gap so narrow he needed to go in sideways. The dampness of the walls sent chills all the way to his bones, but the earlier sense of dread was gone, as if the fact that Adam had made a decision for them both negated all of Emil’s doubts.
His throat still dried when he realized that the passage wasn’t ending where he thought it would and had changed its angle, leading farther into the mountain. He never understood cave explorers. In fact, tight quarters made him uneasy. But even though he had to lean down so he wouldn’t hit his head, despite the walls around them offering so little space it seemed like they might get stuck at any moment, he wasn’t afraid.
Adam led the way as if he’d been raised in such tunnels, but when they took yet another turn, the corridor opened into a space so airy the scent of plants momentarily made Emil breathless.
They were at the floor of a gorge with rocky walls so tall and steep it seemed as if it had been created by a single jab of an enormous axe that had split the hill in two in an era when giants had roamed the world. It was still quite narrow, but the breadth of the ravine likely provided enough access to sunlight during the day to sustain the flood of greenery stretching as far as the eye could see.
Some of the trees reached all the way to where the mouth of the gorge opened into the sky, their leaves the most intense green Emil had ever seen, as if the whole forest offered sustenance to this hidden sanctuary untouched by human hand. Pillows of moss climbed the flat rock where Emil stood behind Adam, like a carpet laid out to welcome them home. Even the air was pleasantly warm.