Mated to the Griffin (Elemental Mates 5)

She’d been right—for once, she’d been right about everything: about the werewolves, about the scary supernatural world out there, about the map. This should’ve been her reward. The way to get her life back, once she’d triumphantly returned with proof that the media wouldn’t be able to brush off as a lunatic’s crazy conspiracy theories.

Instead, she was a prisoner of the same supernatural forces she’d wanted to expose.

“Hurry up,” Zane said.

One of his lackeys pushed her forward.

Chiara gritted her teeth, but marched on. The men had brought flashlights, but even so she felt cold sweat run down her back when she stared into the dark opening yawning before her.

If they leave me down here without light, I’ll never find my way back out...

“Move,” one of the men barked.

Taking a deep breath, Chiara went forward.

The tunnel she’d entered was just like the other tunnels that had led them down here. But from what she’d learned from the map, they should be very close to the maze now. The entrance had to be somewhere nearby—unless they’d missed a side tunnel in the darkness?

Chiara bit back a curse as the ground suddenly seemed to fall away beneath her. Flailing, she reached out with her arms to hold on to the wall—but it was too late.

The tunnel led steeply down here. A moment later, she landed painfully on her behind. Beneath her, the stone was smooth—smooth enough that in a sudden moment of courage and madness, she remembered her time on the playground as a child.

The tunnel was as smooth as glass. It felt exactly like a slide.

Gritting her teeth, she released her hold on the tunnel’s wall.

And then she began to slide down, slow at first, then faster and faster.

Triumph filled her, even though she had no idea what she was doing or where she was going. But she was going so fast now that it was impossible for them to keep up with her—and right now, that was all that mattered.

It was exactly like going down a huge water slide.

Only there was no water here, and everything was dark. Somewhere behind her, she could still hear the angry cries of her captors.

But right now, for all that she was sliding into the unknown, she was free again.

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When she finally came to a stop, her limbs were trembling. She’d half feared that she’d end up smashing right into a rock or falling into an abyss.

Instead, the ground had leveled again—and her eyes had grown used to the darkness.

At least that was what she thought before she realized that somewhere in front of her, the gloom was lifting.

It was still impossible to make out more than the faint shape of rocks around her, but there was definitely a small light at the end of the tunnel.

Maybe I’ve made it out of the mountain...

Or maybe she’d found the entrance to the maze that had been marked on the map.

Hurriedly, she forced her aching body up before her enemies caught up with her, then made her way toward the light as quickly as she dared.

The further she walked, the brighter the light grew.

She was still inside a tunnel that felt unnaturally smooth beneath her feet. But now that there was light, she could see that it wasn’t the dark rock she’d been used to.

Instead, she was walking through a tunnel made of crystal.

The light glinted and gleamed all around her now. The view was beautiful, so much so that it nearly took her breath away.