The Luna’s Choice by Kat Silver

Chapter 71: Theo

Ayla and I were both feeling refreshed this morning. It had been too long since I had seen her feeling so determined and optimistic. While it made my life easier, it did make it harder to convince her to wait upstairs while we worked to open the vault. I think it was Dad’s insistence that finally convinced her it was for the best.

The whole process of getting into the thing had been a pain. The stone wall was a lot thicker than we anticipated, and we couldn’t get a torch powerful enough to cut through the heavy metal in one go in such a small space, let alone two stories underground. But we had some tools that were at least making progress.

By the time started to feel like we were through, we were all hot and sweaty and cranky. I kept telling myself that with our luck, this would only lead to some empty room and it was all for nothing. But my gut kept telling me something different. I needed to keep going. The closer we got, the stronger my determination got.

The others were taking a break when I felt the door shift. I stopped cutting and stood back. I pressed against the sturdy metal and it began to gave way.

“Hey, guys,” I called to the others, “I think we’re in.”

Dad and Kingston came back first.

“You sure?” Kingston asked.

“I may need another good shoulder, but yeah,” I replied, “it’s ready. Come help me.”

Dad handed us both masks. Kingston and I braced ourselves and, on the count of three, threw our weight against the door. It waivered but didn’t fall. It took two more good shoves before is came crashing down in a cloud of dust and debris. We rushed back, keeping our distance while the air cleared and we made sure the ceiling wouldn’t collapse on us.

was to the opening. It was dark inside. The lights from the corridor didn’t seem to penetrate more than a foot inside.

felt dry. I shined the light around, looking for anything other than stone walls. I stopped when the beam landed on a stone

I heard Dad say behind

one of the flood lamps in,”

me. I took a few more steps closer. I could make out the markings etched into the stone. This

a sarcophagus,” I said.

my father reacted. “Who’s?”

Amvorov Arden,” I said. “It’s our

doesn’t make any sense,” Dad said, coming up beside me. “She’s buried in

not,” I

in intricate carvings. I knew there had to be some kind of meaning to them! I tugged my shirt over my head and started to wipe away as much dust and dirt as I could. Kingston quickly

of this mean

“Wait, this is

light wasn’t as good so Kingston was holding a flashlight up to the markings. They were a series of images. As I examined them, they did become

is our creation myth,” I said.

replied, pointing to the last series of symbols.

as I went. Everything lined up with the story we all knew except that last section. That seemed to add an ending I

this saying there were two Moonstones?” I questioned.