With Sebastian and me still on Ariathy's back, I caught sight of the rocky cave as it slowly came into view. Its jagged shape sharpened as we approached closer; thick vines sprouting from the foggy earth were twisted around it, with some of the vines forming an archway at the opening where the vines threaded, completely blocking it off.
I noticed a small group, a handful of people, standing at the entrance. The women had heads of flaming red hair longer than their waist and voluminous than their slender bodies, and the men had the same hair but short and stopped at their shoulders. Unlike mine, which was curly and stubborn, theirs was looser, wavy, and brighter like the sun.
One of them, in particular, stood apart from the rest with how the fronts of her hair were braided back. While eve
