Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
TYNAN
On the way back to Darragh, we flew through the sacred lands, avoiding travelling during the day.
While the chances of being spotted by soldiers from the capital were next to non-existent, there were still Shadows we needed to worry about.
I gained momentum and glided, carried by the pleasant breeze of a thermal wave.
Alina adjusted her hold on me and immediately all my thoughts returned to my mate.
No matter how many days had passed, I still could not believe she was here with me.
I thought I had lost her. I was ready to end my life just to avoid being without her, breathing the air and walking the land when she was no longer present.
What if I had been too late? What if I had never found her in time to save her?
Fear clenched my heart and moments later, Alina patted the side of my neck.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I responded, remembering that she could sense every change of my mood.
I turned my eyes back to the horizon, searching for any sign of movement. Dragonborns would not travel at night, but the undead dragons absolutely would. I could still remember our encounter with the turned dragons, and did not want to go through that again.
The sun was rising. It was time to stop and wait out the sun.
When looking for a place to rest, I always searched for a secluded spot high up, protected from crawlers and not easily detectable from above.
We passed the remains of an abandoned castle and I asked Victor to check the upper floor of the building.
Victor and Sol landed on the balcony and quickly shifted before entering the room with their weapons ready. In the meantime, I made a wide circle, checking the surrounding area. While flying over the roof, Victor came out and gave both thumbs up, before turning back into the building.
“Frid?”
“Yeah. I saw.” The girl landed on the balcony next and swiftly changed into her human form, before walking through the set of double doors with her weapon ready.
Carefully, I lowered to the balcony, making sure Alina could slide down safely. For the last couple of days, we had almost no time alone together. We were all exhausted, but I kept pushing forward. Only when we reached the safety of Darragh would I feel at ease.
“You look tired.” She breathed when I wrapped my arms around her narrow waist.
“Come on, let's get some sleep.” I kissed the top of her head and she grimaced.
“What?” I asked.
“I feel gross. I need a bath.” She looked up at me.
“Nothing about you can ever gross me out.”
“Really?” She laughed.
“I’m dead serious.”
“You don’t mean that.” She bit her lip.
“Hey, lovebirds. Food’s ready.” Frid appeared in the doorway.
Alina’s face turned bright pink and she immediately tried to step away, but I held on to her tightly.
“I swear to the gods. All of us are scared shitless to walk in on you having sex again. One time was enough.” She waved her hand dismissively and walked back in.
“What are the chances that they forget about that?” Alina asked.
“Close to zero.” I smirked, following her.
When the familiar peaks appeared in the distance on the third day, the entire group was beyond exhausted.
All our supplies had been depleted. We flew without food and strictly rationed our water.
A light headache pushed against my temples, and I was severely dehydrated.
Alina tried very hard not to complain, but I could tell how difficult the trip was for her.
“There,” I said and descended.
“Home sweet home,” Frid muttered.
“I’ll be surprised if they don’t try to shoot us from the ground,” Victor added.
“They won’t,” I responded.
“You said you had a plan?” Frid asked.
“Sort of.”
Frid growled.
We landed on the familiar platform on top of the mountain. Carefully, I lowered my body and watched Alina slide down my back. She did not complain, but her knees buckled and she reached up to grab me for support. I immediately shifted and caught her before she tumbled to the ground.
“Name yourselves!” someone shouted.
“Here we go,” Victor muttered.
“Who’s she?” another voice shouted.
“My fiancée,” I said, taking her hand.
“Does she have a name?”
“Aly. Aly Webber.” Alina responded.
“What do you want, Darragh?”
“We need to speak to Grace.” I glanced behind the barrier of rocks where I knew the post was stationed.
“It’s too late for a social call. Hanoch would want to see you first,” one of the guards shouted.
Hanoch. I could still see his mutilated body on top of the table, painted with flickers of flames. Everything I was so good at suppressing was coming to the surface all at once, but I needed to be focused.
“Take us to him.”
A faint shuffling sound came from the distance and a group of guards approached us. They quickly checked our weapons and led us down the valley. I took Alina’s hand, helping her descend the steep stairs carved into the surface of the ancient rock.
“This place is beautiful.” Alina sighed behind me.
“Do you remember it?” I asked, lowering my voice.
“A little.” She sighed.
I shifted my gaze back to the others. They needed rest and food, and it was up to me to play my cards right to make that happen.
Twenty minutes later, we entered the castle.
It was nearly jet black, and appeared absolutely immense in the dull moonlight.
I had almost forgotten how damp and foggy Darragh usually was.
We rarely saw the stars or the moon, only in brief glimpses.
But when they did appear, it was the most breathtaking spectacle known to man.
I noticed Alina and Frid looking up, while Victor pointed out something in the late-night sky.
Even Sol paused for a moment to admire the view.
I stepped closer to the heavy-set, wooden door, and forced my shoulders to relax, before crossing into the dimly lit corridor.
Hanoch was in the same room where we had spent so much time talking in my dream, but this time, he had his three year old son balanced on his knee, and an open book on the table beside him.
When he saw me, his face hardened. He closed the book and whispered something to his boy as he looked over to the group of guardsmen.
One of the guards approached, picked up the child and took him, kicking and screaming, from the room.
“Hanoch.” I nodded.
“Tynan. Why are you here?”
“We came to ask for shelter.”
“You forfeited your rights when you left, defying the orders of your clan leader.” He narrowed his eyes.
“Where’s Grace?” I asked.
“Grace?”
“I am sure she would want to help.”
“She suffered a stroke. She’s not out most days. You would know if you ever visited,” he said.
“You just said I’m not welcome here. How was I supposed to visit?” I was trying hard to stay calm.
“You would have found a way if you wanted to.” Hanoch crossed his arms on his chest.
“That’s right. I never wanted to. Not after everything.”
It was going much worse than I ever anticipated.
“Alright.” Hanoch said.
“Alright?”
“You can stay in the castle.” Hanoch said.
“Just like that?” I squinted, scrutinizing his face.
“What? Is that not good enough for your group?” Hanoch gave me a hard look.
“Of course not. Thank you.”
Hanoch nodded and gave a signal to his men.
As the servants walked us through the long, dark corridors, illuminated by the lights of the torches, I turned to Alina. “I don’t understand,” I said quietly in her ear.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“It was easy. Too easy.”
We were led further from the main rooms, almost to the side of the building, where a set of unoccupied rooms had been converted into bedrooms. When I lived in the castle, I stayed in the main section.
Apparently, I was no longer considered part of the family.
Still, it was far more generous than I had expected.
Each of us got a room that was moderate in size, with one or two windows and sturdy, simple furniture.
“Get some sleep.” I kissed Alina on top of her head before opening her door.
“I'm so tired I feel like I'm already dead!” Frid yawned.
“I’m off to bed.” Sol raised his hand and disappeared behind his door.
I walked into my room and approached the window. The sunrise gently brushed the sharp angles of the ancient peaks.
Only one thought consumed my overly tired mind.
How much time do we have left?