21. Chapter 21 #2
Bella nods briefly, and then deep dives into a conversation with the stranger as if they’re long-lost friends.
Meanwhile, Lily continues on with her long-winded tangent over how much Maxine hates her, to which Maxine chastises Lily about how grating her voice is.
While they’re all busy with, erm… that, I stoop down to inspect the little rose, only to find that its color has already changed.
It’s now a pretty shade of lavender sky, which turns to ice the moment the dragon’s roar rips across the clearing.
The dragon.
“Tannesia!” the man shouts, ripping his gaze from Bella’s and motioning for us to all hurry through the door carved into the side of the tree. I scoop up the icy rose and do exactly as he asks, only because my heart is hammering in my chest cavity.
It’s back.
A dragon. A real life, man-eating dragon.
With silver spires for horns and eyes that glisten like glacierized ice, along with a very large belly perfectly designed for digesting human entrails and a mouth big enough to gulp us all up in a single bite.
I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast in my life.
And yes, I do consider the fact that following a strange man into a tree—in a part of the forest known for making people disappear—isn’t exactly wise.
But given how the dragon is swooping lowly over the forest right now, I bolt through the door and careen inside.
The door seals shut behind us with a heavy thud, and for a long-winded moment, the only sound I hear is our collective breathing.
The walls in here are imbued with a soft, golden light, and the ceiling is decorated in tangled heaps of wisteria vines.
The space isn’t big, per say, but it’s not claustrophobic either.
It’s just large enough to inhabit a tiny stairwell carved into the floor, which is slick with moss and growing fungi—a stairwell that the man is disappearing down into, his silhouette fading into the darkness.
“I can’t believe the dragons are real,” Lily says, practically wicking the words right out of my mouth. She slumps against the tree trunk and works to catch her runaway breath, adding, “How is this even possible?”
Bella blows out a bated breath, looking as lost as I feel right now. “It shouldn’t be possible,” she theorizes. “Unless…”
“Unless?” Maxine asks.
“Unless one of the Great Mothers sanctioned their return from Purgatory,” she replies, her brows rising slowly. “Which can only mean one thing.” She looks around at each of us, her lips pursing in concern. “War is coming.”
At this, she grabs the handrail and descends down the steps two at a time, plunging deep into the darkness after the man while the rest of us exchange nervous glances.
“I suppose we should follow her,” I offer, my voice strained. As if on cue, the dragon unleashes another crystal-clear roar over the clearing, which sounds even closer this time.
“It does seem as if that is our only option,” Maxine nods in agreement. “You know, before the dragon blasts this tree to frozen bits. Come on, Lily.” She heaves Lily off the ground with a sweep of her arm and nudges her toward the staircase.
But Lily practically melts into the top step. “Neither of you are worried that this is some kind of trap?” she asks, clawing at the anxious rash blooming across her neck.
I suck in a breath, because it very well could be.
"I fear that our options are quite limited at the moment," Maxine says as she eyes her boot. She pats her leg and smiles, which seems to indicate that yes, she has her trusty dagger in tow. She must’ve re-confiscated it while we were back on the bridge.
“Not to fear, Lily. Men are easy to split apart when you gut them down the mid-line. Dragons on the other hand…” She blows out an impressed breath.
“I hear their scales are like armor. And unfortunately, my blade isn’t strong enough to penetrate its hide. Now down the steps we go, yeah?"
The dragon screeches again, and the air chills around us.
“Sometime today would be wonderful,” Maxine adds, giving Lily a little nudge.
“Okay, fine. Fineeeeee. I’ll go!” Lily says. “But only because you asked, Shay.” She makes a heart gesture with her hands directed at me and then proceeds to flip Maxine off as she begins her quick descent down the long-winded staircase.
As she disappears into the darkness, Maxine gesticulates widely at her back. “Do you see how abhorrent she is?” she asks.
“I’d argue that it goes both ways,” I snort.
After what feels like miles of walking down the stairwell, the darkness that had initially wound itself into my eyes explodes with light.
“Sji uhn, neymamore, Valenoria,” the man says, motioning over his shoulder at a glowing city that lies through the window behind him.
“Welcome to Valenoria. A city of ten-thousand souls,” Bella translates.
“Woah…” Maxine says, rushing toward the window to get a closer look.
“Are you guys seeing this?” I join her at the window and press my face up against the glass.
Initially, it seems like the light is coming from the city itself, which is glittering like a crowned jewel underneath a radiant full moon.
But there’s no moonlight down here to speak of, nor any sunlight either.
Instead, it’s a wide-open cavern burrowed miles deep into the ground, with a giant tree poised directly at its center.
The tree is not only giant, but it’s also inverted, like it was yanked through the ceiling head-first and then dragged down to the depths of this man-made utopia.
Thick, gnarled roots make up the tree’s upper deck, twisting into dozens of spiraling staircases that lead to the surface.
The tree’s midsection is entangled in rope bridges, blooming mushrooms, and plump fruit fastened like ornaments to vines, all of which split off into fancy decks decorated in fairy lights.
The tree’s underside consists of leafy golden branches, which are being used as barriers to section a city off into four quadrants, each one representing a different season: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
The city itself is upright, seemingly content with existing underneath the shadow of this suspended, upside-down tree, which I imagine must weigh a thousand tons… if it were to fall, that is.
The man clears his throat, then proceeds to stroll down an adjacent tunnel.
Bella rushes to follow, translating for him as he speaks.
“Here in Valenoria,” she relays to us over her shoulder, “you’ll find varying factions of people, dependent on which quadrant of the city they hail from.
Runu is a member of the Spring Faction, hence the pastel-colored pants.
” She motions toward Runu, who gives us a crisp nod over his shoulder.
“Runu, these are my friends, Maxine, Lily, and Shay. And I am Bella.”
Runu slows to a halt at the tunnel’s intersection, allowing us ample time to catch up. He looks over at each of us and says, “Har du askanti,” which I assume means, pleased to meet your acquaintances.
“Ask him if he’s single,” Maxine blurts out.
Lily gives her a look of admonishment. “That’s what you’ve gleaned from this so far? No mention of the magical city or the glowing tree at its center?”
“I’m simply thrilled this isn’t some sort of trap,” Maxine spits back.
“And while we’re down here, I figured that Runu might keep you entertained so you stop harping at me over everything.
Bella, tell Runu that Lily would like to learn his language.
She learns best with tongue-on-tongue instruction. ”
“Maxine!” Lily screeches. I burst out laughing.
“Runu is married,” Bella supplies, fighting back a smirk as she points to the vine-infused ring seated on Runu’s finger. “In fact, he’s offered to bring us to his home for refreshments, where I assume we’ll get to meet his wife.”