Chapter 10 #2
Nyx is the last to land, but in contrast to me, he lands effortlessly in the snow. I'm covered in it from my fall. He walks over and brushes snow off my shoulders and picks it from the indentures of my helmet. He smiles.
"Having fun playing in the snow, Kitarni?"
"I'm having a great time," I grin through chattering teeth. "Can't wait for you to buy me that stein from Prue's."
He laughs and bows. "I admit defeat. I knew Seraxes was fast. I didn't realize how fast. She'll be lethal in battle."
My stomach drops. The idea of Seraxes and I flying into battle together is always in the back of my mind, but then all the tales of how other dragons and their riders died during war flood me. Seraxes is indeed quick, but the fear something else might be faster grips my heart and squeezes.
I shake those thoughts free. We will just have to be better. That's all there is to it.
"Welcome to the Northern Crest," my mother's voice rings out as she stomps through the snow toward me. "Now to find what remains of the portal to Orabelle."
There's hope in her eyes and I will do whatever I can not to shatter her belief that maybe the portal can be reforged.
"What are we waiting for?" I smile.
Although it's been years since Sylvane has seen the portal, she marches with sure steps toward a clearing further inland.
I'm hot on her heels, praying we can discover just a shred of evidence the portal was once here.
She stops abruptly and I slam into her back, quickly side-stepping when she doesn't react and stare in the direction she is.
There are smooth stones scattered around the ground. I would assume they were ruins from a building, but there aren't nearly enough for anything to have been built. However, they could have been used as an archway nestling the glass of the portal.
I slide by my mother and kneel next to the rocks and scrape the snow off. These were definitely carved and purposely placed.
"This is where it used to be," Sylvane says softly behind me.
I shoot her a glance over my shoulder.
"Your father destroyed it from his side."
Meaning there might not be any pieces left to replicate the glass. When my father destroyed the portal to Malvolio, he did so from our side so the shattered pieces could be gathered and meticulously reforged.
Shit.
As much as I hate to admit it, there might not be a way to open this portal. But I won't lose faith quite yet. If for nothing more than my mother's benefit.
"Look for shards of glass," I instruct. "Maybe all we'll need is one small piece for the Dwarves to replicate it."
Without a word, Nyx and Kamari fan out to search the area. My mother offers me a weak smile before joining them. But when my eyes meet Thrane's, my heart lurches in my chest. Something about his face screams more of skepticism than I was expecting.
"You don't think we're going to find anything?" I rise as he approaches me.
"No."
"Then why come here at all if you – "
"For the exact same reason you came." He tilts his head to the side, watching the others search. "For Sylvane. She has held onto the hope that maybe there was a chance she and Enver could be reunited one day. I thought she'd abandoned the hope. But then you came back and now, it consumes her."
"Sounds like you're blaming me for her hope." I crinkle my nose and he flashes me an incredulous look.
"Aurelia, you should know better than that," he clicks his teeth. "I don't blame you for Sylvane daring to hope to be reunited with her husband. I just don't want to see her break if we don't find anything."
"Has she…" I blow into my hands to warm them. Even with gloves, my fingers are freezing. "Has she broken down about this before?"
"Oh yes." He nods. "There was a time I thought she would not recover.
Losing you and Enver nearly destroyed her.
I don't know many people who could withstand such loss and come out on the other side stronger.
" Thrane twists to face me and lowers his voice.
"I desperately want there to be a way to bring Enver Sol back to our realm. "
"But?"
"I cannot lose Sylvane again. Not when we need her now more than ever."
We stare across the expanse just in time to catch Nyx crawling on hands and knees brushing snow away from the stones.
Thrane's right. This might be a fool's errand, but if we can't find a way to release my father… I don't want to lose my mother.
"Come on," I elbow Thrane. "Help me look."
Whether he's reluctant to dig in the snow or not, Thrane follows me. Together, we sift through the rubble and after nearly an hour, we come up empty. Not one piece of glass anywhere.
I dare a glance at my mother and see the light fading from her eyes.
This can't be how this ends. I back away hoping some distance can give me a better perspective of the layout.
My father smashed the portal from the other side, so if a piece of glass happened to come through, depending on the velocity, it's possible the piece isn't near the stones at all. Maybe it fell further.
With nothing to lose, I shift my attention from the rubble to the surrounding areas. I don't leave one small rock unturned.
"Aurelia," my mother calls out to me. "It's getting dark. We should turn in for the night."
"Go ahead and set up camp." I continue digging through the snow. "I want to check this area out."
"Aurelia – "
"I'll be there soon." I cut her off, knowing she wants me to abandon the search.
Thankfully, she doesn't argue. She and Kamari make their way to set up a campfire while Nyx settles beside me.
"Where do you want me to look?" He asks and his willingness to help warms my frozen heart.
I jut my chin to my left. "Over there."
Nyx nods and starts his search in a mound of snow.
We continue digging and shoveling and kicking sheets of snow and ice out of our path, clinging to the hope that we'll find something.
Another hour passes and the sun is beginning to set.
Soon, the sun will be hidden behind the mountains, and the temperature will drop even further.
I know this is my last chance to discover a shard of portal glass because tomorrow morning, we are flying to Tronovia to join the others and meet with King Soren.
Through chattering teeth, frozen fingers, and aching bones, I press onward, a fresh determination fueling me. As I shove piles of snow out of my way, a small glint catches my gaze. I stop and stare. The setting sunlight illuminates a tiny piece of glass.
My heart lurches up to my throat.
Is it possible I actually found something?
I swallow back the emotions bubbling in my chest and slowly crawl toward the jagged tip poking out of the snow. With care, I brush the snow away from it and gasp.
"I found it!" I scream, twisting to find my mother at the newly erected campsite. "I found a piece of glass!"
Nyx pounces to my side while the others hustle to join me as I pull the shard from the snow. It's thin and not much longer than my palm, but it's something.
I grab my mother's wrist and place the piece in her palm. Tears well in her eyes. Placing my hands on either side of her face, I smile, fighting my own tears.
"We have a chance," I whisper. "We might be able to bring him back."
Sylvane's lip quivers. She forces out a faint smile and bobs her head. "Yes, we just might."
The quiet part of my heart, the piece of me that feared to hope, throbs in excitement. There's a good possibility with this shard now in our possession, the Dwarves could reforge the portal to Orabelle and I'd be able to meet my father. And maybe then, I'll understand who I really am.