Chapter 70
They tell me I slept feverishly for days while they sailed in small fishermen’s boats, unperturbed, around the coast of Erleya. How they got them, no one tells me, but I wake up in a strange home that I don’t know. In the Grounds, of all places.
I come to with a gasp, and Odgar and Briony rush to my side as pain and exhaustion press in on me. It’s not as bad as back in Paramount, but I burst into tears regardless. Odgar holds me in his arms and promises me it’ll be alright before Briony’s healing light puts me under again.
The next time I wake, my mind is hazy, but we borrow horses from the kind family who’d allowed us to stay with them and travel northward. Odgar and I share a horse, as does Valdis and Seth, while Briony leads, following an apparent tug in the right direction that she cannot explain.
My powers slowly return as we travel, a small flicker of my flame, but the rest of me feels exhausted. None of us speak much as we simply ride onward—for as long as our horses can tolerate, for as long as we can keep going.
Every pause in our travels leaves us fearing we’ll be discovered and taken to Paramount or killed on sight.
And indeed, as we stop for a moment as night falls, torches spark to life around us.
It all happens so fast—arrows flying, Briony and Odgar deflecting with their magics before I’m practically thrown onto the horse by Odgar.
The horse is already running, and there’s a scream stuck in my throat as Odgar retrieves his axe from a man’s chest and sprints to catch up with the steed.
He manages to leap onto the horse while it’s in motion, while Briony, Valdis, and Seth mount up again and follow along.
Arrows continue to pursue us, a few whizzing past my head, tearing a screech from me.
I turn in the saddle, leaning around Odgar to funnel a jet of flames toward the attackers. The trees catch fire as the attackers scream, but Odgar extinguishes them with the wave of his hand as we ride on.
I fear that this entire journey will be for naught.
But soon we find ourselves in a dense forest shrouded in mist. A stag that seems to be surrounded with a strange light steps out in front of us, causing our horses to rear back, though we manage to keep them in check.
We halt, the thunder of hooves behind us, the impending risk of our doom drawing closer, but there’s something about this creature.
It makes its way through our party, seemingly made of nothing but light and shadow.
It stands behind us as the attackers draw closer, but their arrows don’t touch us.
As one man makes to charge past the stag, his horse is thrown back.
It tramples him in its escape. The other two pursuing us are similarly thrown from their horses, but as they try to swing at the deer with their weapons, they suddenly drop to their knees, screaming with their hands over their ears.
When their screams are no more and they lie listlessly on the ground, we stare in awe at the creature. It seems to give us a slow nod, a bow almost, before it vanishes from sight.
It takes a while for the shock of the moment to pass before Odgar spurs us forward again. There’s a cave not far ahead, and a strange sensation prickles my scalp as we step inside.
“I think we’re here,” Briony whispers, her voice echoing in the cave as her hand casts a light on our surroundings.
Massive stones litter the area around the exit of the tunnel, a buzzing sensation growing stronger the closer we get to it.
One of Odgar’s arms wraps around my waist, holding me to him, and Briony slides down from her horse and moves to stand in front of the opening.
She barely lifts her hand to the opening of the tunnel before pulling it back. “Wards. But I think I can dismantle them.”
I swallow hard, and Odgar’s hand slips from around my waist to rest against my thigh. We’ve not had much physical contact like this since that moment of weakness back on the ship. I ignore the subtle flutter in my stomach and steel myself.
Briony presses her hands against the invisible wards and bright blue light ripples like the surface of water.
I squint until the light dissipates, then Briony steps through onto the other side and smiles back at us.
We all follow, and for a few heartbeats, it’s silent.
No one moves as we all wait to be smote for not being worthy of a place that’s magically warded. But nothing happens.
It’s utterly …
Anticlimactic.
And, gods, am I grateful for that. A strange mist shrouds this place, and voices reach our ears as we venture further into this land of flowers and waterfalls.
In the dark we can’t make out much of anything, but there’s a fire somewhere in the distance.
I grab an arrow, my magic setting the arrowhead aflame as we step closer.
Everyone else arms themselves, but another strange sensation—this one not unpleasant—overtakes my body.
It’s like a memory. A kinship.
“Hold,” I whisper to the others, and they do, though Valdis buzzes with restless energy at my side.
I make out a mane of curly hair and my heart nearly gives out as the realization rushes at me all at once.