Chapter 29
The well
“Stay close, Bones,” Adalia murmured to the wolf by her side.
The pair were darting silently between the trees in the forest outskirts of Oscuro, their movements graceful and full of precision. Not wanting to be caught unawares by entering the tear closest to Matthias’s cabin, she travelled to a different part of the Veil that she could push through, so the journey to his cabin in the woods took longer than usual.
Spying it up ahead, Adalia picked up her pace. All seemed quiet. Silent as she could, she reached for the door handle, turned it, and pushed it open.
The house was empty. Glancing towards the fireplace, she saw that the ash was old. If he had been here, it wasn’t recently. Nothing seemed out of place. There was no sign of a struggle. Bones whimpered beside her and sniffed around the house.
She went back outside, but found nothing there, either. She’d have to go towards the palace. What did that look like? Would she be seen straight away? Could she even find her way around the castle? Adalia may have spent a few days down in the dungeon, but that didn’t mean she automatically knew the palace layout.
Bones trotted back out, his nose to the ground. When he made it to her, he huffed and pawed at her foot.
Adalia squatted down beside him. “What is it, boy?”
The wolf whimpered and sniffed the air. In that moment, it was like a light come on in her head and Adalia kicked herself for not using all the resources she had available.
Wolves were known for their keen sense of smell, and often hunted down prey from miles away.
She held Bones’s face in her hands and looked into his kind brown eyes. “I need you to find Matthias, Bones. Use that incredible sense of smell of yours and show me where he is.”
The wolf licked her face and dropped his nose to the ground, heading northwest. He zig-zagged back and forth for a few minutes before catching onto a scent and breaking out into a run. Adalia was quick on her feet and followed closely behind.
They ran through rows of moonshadow oaks, ancient oak trees with leaves that reflected the phases of the moon. Mixed amongst the oaks were glimmering willows, with long, silvery leaves that shimmer and emit a soft, enchanting glow at night. Their branches seemed to dance with ethereal light, illuminating the entire forest. Adalia was keenly aware not to let the shadows trick her, though, as she ran along the forest floor.
The sun had dipped below the horizon an hour ago, the moon and glimmering willows her only source of light as she and Bones searched for the prince. They were heading deeper into the woods.
As Bones darted between the trees, his paws barely made a sound on the mossy ground. His keen eyes scanned every shadow and hidden crevice. Determined and swift, Bones followed the scent through the dense forestry, driven by the unyielding bond with his trusted companion. The wolf’s white fur seemed to blend with the silvery night, and he glided through the forest like a ghostly spirit.
Adalia marvelled at the wolf’s discipline as he moved through the darkness. Not even the hoot of a screeching owl could deter his concentration.
Finally, the trail led Adalia to a hidden cavern nestled amidst the ancient trees. The mouth of the cave yawned like an unfriendly maw, its darkness a stark contrast to the moonlit beauty of the forest. She slid to a halt outside.
“Are you sure, boy? He’s in there?” she whispered to the white wolf.
Bones whimpered in response.
“Ok, I trust you. Let’s go find him,” she said as they entered the cave together.
Inside, the air was heavy and suffocating. Echoes of dripping water and the smell of damp earth met her as she moved along the thin path, cautiously aware of the possibility of something jumping out at them.
As they ventured deeper into the darkness, the shadows seemed to thicken. But Adalia pressed on, her heart pounding with determination and concern for the prince. Soon, they reached a narrow passage where the ceiling seemed to close in, and Adalia had to squeeze through with care, the opening only large enough to fit one body through at a time.
Finally, there before her, she found Matthias, his figure dimly illuminated by the faintest glimmer of moonlight that seeped through a small crevice in the cave roof. He sat slumped on a wooden chair, his legs and wings bound.
Adalia stifled a cry and ran to his side, afraid that his seemingly lifeless form meant that she was too late.
“Matthias,” she whispered as she cupped his face in her hands.
The prince’s eyes remained closed and his breathing shallow.
There was a clear tube feeding a brackish-green liquid into his arm. Fury rose to the surface. Caution warred with the desire to simply rip it away, and her fingers trembled as they pulled at the tie. Once it was free, she put pressure over the site to stop the slow trail of blood. Someone had been filling his body with poison. No wonder he wasn’t responding well.
Adalia held back the tears and shook Matthias gently. “Matthias, please . . . come back to me.”
He didn’t stir. Adalia dropped to the ground in front of the prince and lay her forehead on his knees. “Please . . . don’t let this be the end.” She spoke to the light inside of her.
Seconds ticked by, but to Adalia, they felt like an eternity.
Bones whimpered and came to sit by her side. He nuzzled Matthias’s leg and Adalia could tell he knew something was wrong.
A small groan sounded through the dark space, and Adalia lifted her head with a gasp. Matthias moved his head slowly and cracked one eye open. Adalia scurried to her feet and cupped his face once again. “Matthias . . . it’s me. Adalia.” She braced his face as he faded in and out of consciousness.
“I’m going to untie you, but you have to help me. I can’t lift you all by myself,” she said as she fought back the emotion growing inside her chest.
Matthias simply groaned in response.
Adalia held back the sobs as she freed the rope from his feet, arms, and wings, and caught his body just before he slipped off the chair. She steadied him and brushed the hair from his face, his skin clammy and warm.
“Who did this to you?” she whispered.
Matthias lifted his head to look at her, his body weak and trembling. “Sssssnake . . .” he said as he blacked out once again.
At the mention of the Thorn’s name, Adalia’s blood boiled. She had never wanted to destroy someone as much as she did that creature. She shuddered at the memory of the yellow-eyed male with the long, stringy, blond hair and how he’d stared her down with a hungry gaze as she was paraded around the throne room all those months ago.
Looking around the cave, Adalia searched for something to lay him on, a blanket or a wooden board of some kind. Maybe she could drag him from the cave back to the cabin. Her search was futile; there was nothing but rock, dirt, plants, roots, small pools of water, and the one chair that he’d been tied to. There had to be some way of getting him out of here.
“Matthias . . . beast, please. I need you to tell me how to help you. What was the poison he gave you?” Adalia shook the prince gently.
A small sound left Matthias’s throat, and he tried to open his eyes, his head rolling back.
Running her hands over her face, Adalia paced the floor in circles. This wasn’t working—the prince was too out of it. She was going to lose him if she didn’t act fast. Standing still, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, searching for the answer within herself. Light poured into her mind, and she was suddenly aware of a warm and peaceful presence surrounding her mind, body, and soul.
“Light guide you,” she whispered.
The poison line.
That was it. Take the poison line to a herbal doctor in The Grey and have them identify it. Hurriedly, she moved to the side of Matthias and picked the dark green stained tube from the floor. She wrapped it around her hand and placed it inside her trouser pocket.
Next, she wrapped her arms around the prince’s chest, underneath his arms, and with all her strength, lifted him from the chair. Small rocks moved under her leather boots, and she almost slipped, but regained her posture. Adalia carefully laid Matthias down on the damp floor. Kissing him on the forehead once he was safe.
“Bones,” she called to the wolf, who immediately trotted over to her side. “I need you to stay here. I must fix this. He needs our help.”
The wolf looked at her and Adalia swore his eyes almost looked human. He blinked at her slowly and lay next to his master’s body. He understood the assignment.
Leaving Matthias here with the chance of Snake returning was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had no other choice. Adalia crossed the uneven floor and stopped, turning at the narrow passageway. “Guard him with your life, boy,” she whispered and slipped through.
The path back to the mouth of the cave was a blur.
Adalia’s body might be in the cool night air of Oscuro, but her heart was back in the cave, on the floor with the man that it belonged to.
Pushing off the ground, she shot into the sky, not caring if anyone might see her. All she cared about in this pivotal moment was finding a cure for Matthias before it was too late. Adalia raced for the Veil, pushing her wings as hard as she could. With each beat they thrust her forwards, the wind whipping at her face like a thousand tiny blades slicing through her skin.
Seeing the milky curtain in the distance spurred her forwards, adrenaline helping her push harder than she ever had before.
She dropped to the ground in front of the tear and stepped through before shooting back into the sky. Adalia banked to the left and descended to treetop level. She flew over the canopy of the starfire pines, the magnificent evergreen trees that had golden needles resembling tiny stars.
Every full moon, when the wind blew through their branches, it produced a twinkling sound, as if the stars themselves were singing. Not that Adalia had the time to relish the delight.
She spied two Lightners patrolling the grounds below and dropped to the stoney path just in front of them, sending their horses into a frightened frenzy.
“I need you to find Major Nikolas and tell him to wait for me at the fountain in the centre of The Grey. Can you do that?” she commanded, with her chest heaving.
The male, a new recruit, looked at her oddly, but the female Lightener nodded sharply. “Yes, Major Adalia.”
“Thank you, now go with lightning speed.”
The duo turned their horses and raced off to find her brother. While they did that, she needed to get to a herbal doctor, and fast. Adalia took to the skies again, reaching the outskirts of town within moments.
The first place she found was all boarded up, with not a trace of life within its walls. Running her hands through her hair, Adalia bit her lip in frustration. The next place was a fifteen-minute walk away—so she flew. She shot back into the atmosphere and pushed on, landing outside of the herbal doctors further north of the town centre.
Thankfully, they were in.
Tears threatened to spill over, and Adalia pushed them back. Surely someone here could help her. Spying a man behind the counter, Adalia approached the front door of his shop, knowing that this was one of those moments in time that she needed to reveal herself to the Shadowkin. Thankfully, her wings would remain hidden.
She closed her eyes, allowing the shield in her mind to drop and bringing her figure into the light of The Grey. Stepping through the wooden doorway, Adalia entered the shop and approached the man.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you so late, but I was wondering if you could help me identify what this is?”
The man nodded his head towards her in a friendly greeting. “Hmm, how peculiar,” he said, urning the clear tube over and over as if he was inspecting every tiny detail.
“Well?” Adalia prompted.
Shaking his head softly, the man sighed. “I’m so sorry, but I’ve seen nothing like this before. Even the smell of it is unfamiliar.”
Dropping her hands to her side, Adalia felt lost. Her skin was clammy and desperation was knocking on the door to her mind.
“Thanks anyway,” Adalia answered as she reached for the tube and headed for the front door.
As she turned, the man called to her. “Wait!”
Adalia spun on her heel, facing the man again.
“An elderly woman can be found beyond the trees at the end of this avenue. She’s known for dabbling in herbal remedies. She might help you,” he said.
Adalia grasped the man’s hands across the counter. “Thank you so much.”
Heart pounding, Adalia left the shop and ran in the direction the man had told her. Within a few moments, she saw a small white and green cottage nestled amongst some moonshadow oaks. Racing to the front door, Adalia rapidly knocked on the wood. The door creaked open, and a rosy-cheeked, round-faced woman greeted her.
“Hello ma’am, I am so sorry to bother you at this time of the evening. My name is Adalia. I desperately need some help. I have a friend who has been poisoned, but I don’t know by what. Someone in the village said you might help?” Adalia begged.
The woman smiled, her kind brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “Come inside, dear,” the woman ushered to Adalia.
“Can you describe the poison to me at all?” the woman asked as she closed the door behind Adalia and tottered over to the kitchen. They sat at her small wooden table, and Adalia pulled the poison line from her pocket. “This is all I have,” she said as she handed it to the woman.
With a stern face, the woman studied it in silence for a few minutes and Adalia grew restless. Every second that passed was a second closer to death for Matthias.
“Can you tell me any of the symptoms of the poisoned individual?” the woman finally asked as she sniffed the green liquid.
“Um, unconsciousness . . . possibly paralysis. I don’t know, he—he wouldn’t wake up—” Adalia’s voice broke.
The woman looked up and reached across the table to squeeze Adalia’s trembling hands. “All is well dear; I know what this is. It’s poison from a Lux Hyssop, commonly found in the woodlands up in the mountains. It’s a ground shrub that has small yellow flowers similar to gypsophila.”
Adalia felt her body relax slightly at the woman’s words. “How do I find the cure for it?”
“The poison is distilled from the roots and stems. But the cure is a tea made from its flowers,” the woman smiled at her softly.
The atmosphere in the room shifted and Adalia finally gave in to the emotion that had been tugging at her heart for the last few hours. Warm, salty liquid fell from their prison and ran down her cheeks. Adalia sobbed onto the wooden table.
The woman stood and came to her side, placing a gentle hand on her back. She rubbed it around in circles, her soothing touch a comfort to Adalias’ shaking body. “All will be well. You are a good friend. Find the Lux Hyssop, brew the tea, and your friend will be healed. But you must hurry. If your friend cannot wake up, I fear they are not long for this world.”
“Here take this,” The woman offered Adalia a lantern.
Adalia lifted her head, wiping the tears from her face. She stood from the table and took the lantern. “Thank you for everything.”
The woman nodded at her and ushered her outside. “Remember Adalia, all is well. Light guide you.”
“And keep you!” Adalia replied as she waved the woman goodbye, heading down the path from the cottage. She broke into a run as she neared the small village, concealing herself with her glamour once again. Her thoughts travelled to the soldiers gathering. She could feel the angst of the impending battle. As soon as she cleared most of the buildings, she took to the skies again. Hopefully Nik had received her message.
Spotting him at the fountain made her heart swell. He was always right there when she needed him. She dropped from the sky and ran for him. He must have seen her coming because he leapt from his horse, and she threw herself into his arms, finding comfort in his embrace.
“Is everything okay? The Lightners who found me were anxious about you.” Nikolas exclaimed as he held her at arm’s length.
“It’s Matthias. He’s been poisoned. I’ve got to get the antidote before it’s too late, Nik.” Adalias’ words came in short gasps.
“Woah, slow down, Ada. Tell me what you need,” Nik reassured her with a calm voice.
Adalia took a few deep breaths. “I need to go to the woodlands up in the mountains to find some flower called a Lux Hyssop. The blossoms are the cure for Matthias, who is . . .” Adalia shook at her own words. “Slowly dying. In a cave by himself in Oscuro.”
Nickolas nodded, moving from brother to general in a swift moment. “So we fly to the mountains. You’ll fill me in on the way?”
Adalia nodded silently, and the siblings took to the sky.
Flying made it easy to survey the mountain range nestled between District Four and Five. As they neared, they scanned the ground, looking for the path that would lead them up the mountain and into the woods. Matthias pointed, and the pair descended. Adalia whispered to the light over and over as they flew up the trail that Matthias would live and not die, that the woman’s words would ring true . . . that all would be well.
Nikolas reached the woodlands first and quickly dropped to the ground. Adalia followed, and they hurried into the dense scenery. Adalia held back tears as she started frantically searching for the Lux Hyssop bush. Their only light—a lantern and the full moon.
“A bush with yellow flowers, right?” Nik called from a distance away.
“Yes, and the flowers will be in tiny clusters,” she called back.
Her brother scouted the ground to her left while she looked to the right. Panic reared its ugly head the longer she searched. There didn’t seem to be any bushes around like the woman had described.
“Nik, I can’t find it!” Fear surged through her.
“It’s okay, we will, just keep looking.” Nikolas said.
Adalia held back sobs as she searched through the foliage. There was nothing but underbrush and trees all around, plus the odd berry bush. Adalia tried to recall the woman’s words again, yellow . . . small bush—but it was hopeless. Nothing she saw fit the description.
Glancing further into the woodlands with the lantern held high, she saw a rock formation sitting between two trees. From this distance, it looked like a broken well of some kind. The words processed through her mind when she suddenly remembered the woman’s other words . . . all will be well.
Was it a coincidence?
Adalia raced for the crumbling structure and slid to a halt as she reached it. There nestled between the rocky debris grew a singular Lux Hyssop bush.
“It’s here Nik! I’ve found some!” Adalia cried as she raced towards her brother, carefully tucking the blossoms into her jacket pocket.
Now to get it to the prince before it was too late.
“I’ll catch up with you when I can,” Adalia said as they raced back to the clearing. “I have to get back to Matthias.”
“Let me come with you.”
Adalia whipped around. “You would come with me? To Oscuro?” she asked.
“Ada, I would follow you to the ends of the world,” Nik replied softly.
The look on her brother’s face nearly brought her to tears once again. “Thank you, Nik. I think I will need you with me.”
“I know you will. Now, let’s go.”
On their way to Matthias, Adalia stopped at his cabin to grab a mug from his shelf, then they flew towards the cave. Nikolas looked intrigued, but kept his questions at bay. The cave entrance came into view and the pair dropped to the ground, Adalia leading the way. Once they had reached Matthias, Adalia sprinted to his side and breathed a sigh of relief to find his weak, but throbbing, pulse.
Bones greeted them excitedly, and Nikolas scratched his head.
Adalia retrieved the crushed blossoms from her pocket and placed them in the mug, filling it with water from a small flask she’d tucked inside her jacket pocket. Nikolas made himself useful by building a small fire. Once Adalia was satisfied with the brewing time, she removed the cup from the heat while Nikolas pulled Matthias into a sitting position, supporting his head with his arm.
Adalia blew on the tea to cool it before she tipped a little at a time into the prince’s mouth, pausing every few seconds to let the liquid run down his throat. There was no way of knowing just how much he needed. Hopefully, what she had would be enough.
The bottom of the cup came into view. Last sip.
Adalia sat back on her ankles, heart pounding and ears ringing, as she watched the prince’s face like a hawk, waiting for some sign of life.
Every second that passed felt like an eternity. She couldn’t lose him, not now, not ever. He’d come back into her life and she knew the moment she saw him in her room, veslo in hand, that she wanted him for the rest of eternity.
She glanced at Nik, who offered her a reassuring smile. Adalia closed her eyes. “Please, I’m begging you. Let him live.”
The moment the word live formed in her mind.
A warm hand brushed her face . . .