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Chapter Thirty-Five
Kellan
The smell of fire woke me. There was a smoky haze that blanketed the land and made my eyes water when I finally pried my eyes open.
I’d spent half of the night worried about Josephine. Sleep did not come for me. Something was wrong. I could feel it deep down in my bones. Not being able to go see her had my body aching.
I felt sick without her. It was stupid, but my body yearned to find her safe. Rubbing my hand against my face, I noticed ash smeared against my skin. I glanced up at the ash falling from the morning sky. Deidamia was nearby.
She was in her dragon form. I looked around our small, makeshift camp and found Ernest asleep against the base of a tree. I stood up, my back crying out from the roots that pressed into me the entire night. I'd been too worried and tired to move or make me a bed of leaves.
I stood with dew-soaked clothes and walked over to Ernest. I kicked his foot until his eyes popped open. “What is it?”
I pointed up toward the sky. "The Wicked Witch is up."
He looked at the ash raining down on us and began to stand with the help of the tree. “It’s ash. She’s near.”
A loud roar vibrated over the Dark Woods, shaking dead leaves from the limbs and sending them toward the forest floor.
I pulled my sword from the air and watched as a shadow blanketed the woods. What little light that was left vanished, and darkness settled over the woods as she slithered above us.
She was bigger than I assumed a normal dragon would be. She was easily the size of a building back home. There was nothing small about her.
Her underbelly was light with thick scales, and what I could see of her face was midnight black. Fire sprayed from her mouth, brightening her path over the darkness. The ease of her flying and dominating the woods sickened me.
She seemed so invincible. Like the greatest of warriors couldn't hold a flame to her. She was evil and had darkness on her side.
Ernest and I stayed completely still. I was sure she knew we were near, even though we didn’t see her stupid crow anywhere. Once she made it over us, and her tail disappeared from our sight, I dropped my sword and ran my palm down my face.
“It’s dawn,” Ernest said. “She flies at dawn.”
I looked at him. “Meaning?”
Ernest groaned as he searched for his canteen. “That means we’re going into her castle at dawn.”
“I don’t remember us talking that plan through together. You think going in there with no leverage is smart?”
Ernest stared blankly at me. “You expected to defeat her out here? She'll eventually find us here. We need to surprise her.”
I didn’t know what to expect. My mind had been mush since Josephine left. I wasn’t worried about defeating Deidamia at the moment. Sue me. I was set on saving Josephine. She needed me.
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” I mumbled, pouring some of my water onto the campfire. “I’m not sure being trapped in a castle we know nothing about is a good idea, Ernest. She knows every square inch.”
He took a long drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s our only choice. We have to surprise her. She won’t know we’re there. It's a better way of keeping an eye on her. When Josephine does come back, we'll need her close to us and the castle. It'll be easier to control the situation."
I rolled my neck around my shoulders and sighed deeply. “Surprising Deidamia sounds far-fetched to me.” I grabbed my canteen and poured some over my head to wash away the ash lingering on my skin. “We don’t have enough time to get there now. One night in the Dark Woods and then breaking in at dawn?”
Ernest smiled. “You’re very easy to persuade, son.”
I shrugged. “I don’t see another choice at the moment. Plus, I’m too tired to argue. I didn’t sleep well. I can’t stop thinking about her.”
Ernest nodded. “You said you had a feeling?”
“It’s still there,” I said, my voice lower. “I think she’s going to struggle getting back to our realm. Something isn't right."
Ernest looked over his shoulder. “She may, but I have faith in her. You should, too, Kellan. We need to move.”
His nonchalance about her safety felt like nails underneath my skin. I wanted to make him care. Make him understand that my feelings were real. Hot tears pooled in the corners of my eyes.
