Ethan
The Cave of Cruachan was located in a small field near the town of Roscommon. Emma portaled us to the field, where we waited for our friends to arrive to help us fight Ailen Dierdra.
Hours went by, and it became dark, yet no one showed.
“Where are they?” Emma asked in frustration, throwing her hands up.
“I’m unsure,” I said. Someone should’ve come by now.
“What if something’s gone wrong?” Emma asked, her tone edged with fear. “We should portal back to the estate. Make sure they’re okay.”
“If something badhashappened, the estate is the most dangerous place for you to return. Droga can’t find you there,” I said. “We’ll wait a little longer. If no one comes, we know something’s happened.”
“Kalina and Kazim are there.”
My throat seized up, but I said, “We can’t jump to conclusions. We have to trust our friends. Going back to the estate could put the twins in more danger. You’re the one he wants, Emma. If you’re not there, he’ll leave quickly to find you. It’ll give the others time to escape.”
Emma’s complexion was pale, but she didn’t argue with me.
Help took longer than expected to show up. I was relieved when I saw Stefan, Finlay, Amantha and Arthur coming up a hill. They seemed all right, if not in a hurry.
“Where is everyone?” I asked as they approached.
“We brought the most backup we could. Everyone else is moving. Droga’s found the estate,” Amantha said. “We managed to get everyone out just before he showed up.”
“Where are we going to go?” Emma asked in despair.
“There’s a refugee camp of rebels outside Dolinska. They’ll take us in,” Finlay said confidently.
“Droga will find us there, too,” I stated.
“It won’t matter, because by the time he does, we’ll be launching a counter-attack,” Finlay replied. “I know these fae. They’re willing to fight for our cause.”
“But will they follow Ethan and I?” Emma asked.
“They remember who the rightful rulers of Malovia are,” Finlay said. “They will fight and die for their king and queen.”
I didn’t have as much faith as he did, but even a small army of rebels was better than nothing at all. Finlay, for as annoying as he was, had been indispensable to our efforts to win. He’d been the one to organize all these rebels into an army. We’d have nothing if he had given up like the rest of us.
“I’ve been to the cave before,” Arthur said. “This way.”
Arthur seemed confused, and I didn’t understand why, until we made it to the cave’s opening. The entrance to the cave was small, only three feet high and four feet wide. We stared at it, unsure of what we were looking at.
“How are we supposed to fight down there?” Finlay asked, crossing his arms.
“I’ll check it out,” Stefan volunteered. He managed to squeeze himself through the tiny hole, though it took a tremendous effort on his part. I heard grunting as Stefan tried maneuvering inside.
After a few moments, Stefan wriggled out of the hole. “It’s an extremely narrow cave. I had to crawl through to get anywhere, and it doesn’t look like it leads to much.”
“This doesn’t make sense. This hole is hardly big enough for us to fit through, let alone a huge monster,” Amantha said.
Emma knelt by the hole. Her brow furrowed as she examined it. I noticed a slight glamour weave against the air as she ran her fingers over the spot.
“It’s an illusion to conceal the entryway,” Emma said.
She waved her hand, and the illusion faded. The image before us changed until the small gap widened into a massive cavern, one that led deep into the earth.
We entered the cave. Emma and Amantha ignited orbs for light, and we proceeded forward. We wandered downward, walking for more than a mile into the earth until the cave widened considerably.
