Chapter fifty-seven
Elianna
An odd buzzing sensationglided over my skin as we walked through the portal and into the Islan street. The grey cobblestones we stood on shone in the moonlight. The familiar sounds of the city I loved were absent, leaving an eerie silence to its aura.
“That’s strange,” I whispered as I faced Veli. “Usually, it’s still lively in some areas at this time of night. I can’t hear anyone or anything.”
“Perhaps the queen has issued curfews,” she stated.
“To an entire city?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Avery chimed in.
I crept up to the corner of the alleyway and peered around to get a better look. “There’s…no one here. Not a single soul in the streets.”
“Elianna, get away from there!” she hissed. As I turned to her, shadows like I had never seen burst from the confines of her silver hair and straight at me, shielding me in their darkness.
My aide stepped up to me and let out a huff. “There is magic at work here. I can feel it all around us. We should turn back.”
“And what of the people who risk everything for our aid and meet at the city's center? What will become of them when we don’t show and Idina’s guards see a gathering?”
She let out a huff as her fuchsia eyes radiated concern. “We must stay close to the sides of the buildings for the shadows to remain convincing. And since the portal is emanating power, we are already running out of time.”
Relief flooded me that she didn’t fight me on risking the rebels. Their lives would be threatened if we didn’t come to sneak them out of the city as promised.
Veli broke into a run, leaving no room for arguments and forcing us to follow her lead.
With only occasional flickering torches, the city became a labyrinth of shadows as the moon moved to hide behind shifting clouds. We moved swiftly through the deserted streets, our steps silent on the stones, as we navigated to the city's heart through its narrow alleys.
My eyes flared as the fountain that stood in the city's center came into view. Still, not a single person in sight. At any time of day or night, people could be seen around the fountain, whether it was younglings during the day, or the occasional drunken fool in the late hours of the evening.
“Something isn’t right,” Avery whispered as we halted, all of us peering around where we stood.
“I need to get a feel for the guards…it’s bothersome that we haven’t come across any yet,” Veli admitted.
“Is there a chance they may have become aware?” I dreaded the answer.
“Let’s hope to all the gods that’s not the case, for all of our sakes.”
Hidden within the shadows of a looming building, Veli dropped her own—the power that radiated from them instantly ceased as they disappeared.
“Impyrum Kortyus.” The ancient words left her mouth, and we waited as she searched for the minds of lingering guards.
My eyes wandered to a small alleyway a street away, where a small figure sat on the ground beneath a hood. My heart began racing in my chest until I realized that, by its shape, it had to have been a youngling.
A shuddered breath left me. Everything about this felt wrong. The empty streets, not a single soul in sight, but I would never be able to live with myself if I left a child behind—a child alone in the cruel streets of the relentless queen.
Where would I have wound up in the world if I didn’t have Lukas while growing up beneath her? The message sent out was to rescue any lingering rebels and those who sought refuge. If the only one brave enough to bear the consequences of betraying the crown was a youngling, then I would be damned to leave them behind.
“Stay here,” I whispered to Avery as my eyes remained on the figure.
“Lia, no! We need to stay together.”
“I will just be right here. I think there’s a youngling over here waiting for us,” I said over my shoulder.
As a precaution, my fingertips drifted to the hilt of my dagger sheathed on my thigh, but I tried to conceal the movement to avoid frightening the little one. The closer mysteps brought me, the more apparent it became that the figure was indeed that of a small child.
“Hi, friend.” My voice was gentle, causing the hood to stir slightly. “Are you here for help?”
