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Ekateni said, “It’s similar to dragon magic, coming from the city. Quite strong. And… Maybe…”
“Fire ring magic,” Tzaria added.
“Should we…” Fel was going to say turn back, but realized it didn’t make sense. It wasn’t as if they could go and get reinforcements if things were really going wrong. “What should we do?”
“We’ll approach,” Tzaria said. “If the ring is being activated, we’ll have to destroy it as soon as possible. If there are people protecting it, we’ll have to fight them.”
They would be outnumbered. But then, he and Ekateni could overpower a small army.
Leah said, “They won’t have forces protecting the city or the dome. They’re away. Our army was small. Even with the reinforcements and invaders from Ironhold… There won’t be much resistance.”
Still, approaching Frostlake city could be dangerous. “Leah,” Fel said, “Perhaps you should stay back.”
“It’s my city and my people. I know them well. I know the dome. Drop me off near enough so I can support you.” Her request was fair.
“Fine.”
Fel’s thunderous heart was beating with more force than usual, perhaps partly from the effort in flying, partly in anticipation of what he was going to see. Hopefully nothing had been activated yet and they could just destroy the dome and be gone. Yes, it would be tragic for the people in the city and even the castle, but they should be able to survive the night. If the dome was only sixteen years old, most buildings should still have the infrastructure necessary to withstand the winter.
Ekateni lowered his flight, and Fel did the same.
Even his worst fears had not prepared him for what he saw.
25
Darkness
As darkness dissipated, Naia found herself in a hallway with dried vines on its walls. The Ancient castle. The last time she’d been here was when River had decided to becomethe prince his father wanted. He had to have been himself to make such a personal decision, and yet, it hadn’t truly been him.
“Stop!” a man yelled.
Naia turned to see two Ancient guards, both of them with red eyes and white hair, pointing bronze swords at her. Disarming them would be incredibly easy, but this time she wasn’t going to run.
“I’m your queen, and I’d like to see princess Anelise.” She hoped it would work, hoped there wasn’t some strange loophole that would invalidate her authority. But then, she could always fight, and there was no lack of metal in this castle, even if they didn’t use iron.
The guards lowered their swords right away, then bowed slightly. No hesitation in their movements, and she wasn’t even sure if they knew who she was. But then… as far as she knew, there was magic binding the guards to their rulers, so perhaps they had sensed it. It had been smart of River to name her queen. Hopefully she would know what to do with that power.
The same fae who had yelled then said, “We’ll take you to her right away. Follow us.”
They couldn’t lie, so he couldn’t be tricking her. Technically he could take Naia to Anelise and then kill her or something, but he wouldn’t take her anywhere else, like a magic prison, for example.
The prison.
Could that place contain River? Contain Cynon? And if it did, how could she bring him here? Anelise would have some answer—if she even wanted to talk to Naia, after everything.
The guards descended two flights of stairs and Naia followed them closely, trying to ignore how much that palace felt dead and barren. The dry vines lining the walls were a horrific reminder that this place would soon face its end, unless someone did something. And then, wasn’t all Aluria about to fall into an abyss of despair? Unless someone did something. But who? And what?
The guards stopped at a rough, small wooden door. Without knocking, they opened it, revealing a small room with wooden shelves and a dark wooden circular table. Five fae were looking at a map. If they were saying something, Naia didn’t catch what it was, as they stopped and stared at the door. Anelise was sitting by another female fae, also with white hair and red eyes, but hers were a little lighter. There were three more fae there: two men and one woman.
Anelise glared at Naia. “What do you want?” Then she added, in a mocking tone, “Your Majesty.”
“I need to talk to you. Alone.”
“We can talk here,” she said. “We have no secrets.”
“Alone, please,” Naia insisted. The other fae in the room were likely trustworthy, but not enough to listen to what was happening to River. “Somewhere where we can’t be heard.”
Anelise exhaled, then turned to her friends. “I’ll be right back.” She got up and walked towards Naia. “Where would you like to go?”
