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Falina was back, with two Frostlake guards. Leah knew the oldest of them, which used to work near the royal chambers.
He turned to the old woman. “Thatwas what you were hiding?”
“She wanted some time,” the woman replied, and then, in a whisper, added, “And doesn’t wantthemto know she’s here.”
Leah stared at them. “Can you keep this secret? And leave me here one more minute? That’s all I need.” She wasn’t going to disappear in front of them, and, in any case, didn’t even think she would be able to do it while surrounded by so many people.
The other guard bowed. “Sure, your majesty.”
That title made her stomach churn.
“One minute, miss,” Falina added. “They want this room empty”
Leah nodded and watched as they walked away. This was a problem. Walking in the hollow was hard enough when Leah was not in a hurry. Now? It would be insanity. And she didn’t know about any secret passages in this room. Leah closed her eyes, trying to feel the darkness around her, trying to pull it towards her. Only two directions came to her clearly. One was Fel, and the other was that strange, desolate place among mountains. With no time to think, she picked the second choice.
With eyes open, she could see paths in the darkness. They were faint, blurry, as if her vision had lost some of her sharpness. Leah touched her necklace, wondering if it was the object’s fault. Regardless, she had to protect herself and knew of no other way.
As the darkness around her subsided, she found herself in those mountains, in that same place where she’d been once, where a spirit named Ticiane had saved her. This was also the place where she had dreamed about that queen of darkness. Returning here was foolish, but it hadn’t really been a choice. Perhaps she just had to regain her bearings and then go somewhere else.
As she considered what to do, watching out for any creatures that looked like children but had super sharp teeth, something pushed her down. Leah barely had time to soften the fall with her hands, so that she wouldn’t hit her face. Before she could react, a knee pushed her down, trapping her against the ground, then two hands pulled her arms and shackled them. Considering where she was, being caught couldn’t mean anything good.
“Don’t even try to run.” It was a woman’s voice, one Leah didn’t think she’d heard before, and it was gentle. “You won’t be able to get rid of the cuffs, and I’m sure you don’t want to get around like that. Plus, I’m not going to hurt you.”
Leah’s heart was speeding up, fearing she’d fallen right into the creepy voice’s lair, and about to be punished for ringing that bell. Perhaps she could try to slip into the hollow and escape the cuffs, but then, considering she had trouble doing it normally, the odds of achieving that with someone pressing down her back were none. Her best bet was to try to gain time and come up with another solution. With some effort not to show any fear, Leah asked, “What do you want?”
“That’s the right question. I want many things.” The woman’s voice was melodious and pleasant, but that didn’t mean anything, considering she probably had long, sharp teeth and perhaps enjoyed eating people. Still, if she wanted something, it meant Leah wasn’t in mortal danger—at least not yet. “But for now,” the woman continued, “I just want you to listen to me, listen to me until the sun sets.”
The place was dark and gloomy, and all Leah could see was some kind of dark fog. “How will I know when the sun sets?”
“It will get even darker.”
Dangerous spirits were more active at night, and perhaps this was why this strange woman wanted Leah to wait. That said, it wasn’t as if she was in a position to negotiate, and it didn’t matter. For now, she could agree with whatever this woman wanted, at least to get out of that position.
“I’ll listen to you,” Leah said.
“You’ll listen to me until night sets?”
“Yes. Hopefully in a more comfortable place.”
The woman chucked. “Of course.”
To Leah’s surprise, her manacles clicked open. That had been fast. Leah got up and faced her captor—and couldn’t believe her eyes.
* * *
Fel had never thoughthe would find dragons so easily and quickly. Or rather, he hadn’t imagined that he would be found like that. He was following two dragons, one black and one gray, and didn’t think they had any evil intent towards him. If anything, he’d probably be dead if they hadn’t shown up.
They were flying above the ocean, away from those islands. The sun was high up in the sky and he wondered if they were going to get to the continent like that, visible in plain daylight. He would never have guessed that dragons roamed Fernick without fear of being seen. Strange how this truth had been kept from Aluria.
The gray dragon, ahead of him, turned her head to look beside them. Fel followed her line of sight and saw six forms flying in the sky, against the sun, coming from the east, so he couldn’t see them well. He would have guessed them to be birds if he didn’t know better.
“Fly as fast as you can,” the female dragon said, or rather, sent those words as a thought, then changed direction so that they were flying away from the approaching dragons.
“Are they dangerous?” Fel tried to ask, still unsure if his thought would reach her.
“Very,” she replied, then added, “Keep flying as fast as you can. Just a little longer.”
Little? All he saw was ocean below him, no land ahead. How far would he have to out-fly those dragons? His wings were still not in the greatest shape, not to mention that he was anything but an expert at flying.
