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Twenty minutes later,Holly was regretting her decision, and if Kallan’s tight arms around her were any indication, he was as well.
Convincing Luca to let them all fly on him to the Elven Forest wasn’t as difficult as she had thought. All it took was ten minutes of convincing and one promise to go on a solo flight with him later. Getting everyone situated on his scales had taken another five minutes. It wasn’t until they were in the air that Holly realized she had forgotten Luca was unused to flying.
As they dipped left and dropped another ten feet before regaining altitude, Kallan buried his face in her neck, and Holly patted his arm awkwardly. Their only saving grace was that they were making good time as the shifter territory fell away beneath them. On the horizon, the tall trees of the Elven Forest could be seen towering above the smaller normal trees of the shifter territory. If she looked off to the right, she could see the buildings of the Academy off in the distance, and further on, the Capital.
As she looked around the Realm from the air, Holly realized there were plenty of places to hide, and she wondered how Bethany was doing finding the escaped prisoners. Maybe she had sent word to Brandlevine? Holly would have to check with her uncle when they got there.
Thankfully, they landed just ten minutes later, with a jolt that had Holly’s teeth rattling. Poor Luca was still getting the hang of his wings. Synora and Kieran slid off his back, thankful to be on the ground, but Kallan took a bit longer to release her.
“Are you okay?” Holly asked, twisting over her shoulder to look at him. He looked a bit pale but nodded at her, helping her slide down into Kieran’s arms before getting down himself.
“Feeling okay there?” Kieran teased, grinning at him over Holly’s head.
“Kieran?”
“Yes?”
“Shut up.”
“Shutting up,” Kieran said with another grin, and Holly rolled her eyes at them.
Synora touched her elbow softly. “We should go, but I don’t think Luca is going to fit through the portal.”
“We can stay here,” Kieran said. “We’ll watch the dragon, and you all can go retrieve your mo—the notes.”
Holly noticed he avoided sayingyour mother’s notesand shot him a grateful look. She knew this trip was going to be painful for Synora, so she appreciated him trying to ease it. Now she had a dragon to convince to stay here. A very devoted dragon.
It took another twenty minutes, agreeing to two more solo flights, and the realization she was going to be spending the rest of her life bargaining with Luca’s dragon if they didn’t find a way to get Luca back before Holly was able to walk through the portal with Synora. Luca crooned mournfully behind her, and Holly felt bad for leaving him.
Synora smiled and shook her head. “You’re going to have to set boundaries with him if you want to stop bargaining.”
“I know.” Holly groaned. “He just looks at me with those eyes and I feel so bad ’cause he’s spent his entire life in a cave.”
Synora laughed and pulled her close as they walked down the overgrown path toward the gate. Although Claire had opened the main portals, they hadn’t been used much, if at all, since, and dense branches blocked out the sunlight. “Well, hopefully we can find some things that will help with that.”
Ahead of them, two large trees, nearly twice the size of the others around them, stood on either side of the path. The area thrummed with magic, and Holly recognized Claire’s familiar magical signature. This must be the gate.
“This is it,” Synora said, confirming Holly’s thoughts.
“Do we need to do anything to open them?” Holly asked, placing one of her hands on the rough bark of the tree. She swore she could hear it humming in her mind.
Synora shook her head. “After Claire opened the portals, the Elders were able to activate the gates. They only activated this one, as it was our main gate before the war.”
“Is it guarded?” Holly asked, looking around. The Fae had guarded their boundaries fiercely.
“On the other side,” Synora said. “It’ll feel a bit like you’re walking in sticky mud, but we’ll pass through quickly.”
Holly bit her cheek as she looked at the empty space between the trees. It didn’t look like anything but more forest, but she could feel the magic that coated the clearing. She must have looked hesitant, as Synora took her hand. “Come on, we’ll do it together.”
Holly smiled gratefully at her and nodded. “Together, then.”
They walked through the trees, and magic immediately enveloped them, plunging them into a gray landscape. It felt like walking through quicksand as Holly struggled to keep moving, but after only a few steps, they landed on the other side.
Holly gasped as she took in the Elven Forest for the first time. Her earth magic sang inside her as she took in the multicolored trees and their brilliant purple, blue, gold, and red hues. Her head tilted back as she took in the thick canopy of leaves in shades of green, blue, and gold. Everything was so vibrant despite the lack of sunlight. Even the shadows seemed brighter here.
“It’s beautiful,” Holly breathed, spinning in a circle to take it all in.
She was so entranced in taking in the Forest that she didn’t even notice Synora had moved away to talk to two Elven warriors standing guard at the gate. Synora’s laugh broke her out of her trance. Synora held out a hand for her. “Come on, it’s even more beautiful as we get closer to the Capital.”
