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Roken traveled faster, but only just. We flew together in silence, only stopping when I needed to eat or relieve myself and then getting back into the sky just as quickly after I was done. Finally, when my limbs were starting to ache from disuse, Roken dipped into a valley and spiraled down to land in a clearing.
He placed me down gently and shifted behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders.
“They already know we’re here,” he whispered quietly.
“Who?”
“The elves,” he whispered.
For several moments, there was complete silence. The birds stopped singing and the bugs stopped chirping. There wasn’t even the slightest rustle of the wind in the trees. It was as if the entire world had gone quiet.
Then all of a sudden, we were surrounded by dozens of elves, their bows nocked with arrows trained on the two of us. Roken’s arm curled around my waist, his body shielding me from much of the threat. He breathed out, and I could have sworn that there was relief hidden within the sound.
“It has been a long time since you’ve come by our woods, your grace,” a musical voice spoke to the left of me. I turned my head to see a man that I could only describe as ethereally beautiful.
His long blonde hair shone in the dappled light of the sun, perfectly tucked behind pointed elvish ears adorned with sparkling gold jewelry. Bright blue eyes met mine as he cocked his head, his perfectly carved high cheekbones mesmerizing.
“That it has, Lord Valdar,” Roken answered.
“Queen Isolde was not expecting you, your grace,” Lord Valdar threatened, his smooth melodic voice lulling me into a false sense of security. I glanced around, taking note that every bow was still nocked and drawn, ready to fly at a moment’s notice should Roken and I pose a threat.
“I do not come without cause,” Roken replied.
“Speak now, mad king, or forever keep your silence,” Valdar growled, his harmonious voice dropping to a more sinister tone.
“Helheim has come for us,” Roken answered simply. He didn’t show any signs of fear before the elves, and Valdar set his sights fully on me.
“And who is this?”
“She is human, innocent in the ways of war.”
Valdar’s gaze assessed me coldly. The books suggested the elves of this land were something to be feared, but I hadn’t believed them until now.
“My name is Sophia, and I’m the key to breaking the mad king’s curse and saving the realm from the hands of the Dark King,” I said quickly.
Now was not the time for vague mistruths. Time was running short, and the armies of Helheim would be here within days.
Roken started, his surprise quickly apparent, but he did not let go of me.
Valdar grinned, cocking his head as a smirk graced his devastatingly beautiful face. “Queen Isolde is going to want to meet you,” he replied smoothly. There was a hint of danger to his tone, and I quickly realized that if he was someone to fear, that meant that the queen might be someone to be terrified of, too.
“Then take me to her,” I replied.
Valdar smiled and my blood ran cold. Roken took a step back, and I shivered, no longer surrounded by his warmth. His hands squeezed my upper arms, but then he took another step back as Valdar offered his hand.
I strode towards him and took it. All at once, the wind rushed around me and the world fell out beneath my feet.
“Roken!” I called out.
“One does not enter Eldoria without an invitation, princess.”
As I started to fall, a scream emerged from my lips. Suddenly, the world rushed by, and my feet slammed into the ground. Blackness edged my vision, and I raised my head.
Valdar had taken me through a portal, and straight into Queen Isolde’s chambers.
* * *
At first glance, Queen Isolde emanated an aura of ethereal regality and grace. Her slender figure, draped in flowing robes of lavender iridescent silk, moved with an otherworldly elegance as she stood by the window. Light cast her in shadow. Long silver hair interwoven with delicate floral adornments cascaded down her back, framing her delicate features and giving her an air of beauty and wisdom. A sparkling diamond silver crown sat atop her head, and her pointed ears were adorned with matching earrings that wound along her earlobe. Her silver eyes were like pools of shimmering moonlight, soft and warm on the surface, yet cool and calculating beneath it.
