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As I stared into the shadows, I wished for the thousandth time that Mais had shut my eyes, that at least I could pretend this was some awful nightmare that I’d eventually wake from.
“This place fell to ruin long ago. It is what is waiting for Terraheim if the barrier between worlds should fail. The Dark King will kill everyone that inhabits this place. He will come not for just their lives, but the very fabric of their souls.”
It was the old woman’s voice, seemingly far away, like she was speaking to me through time or a world all of her own.
“Your fate does not rest here in this world, Sophia White. You are not meant for the Dark King. That is the destiny of someone else,”the seer whispered, her voice hoarse and scratchy. It came from everywhere all at once, yet there was no one there to utter the words.
Right in front of me, a small portal opened up. It was different from the one that Mais had opened for me, swirling with white magic instead of the deep violet of Helheim. Looking through the portal, I was able to catch sight of the seer for the first time. I had been right to assume that she was an elderly woman, with white hair flowing back and forth long past her shoulders. Her face was kind, but when I settled upon the disconcerting vision of the inky black voids of her eyes, I shivered with fear.
Although powerful and seemingly on my side, the seer was a being to be respected and feared.
She reached through with a single hand, taking hold of my arm. Slowly, I floated towards her, my body weightless with her magic. It flowed through me with a heavy jolt as she pulled me through the portal.
As my world turned upside down, she cradled me close and closed my eyes with her fingertips.
“Your fate lies with the feral king.”
CHAPTER18
Roken
I lost three days to madness.
It was the longest spell I’d ever had to date. In my untamed fury, I laid waste to a respectable portion of Helheim’s army, but it hadn’t been enough. Eldoria wasn’t designed to withstand this kind of invasion, and the sheer number of monsters the Dark King had thrown in our direction had been overwhelming. Many of the Elven soldiers had been lost, and when the outlook started to look bleak, Queen Isolde called for a full retreat to the nearby fortress of Ironpeak. In more treacherous times, it had served as a battle fortress, but that had been more than two thousand years ago in the times of my ancestors.
It would be much more defensible than the forest city of Eldoria.
My people moved through an intricately designed underground tunnel system beneath the forest. Now in control of myself, I guarded their trek through the air, occasionally breaking off and tricking Helheim’s men into thinking the citizens of Eldoria had gone another way. The tactic worked several times until I left them lost in the forest to the west while I turned my way north. By the time I arrived in the fortress city of Ironpeak, Queen Isolde had already settled in and was preparing for the moment when Helheim realized we had changed locations.
In all that time, I had not seen Sophia anywhere. I hadn’t sensed her either, not her delicious scent nor even the soft, steady music of her voice. In her absence, I realized something.
Ineededher.
Even though a part of me had wanted to bring her to the city of the elves so they could protect her, an even bigger side of me yearned to have her at my side forever. Around her, I had control of my curse. Without her, it was agony. Every second she was away from me risked those around me.
Maybe she was the key to my curse.
I shifted in midair and landed on Queen Isolde’s balcony overlooking the mountain valley. She had done something with Sophia, and now that I had a level head, I needed to know what. My people were safe for now.
I needed to know Sophia was too.
As if she expected me, Isolde was sitting by the window at a small table.
“Where have you taken Sophia?” I exclaimed.
“I fear Ironpeak may not be enough to hold back Helheim’s army. Even with your assistance, I fear for the fate of the realm,” she replied, ignoring my initial inquiry.
A deeply uneasy feeling brewed in the pit of my belly.
“Where?” I pressed, not letting up.
“She escaped.”
“You do not know?” I blurted, my fury tangible. I took a deep breath, pushing it aside and trying to focus on the memory of her to keep calm. I breathed a sigh of relief as my anger eased at once.
I needed to find her, not just to keep my curse at bay, but to finally admit what was in my heart. I loved her and I was never going to leave her side again.
She was mine, forever and for always.
