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Valerian considered the question. “Colbolt is strong. He can get us there before nightfall.”
“After that, it’s just a case of finding his friends and seeing what they know. If they know something, we follow the trail. If they don’t, we come back. Easy.”
“You sure make it sound easy, Gullie,” I said.
“It’s probably not going to be nearly as easy. I actually think we’re heading into mortal peril, but that’s never stopped me before!”
Grandmother Helen came over to me, placed her hands on my shoulders, and sighed. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.
“I… have to try to find him,” I said. “He’s my brother, and he’s out there, alone.”
“If Malys gets to you before you get to him…”
“I won’t let that happen. Besides, if she does get to us, you’ll know about it.”
“That doesn’t make me feelanybetter.”
I nodded. “I know. Focus on trying to reach my parents, I’ll bring Radulf home, and then we can end all of this.”
Helen nodded, gave me a kiss on the forehead, and smiled. “I can see both of them in your eyes, your mother and father. I think they’d be immensely proud of you if they saw you right now. And take this, for good luck.” In my hand she placed a small leather throng with a green emerald attached to it.
“Thank you,” I said, “We can find out just how proud my parents are when we get them back.”
She gave Valerian a hard expression. “You had better keep your hands to yourself,” she said.
My cheeks flushed bright red and hot. “Grandmother!”
“I mean it, mister,” she continued. “Otherwise, I’ll turn you into atoad. I’ve done it before.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” he said.
After having spoken to Melina, Gullie buzzed over to me and sat on my shoulder. “Ready?” she asked.
“Not in the slightest,” I said, “But people are counting on us.”
“We’ll find him,” she said, “If anyone can, it’s you.”
“And if we can’t?”
“Let’s try not to think about that.”
CHAPTERELEVEN
Though my body ached, and I longed for a hot bath and a warm bed, we didn’t have a choice but to set out and hit the snow hard and fast. Colbolt was a trooper, always ready to venture into the great outdoors. Gullie was equally excited to finally see a little action. I had never met a more adventurous Pixie in my entire life.
Valerian, though… Valerian was tight jawed and vigilant. He wasn’t exactly silent about his suspicions that we would run into more trouble than we could handle in Lysa. He was probably right. Having left my grandmothers’ cottage, we were now exposed to Malys’ gaze. We had to assume that she knew where we were going, or at least, where we would be.
Her knowing where we were didn’t guarantee an attack, but it made it far more likely than if we had remained in the cottage—though that place’s protective power probably wouldn’t have lasted forever. We were on the back foot, here. Malys held all the cards. All we could do was press forward as fast as we could, and hope she wasn’t waiting for us when we got to where we were going.
Where we were going was Lysa, theCity on the Fjord.
It was beautiful, especially at night. The city, a glittering, shimmering sprawl of twinkling lights and fires, looked peaceful as we crested the hill that overlooked the base of the valley in which Lysa rested. In the bay there were ships, as still as statues, their sails picked up and tucked away. Even from up hear I could smell the warmth of the hearths burning through the night.
I had never been here before. I had barely set foot out of Windhelm before now. Now that I was here, taking in this breathtaking sight, I had a hard time feeling joy. I couldn’t help but feel like a captive, like I had been forced to miss out on all the beauty Arcadia had to offer.
Only it wasn’t my parents’ fault; it wasMalys.
“It’s stunning,” Gullie said.
