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I’d give anything to grant Ro’s wish for an escape. If I were able to, I would, but I don’t get to decide such things.
We still have one more hurdle to jump, and then we’ll be free.
After taking to the sky, a thick cloud of dust swarms us immediately. The particles are so dense, it’s getting in my nose and mouth. I can’t even open my eyes because this gritty crap burns.
Ro coughs.
“Hold your breath for a second,” I order. “Use my shirt as a filter if you must inhale.”
Flapping my wings hard, I do my best to get above the cloud as quickly as possible because I might be able to go without air for a long time, but Ro can’t. Luckily, the dust starts to dissipate less than a minute later.
When I open my eyes, I expect to see more of the grayish sky of the Lost Land.
Instead, it’s dark with white dots everywhere, and it takes me a second to realize I’m looking at stars. And there are three spotlights—moons—illuminating Ro and me with a silver cast.
Comfort comes over me as I suck in the fresh smell of a place I know well.
The Night Realm.
Wiping her face, Ro looks around, her eyes pinging from one side to the other as we soar over the countryside.
About a hundred feet below us, the dark green grass grabs her attention. It’s a deeper color than the lawns in the Day Realm, and trees with white flowers line a road leading to the city in the distance.
Craning her neck, Ro looks in the direction we’re headed and scans the horizon where windows and streets are lit with the warm glow of stardust lanterns.
“Delaveria,” I inform her.
She’s never been here before. Never seen this sky. Never felt the cool air on her skin.
She might’ve looked at paintings or maps, but to be here is quite different.
“It’s beautiful,” she says with awe.
Pride fills me as she admires my homeland. “Just wait until we get to the palace.”
“I see it.”
The grand focal point looms at the back of the city, framed by four spires with a tall belltower in the middle.
I’m assuming the palace is where we’re supposed to go. It’s the most important spot in the entire realm, so if we’re going to find the next challenge, it’ll be there.
I’m not sure what Armand is thinking, putting me in a location I’ve memorized like the back of my hand. If Delaveria were a maze, I could walk these streets with my eyes closed. I know every house, every landmark.
That puts me at an advantage. Doesn’t it?
With only one challenge left, we know this is the test of the mind.
But how to beat it is still a mystery.
Once we get to the edge of civilization, the townspeople are milling about. Some are sweeping their stoops. Others are making their way to the market to get fresh-baked goods or produce for today’s dinner. Children are playing, running circles around their parents.
With this much activity, I estimate it’s late morning.
I zip over the rooftops of the cottage-like houses. They all have wooden shingles and smoke coming out of their chimneys.
As we pass the bazaar, Ro observes the long lines of shoppers. “This illusion has a lot of detail. Armand has created so many different people of all ages and appearances, and the colors of the tents are so vibrant. The food has a ton of variety. There’s a bakery, a butcher, and someone selling fresh fish. There’s even a taco stand.”
I don’t respond because she’s right, and I’m confused.
