AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her footprints were staggered, as though she were drunk, and I followed them quickly and silently. I said a silent thanks to whichever gods would listen that there was only one set of footprints.She’s alone,I thought, at least she hadn’t been taken. For whatever reason, she’d gone of her own accord.
See? It’s alright. She’s alright. I’m alright.Everythingis fine.
She had turned right, and then right again and then left. It had to have been nearing a half hour since leaving her chamber by the time I came upon a set of stone stairs leading downward. The air in the passageway was cool, but the air coming from below was colder still, and my panting breaths puffed in great clouds of steam around my face.
She went down there. She must’ve. Her prints left a wobbling trail on each step.
My blood chilled.
Breathing deeply to keep a clear mind, I raced down them two at a time. There was light up ahead, and I threw down my torch, trading it in for my blade, my pulse franticly beating against the bones of my ribcage.
“Liana,” I called, running down the last few steps. I faltered when I got to the bottom, dogged by the grandness of the wide, domed chamber before me. Dragons crouched for the kill, their faces snarled and hissing. And Morgana was there too, standing amidst them, her hands outstretched and face as calm and placid as Lake Serin.
At her feet, within the stone dragon barrier knelt Liana, rocking forward and back, her shoulders trembling.
Swallowing, I sheathed the sword. It was the chamber her and Finn had described. She’d found it again, but why had she come back?
“Liana?” I said, hesitant, approaching her with caution. I double-checked the surrounding chamber, ensuring there was no one else within before I ran the last few yards and knelt beside her. “Liana,” I said, laying a hand on her shoulder, jerking it back when my skin met hers. Her flesh was like ice and seemed covered in a thin layer of frost. She made no indication of knowing I was there.
Her head remained bowed, and she continued her slow rocking.
Moving in front of her, I took her frozen face into my hands, tilting it up to the light. It took me a moment to realize she was asleep.
“I need you to wake up, love,” I begged, trying to stay calm. Her eyes were closed, and twin streams of tears ran down her cheeks, freezing into drops of ice against her skin.
She was dreaming—having a nightmare.
I shook her softly, “You have to wake up,” I said, but she didn’t stir. “Liana, wake up,” I said, louder—near shouting. But still she did not wake.
Forgive me, I thought, my stomach twisting, before I slapped her cheek as hard as I dared.
She came back to herself with wide blinking eyes and hands raised, searching for something solid to hold onto. “Don’t!” she screamed.
Chapter Seven
Liana
Tiernan’s worried jade eyes came into focus as I surfaced from the pull of the dream. I tried to blink away the remnants of it, but fragmented pieces remained, flashing behind my eyelids every time I closed them. Blood, fire, ash, and smoke. The screaming—it was everywhere, interrupted only by the deafeningclashof steel and the roaring of thunder in the black clouds above.
“Don’t what?” Tiernan said, and my cheek stung as my consciousness found its way down from the clouds and back into my body.
“Ouch,” I said, rubbing at the sore spot with numbed fingers. Wondered why I was so cold. Why I seemed to be barefoot.
“Sorry about that—you—well, I think you were sleepwalking.”
I swallowed past a lump in my throat and looked up, gasping and scrambling backward when I saw Morgana’s regal face looking down on me.
“Hey, it’s alright,” Tiernan said, moving to comfort me.
I let him pull me to him, let him rub warmth back into my arms. “Shhhh… come on, let’s get you back to your chambers.”
“How did I get down here?” I heard myself ask though the question was mostly for myself.
Tiernan scooped me up into his arms, shivering against the chill of my body, “I’m not sure, but I think maybe you walked here in your sleep.” He pulled me closer to his chest, and I curled my arms around his neck, “I’m sorry, Liana. I—I barely remember closing my eyes. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I whispered against him, reveling in the feel of his warmth, “I’m alright.”
But I wasn’t sure if that was true… was I alright?
