AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Elizabeth licked her lips but straightened her shoulders. “I must get to the council and see what the plan is.”
“The council won’t have a plan. They ignore the hunters.” I was angry because I knew this was it for me. I knew this was Daithi’s vision coming to fruition. And the council ignored our request for something to be done about the hunters. But in the same breath, I hoped they did have a contingency plan for this situation. No one deserved to be captured and killed for their power.
Making a quick decision, I started running down the hill and called over my shoulder, “You must hide. I will find Charlie and my soul mates.”
I headed straight toward the cabin, believing Charlie would have headed to Clawdia if he saw what was happening, but a shout from the trees on the other side of the path stopped me in my tracks. “Zaide!”
Turning, I saw Lawrence, his face white and serious as he waved me over. I went to him and whispered, “Lawrence. What is happening?”
“I don’t know. All I know for certain is that the wards have gone and it looks like we are about to have company. I don’t know if they are friendly.” He spoke quickly and suddenly nodded his head for me to follow and started jogging away. “I need your help.”
“What is it?” I asked as I followed him. We were heading to the medical center.
“The protector. He needs to be taken away from here right now.”
As much as I wanted to go back and see Clawdia, Baelen, and Charlie and make sure they are okay, I knew our priority had to be to ensure that Sigurd lived to protect the realm another day. “I’ll help.”
We stormed through the door, and as I recognized the green hair and the black leathery wings of the people in the sitting area, I let out a relieved breath.
“Daithi, Savida. Thank the gods you are all right. What are you doing here?”
“We were just chatting with the protector,” Savida explained.
“We heard the screams. What is happening?” Daithi asked, but the somber, more so than usual, expression on his face, told me he already knew. He’d seen it. He knew.
“Sigurd?” Lawrence asked.
“Yes?” The blond man in question directed his attention to us instead of the book he had in his hands.
“Come with us. We need to get you out of here,” Lawrence told him sternly. Without asking another question, Sigurd stood up and followed him out.
“Zaide?” Daithi asked again quietly, his voice a plea.
I sighed and offered him a small smile. “I think you already know the answer to that, Daithi.”
“No,” Savida breathed, and his eyes welled with tears.
“Yes, my friend. It’s time,” I told him quietly so he wouldn’t hear the quiver of fear in my voice. He pulled me into his arms, wrapping his wings around me so I was cocooned in his embrace, and I closed my eyes to savor the touch before reluctantly pulling away. “Come,” I said and pulled them both out of the cabin.
Lawrence was waiting for me. “Can you watch out as we go? I need to concentrate on where we are going.”
“Where are you going?” I asked.
He pointed toward the thicker part of the forest. “There’s a tunnel not far from here that leads to the other side of the island. There’s a boat we can use to row to the next island. Finding the tunnel is a bit tricky, though, and I might have forgotten the instructions.”
“I can help you get to the tunnel, but I can’t escape with you. But I think these two should. Daithi can form an illusion around the boat so you escape without being spotted, and Savida will be able to heal the protector should anything go wrong.”
And it would make me feel better knowing they were safe.
He stared at me before nodding. “Good idea. Let’s go.”
We took off at a slow jog through thin trees that were packed tightly together. Lawrence occasionally stopped to feel the bark of one tree in a particular spot or search the ground for a sign that he was going in the right direction. I remained at the back of the group, watching our surroundings for signs the hunters were nearby or that someone was following us.
“Here it is!” Lawrence whisper-shouted as we approached a large stone. He pushed at it, and after it refused to move for the third time, I urged him out of the way and rolled the stone to reveal dirt stairs descending into the ground.
“Thank you,” Lawrence said as he waved Sigurd to go on in front of him. The protector nodded his thanks as he moved without fear into the darkness. Lawrence held his hand out, and I shook it as I knew humans liked to do. “I hope to see you again soon.” And then he, too, was gone.
A flare of light inside the tunnel made Savida loudly sigh his relief that he wouldn’t be underground in the dark again. I knew how difficult that would be for him, if not completely immobilizing.
