by Aleah Raynes
I inhaled, drawing in the scent of winter and frost. “You should have. We would have always been one step behind you.”
“I couldn’t leave.” She glanced up at me. There was vulnerability there. The open terror of what might have happened left me gut punched.
“You are the important one here. No matter what happens, you have to keep going.” I pushed a lock of her blue and white hair behind her ear. “Understand?”
She nodded, but I understood how she felt. I didn’t want to leave her either. “We should keep going.”
I agreed. “We should.”
“I’ll gather my things.”
We could stop in a few hours to eat, then find shelter for the night. Instead of feeling exhausted, I’d been invigorated by my dip in the water. It didn’t make sense. I surely wouldn’t question the whys of it. If anything, we’d all need our energy in the coming days, especially with the mad king’s guard lurking about.
Ayla returned a few minutes later, carrying her things along with her sisters, and we set out, once more, for Oighear.
Oighear, Kingdom of Ice
Ayla
We reached Oighear just as the sun set on the third day of travel. After our run in with Iveos’s guards, we hadn’t had another. That both relieved and scared me. When it came to my uncle, silence was like the calm before the storm.
You never knew when chaos would hit again.
The entrance to the Oighear Kingdom was unguarded and the gates closed. Was that to keep people out? Or were they trying to keep them in? Maybe both. I shivered as fear ran her icy fingers over my soul. Something was off.
Dain took my hand in his and gently squeezed. I meet his eyes and instantly relaxed. The more time I spent with him, the more I was drawn to him. He was the first to break the eye contact to stare at the gate then down the north side of the wall. “We need to find a way inside.”
Nodding, I released his hand and moved closer to the wall, then walked south a little ways. I noted my sisters did the same, most likely looking for the same thing I was. A weakness in the wall.
Dain rushed to my side. “What are you looking for?”
“A crack or gap in the stone. Some kingdoms use illusion spells to keep others out.” Reaching out, I guided my hand along the stone as I walked.
“Over here,” Pyria called. We rushed to her and she pointed at the wall. “Do you see it?”
Everyone shook their heads, but I knew what she saw. Being twins allowed us to connect on a psychic level. The gap in the wall was big enough for all of us to slip in, but it was hidden behind a spell. “Look closely and with an open mind. The magical signature on the spell isn’t from my uncle.”
Dain looked closer. After a moment, he lifted his hand to touch the wall. Instead, his fingers went through the stone. His lips lifted in a smile and my heart fluttered at the sight. “It’s a way in.”
I nodded. “Yes.” I grabbed his hand and moved forward. He pulled back, making me stop. Glancing at him, I frowned.
Dain shook his head. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
I was pretty sure.
Caspian spoke up. “It could be a trap.”
Unbelievable. They wanted us to trust them, but they didn’t trust my judgment. I glanced to Luna who had her lips pressed into a line before agreeing with Caspian. “I agree. We can’t trust anything is as it seems.”
I released Dain’s hand and crossed my arms. I knew I was right. Something in the magic called to me. Like a familiar song or chant. It was hard to explain, which sounded crazy or desperate. “What do you propose we do then?”
Luna glared at me for a few moments, as if trying to enforce her authority or maybe warn me to stop being a brat, like she did often. Whatever. I wasn’t a brat. “I’ll test it.”
“No way. You are the heir of the throne. If it is a trap and you are hurt…” A lump formed in my throat and I lowered my arms to hug my waist.
Dain wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I’ll test it.” The guys all started to grumble but stopped when Dain lifted a hand and continued speaking. “We can’t let any of the princesses do it. They need to make it to Croí together.”
Caspian nodded. “Okay. If you feel the least bit uncomfortable, don’t do it. We’ll find another way in.”
“Couldn’t we just fly over the wall? We could unlock the gate or something to get the guys in.” Ena edged closer to me.
Luna shook her head. “No. Too risky. We can’t expose ourselves yet.”
Dain released me after placing a kiss to my temple. My cheeks heated at his affection. I was growing attached to him. His presence beside me, his warmth, and his strength. It would be hard to say goodbye when we reclaimed the throne.
An ache formed in my chest at the thought. I pushed it away. We had to survive the quests first.
I wrung my hands in front of me as I watched him disappear through the wall. My heart hammered in fear and worry. Moments went by, spiking my anxiety. Where was he?
Then he popped back out of the wall with a huge smile. “It’s just as you said. A way in. It’s safe. Come on.”
He held his hand out to me and I instantly took it and allowed him to tug me through. Just before I stepped out on the other side, a woman’s voice whispered on the wind. “The feather’s returned and freedom restored.”
I meet Dain’s eyes. “Did you hear that?”
He frowned. “Hear what?”
“A woman whispering.” When my sisters had emerged from the wall, I searched their faces. By the confused frowns, I knew they’d heard it. “You heard the woman.”
Pyria nodded slowly. “What does it mean?”
“I’m not sure.” I unzipped the pack Dain carried on his back and pulled out the journal. After flipping to the back, where the blank pages were, I wrote down the phrase. We’d decipher it later.
“We should find a place to lie low.” Caspian’s voice held a hit of a command, which wasn’t new for him, but it also had a hint of worry.
Dain’s hand tightened on mine, drawing my attention to him. Then he pointed to a flag on one of the buildings. It was my uncle’s flag. I knew from the crest in the center. A raven with a rose in its beak and a scroll in its claws.
My heart dropped to my feet and a sick feeling churned my stomach. Caspian was right; we needed to hide. I pulled my hood to my cloak farther over my face and followed the others as they moved through the near empty streets of Oighear.
The kingdom should be full of life, snow-covered grounds and water dragons playing in the rivers. We didn’t see any of that. It seemed like the whole place was dying. The snow was melting. There were no dragons to protect the people. Maybe there was no one to protect. I wasn’t sure how many were sent to the slave camps.
I inched closer to Dain and whispered, “This is horrible. My father would have never allowed this to happen.”
He linked his fingers with mine. A sigh slipped from my lips, and I instantly relaxed. “I don’t know. It could also have something to do with the tear.”
Yes, the tear. Dad’s journal said it needed to be returned. But where?
The guys stopped in front of an inn. Vander nodded toward the building. “Caspian and I will go in and barter for a room. You six stay out here. We’ll sneak you in once we secure a place to stay.”
My head started moving side to side before I formed the words. “An inn is too public.”
“There’s no other place to go right now. We need to get out of the streets before whoever is in control of this kingdom decides to make their rounds.” Vander glared from me to Dain.
Dain motioned me and my sisters to the back of the building. Jaden sent us apologetic looks, but kept his eyes on my twin. Pyria ignored him, mostly.
Once we were at the back door, I turned to Dain and folded my arms. “I don’t like this. The inn is the first place they will look for newcomers.”
“Not in my inn.”
The smoky sound of a woman’s voice made me whirl around. I almos
t cried out at the familiar brown eyes and rosy cheeks staring back at me. “Marybeth!” I flung myself at her, wrapping my arms around her.
My sisters joined in, creating a huge group hug.
“You said your inn.”
Mary drew back from the hug. “Yes. Hastos knows better than to send his minions here. Although it doesn’t stop him from trying.” A dark look passed over her face, but it was gone in a flash. “You are safe here. I’ll make sure of it.”
I scowled at the mention of Hastos. Should have known my other uncles would aid their brother. “So Ievos has recruited his other brothers to do his evil biddings?”
Mary let out a frustrated growl. “Come inside and I’ll fix tea and tell you all about it.”
Glee and a sense of home filled me. I wanted to cry and laugh and scream all at the same time.
Dain tugged at my hand. Glancing at him, I caught his confused gaze. A soft laugh escaped me. “Sorry. That’s Marybeth. She was Luna’s best friend and handmaiden. We can trust her.”
He seemed to relax a little, so I pulled him along, following Mary into the inn.
Mary led us through the kitchen to a set of stairs hidden in the corner where the sinks were. “These were old servant quarters. Upon Hastos’s first inspection of the place, I convinced him I sealed the rooms off and that the building was too unsafe to have anyone living down here. Then I offered for him to stay a couple nights in one of these rooms. Too bad he declined.”
I giggled. Mary had a slight vicious streak. She was sweet as sugar to those she respected and loved. But don’t cross her. She’d put a curse on you in a heartbeat, saying it was her way of helping Karma with her busy schedule. “But it is safe here, right?”
Mary raised a brow. “Now would I bring my favorite princesses down here to meet their deaths? No, don’t answer that.” She laughed, the sound light as it echoed off the walls of the underground set of rooms. “You are safe here. Hastos never comes here. He doesn’t like me. I couldn’t tell you why.” She rolled her eyes.
Footsteps descending the steps behind us drew our attention. Caspian and Vander had scowls on their faces until they saw us, Caspian’s gaze immediately going to Luna while Vander sought out Ena. The boys gravitated to them as if they needed to make sure they were okay.
Breaking my attention from them, I asked, “Is it safe enough for us to remove our cloaks?”
I needed to stretch my wings. They’d been aching since a few minutes after our run-in with the guards.
“Yes. How long have they been covered? They must hurt.”
I sighed. Thanks to Mary for bringing attention to our discomfort. The guys would not be happy with us now. It wasn’t like we could hide in the woods long enough to stretch our wings. “Thank you,” I muttered and proceeded to remove my cloak.
Once the heavy fabric was gone from my back, I slowly and with great care unfolded my wings. Every joint ached but it was manageable and seemed to ease the wider I expanded the wings.
“You should have said they hurt.” Dain gritted his teeth beside me.
“And risk being spotted? Our uncle has spies everywhere.” I didn’t mean to sound snippy, but we had to be careful to not to bring too much attention to ourselves.
Dain dropped his shoulders. A sudden sadness and fatigue settled into his features. Oh, pixie farts, look what I did. I reached for him, but he shrugged me off and walked away. I was about to follow him until Mary spoke.
“I’m going to get tea and snacks. You all must be starved.” Mary disappeared up the stairs, shutting us in.
“There are only four rooms,” Pyria stated with a frown.
Jayden nodded. “It’s best we stay in our groups of two. That way each princess is guarded.”
Pyria crossed her arms and shook her head. But it was Luna who had the final say on the matter. “I agree.” She turned to Caspian and narrowed her eyes. “You get the floor.” Then she removed her cloak and carried it to one of the rooms.
Ena just shrugged and went to search the room for what I guessed was supplies or linens.
Turning on my heels, I went to the room I saw Dain enter. He was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling. “Are you okay?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I killed a man.”
His guilt reached out to me. Tears stung my eyes as I drifted to the bed and sat so that our hips touched. Dain didn’t move, so I guessed he didn’t mind me being so close. “It was an accident, self-defense. Besides, those guards would have done worse to us if we were caught.”
Golden brown eyes met mine. “It still feels wrong.”
I took his hand in mine and held it to my heart. “I know.”
We locked gazes for several long moments before he glanced at my wings. Then he tilted his head, his brows bunching together. “They seem brighter.”
Twisting, I tried to look at them. I caught a glimpse of the top and he was right. “They’re usually a bright lavender and will darken when I preform magic.”
Dain shot up, grabbing my hands in his. A smile lifted his lips. “Your hands are cold.”
Now that I focused on them, they were. I didn’t notice since I was an ice fairy. Cold was normal for me. “What does this mean?”
“It could be Oighear still has enough magic left you are sensing it. Can you call your magic?” Dain looked hopeful.
I closed my eyes and searched for my power, but hit the wall I always did when trying. I sagged and shook my head. “No.”
Dain tugged me into a hug. “We’ll figure it out. There is something here that calls to me. It might sound crazy, but it’s like we belong here.”
Relief shuddered though me. I wrapped my arms around him and sank further into his embrace. “I feel it, too.”
“Together. We all must stick together.”
My chest tightened and I whispered, “Always.”
Dragon Magic
Dain
I discovered something last night. When everyone went to bed, I stayed awake. The idea of shutting my eyes, seeing the guard’s death again…it haunted me. I didn’t know which was worse, the creature or the guard. Both wanted us dead. Both tried. Both failed. I shuddered.
Sitting at the small table near the window, I kept watch over Ayla. If I couldn’t sleep, I would protect her while she rested. We’d all need the energy, but for now I’d endure. As I sat there, rain fell, slapping against the window of the keep. The patter along with the slide of the drops hypnotized me. It drew me in and when I pressed my fingers to the pane of glass, I swore the water followed my fingertip.
It swirled in a circle, grabbing more droplets until it formed a circular pattern. But when I turned my head to call out to Ayla, so excited at the prospect of what could be happening, the motion stopped. The drops were merely drops. I chalked it up to being a trick of the candle and rain.
However, the water in the bowl near where I sat sloshed over the side, splashing onto the floor. At first, I thought it might have been from the way the inn vibrated when anyone walked above us, but it had been something else completely. It’d been me. Which meant my dragon, lying dormant so long, was beginning to awaken. Was it being close to home causing him to stir? Being near Ayla? I didn’t have an answer to those questions…yet.
“I made water move,” I said to Ayla while she washed her face in the basin where I’d performed the little trick of water displacement. When she didn’t answer me, I pushed on. “Did you hear what I said? I made the water move.”
She turned to look at me then, the small towel bunched between her hands. “You did what?”
I grew impatient. “Here, I’ll show you.” I crossed to her, then reached around her for the bowl. When I placed it on the table, I gave her a small smile. “Don’t get too close.”
After raising my hand over wooden bowl, I began a circular motion with my finger. I had to concentrate or else this wouldn’t work. The water began to churn and as I manipulated it, a small rope-like spout of water emerged, climbing higher as I pulled bac
k.
Ayla gasped. Out of the corner of my eye, she took a step toward me then stopped. “You can manipulate water?”
“I guess so,” I whispered, trying hard to not be distracted.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured.
I jerked my head up, surprised by how close she was to me and the water went flying. Ayla held up her hands to keep from getting wet, but instead of it touching her, it turned to snow. We stared at each other, then down to the floor where the small pile of white flakes lay in little lumps of melting snow.
“Did you just…”
“It wasn’t you?” She glanced at me, shocked by what just transpired between us.
“No,” I said, baffled by the sight of the snow. “I thought you said your powers were still bound?”
“They are.” Yet, the conviction she held onto every time someone asked her about her abilities fled her tone this time. “Were. I don’t know.” She sat on the bed where she’d slept and rubbed her forehead. “Scientists would say we should test our hypothesis again to see if it works and if we’re…connected.” She pointed to me. “Water.” Then to herself. “Ice.”
“Sure,” I answered. I had to see it for myself.
We tried once more. Ayla scrunched her face in concentration as the water swirled in the bowl and grew into a translucent funnel. I flung it toward her, and this time it turned to ice, scratching her palms. Drops of blood hit the floor and I cursed under my breath. I hadn’t expected those results.
I rushed to her side with the towel and covered her hands. The cuts weren’t deep, in fact they appeared to close bit by bit. Ayla and I stared at each other. Could this be? My pack! I had to get the tear. “Hold pressure.”
She nodded. “What are you doing?”
“I think I figured this out.” I opened my bag and pulled out the small wooden box where the tear lay. It had melted more on our trip and I feared maybe we were too late. “We have to try.”
