I saw only one possible way out, and that was giving the Shadow King exactly what he wanted. Freedom.
How he was so certain Thyra or I could do such a thing, I did not know. Nor did I want to unleash him upon the kingdom. But if it came down to it, I couldn’t watch the others die. Especially not Vale.
Did it make me weak that I was thinking of putting an entire kingdom in danger for just a few?
“Master,” Falagog’s midnight voice drifted out of the central cavern and down the short passage into the cave, “those of my children we sent out have nearly gone through all the tunnels and found no one. Some of them have already returned and are waiting. Might they begin to feast?”
By the dead gods.How had they traversed all the tunnels so quickly? It had taken us hours!I shifted in the silks as much as I could and felt the claustrophobic press of my cage.
“What of those in the village?” the Shadow King asked lazily.
“I’ve not heard back.”
“Wait then.”
“Neve!” Thyra hissed at my side. “What are we going to do?”
It was the first time she’d spoken to me since we’d found ourselves in this predicament. I couldn’t see her face, but it was easy to imagine her expression, a storm of fury.
“Free him,” I said softly. “It’s the only way I can think of.”
“Do you have an idea as to how?” Her quick acquiescence shocked me, but perhaps it shouldn’t. I wasn’t sure how deeply she felt toward me, but Thyra loved the rebels and did not want to see them dead.
“None.”
“Me either. I?—”
The wall rumbled, and the sound of rocks falling echoed throughthe larger cavern—where the Shadow King and Falagog were talking.
Another whimper came from Ulfiel, and muffled shouts emerged from the other cocoons of silk.
“Neve! What’s going on?” Vale shouted louder than the rest, or maybe I was just more inclined to hear his voice.
“We don’t know!” I wished that, at the very least, I could twist and see the entrance of the cave we’d been placed in, but the silks prevented even that slight movement. “Rocks falling, for sure! Quiet so we can listen! I?—”
A screech rang through the large cavern, raising the hairs on my arms. Was that . . . a bird?
The answer came a moment later when a white hawk zoomed into my field of vision.
“Arla!” Thyra screamed. “We’re here! Help!”
The winged predator pivoted in midair only to soar out of the cave again.
“Do you think the other rebels are here?” I whispered.
Before Thyra could venture to guess, a roar sounded.
“Fire!” The Shadow King screamed, and I almost envisioned him running before remembering he was trapped within the Drassil.
A blast of heat pummeled down the hall, washing over all of us. My friends shouted in fear, still blinded by silks, still having no idea what was happening. On the back of their screams, a roar rang through the rock. I sucked in a breath.
“That had to have been Rynni!” I shouted. “They’re here!”
How the dragon had gotten through the tunnels and found us so quickly was a mystery. One of many thatformed in my mind as what had to be a hundred or so war cries filled the air.
“We’re in here!” I screamed.
Thyra joined my shouting, but the others stayed quiet, perhaps knowing that their muffled cries would be unhelpful. My heart raced as the war cries continued, a symphony to the sound of metal hitting rock and spider shrieks.
