Chapter Twenty-Seven
As far as I could tell, the only difference between the trees of the human realm and this one was the height. Tall trees stretched up toward the clouds with large branches. Some even touched the ground as if the weight of holding their limbs was too great.
The survival instincts I’d gained from crossing the continent kept me cautious of danger from every direction. The sense of my surroundings hadn’t softened by the palace life and a full belly. An eerie silence settled over the woods, as if the trees themselves stopped swaying in the wind to watch me. Each being of energy decided if the plant life and creatures of the Hallowstags could be true to their nature with me around. I’d doubted a human had ever stepped foot in these lands.
I walked to a weathered tree, its limbs hanging low. Holes marked its old age, and I placed my hand against its scratchy bark. I’d been taught in my younger years the purposes of trees. They created the oxygen we breathed and provided shelter, fruit, and materials for a community to thrive. Mariam had always told me to thank the Earth for what it provided us with nothing desired in return. She believed if mankind hadn’t taken the planet for granted, things wouldn’t have been so bad. I’d seen it all on the journey. Mankind had trashed the Earth. “Thank you,” I whispered to the tree.
I heard rather than saw the Hallowstags reaction to me. A whirling sound from behind me coasted by, then disappeared. My body spun quickly, my hand going to the hilt of my sword in case it was not a friendly creature making the sound.
Nothing. The woods were as empty as they were moments before. At least I’d chosen to be thankful in the moment instead of fearful of the silence around me. I walked on the silent feet I’d used for many days with Tor, careful not to alert anything not relying on the sense of smell that I was nearby.
An echo of bubbling water broke the silence as I walked deeper into the woods. My shoulders sagged in relief. The taste of cool water against my dry throat was enticing, and a break sounded like a good idea. The creek was small and ran into a swimming hole, big enough to strip to your undergarments and cool off in the summer heat.
However, there wasn’t any heat or wind here. I sat on a gray boulder near the swimming hole and looked into the water, making sure no creature with sharp teeth waited for me to touch the serene surface and eat me.
“I’ve survived the apocalypse, Dramens, Rune’s personality, and an onyx tomb attack. There is no way I’m going down by a fish,” I mumbled to myself to calm down, easing my growing tension. My senses were wired and alert, and my nerves ready to respond quickly if danger approached. I remembered the constant edge of surviving, of fear, and wishing to rejoin mankind. Humans were a dying breed. Fae in this realm, even without magic, were in a good place. They were safe.
I wanted more for them . . . for us. Caught up in my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed the tiny bubbles breaking the surface of the water three yards from me. If I had, I wouldn’t have set my weapons next to me on the boulders. I glanced around the area, then reached into the pool for some cool, crisp water. It was flowing and not stagnant so I decided confidently that I wouldn’t be sick all night after drinking some.
“Holy shit.” I jumped back as two yellow eyes peered at me from the ripples below the surface. The farther away I scooted on the boulder, the closer to the surface it came until its hair and face crested the waterline.
It looked at least part Fae, with shimmering green skin and pointed ears in three places instead of one. Its wide eyes did not have eyelids. Its body was still under the water but I saw arms and webbed hands with pointed nails. I didn’t know what was beneath the body below the scaled chest.
I tried not to be afraid and pushed away my instincts to run, to get as far away from this creature as possible. Every muscle in my body was tight, ready to spring into action and fight. My hand stretched slowly toward my weapons, while keeping an eye on the curious being before me.
“Hello.” My voice cracked, the fear in my tone evident despite my attempt to hide it.
Its head tilted to the side, like Dris did when she was intrigued.
“I’m Sapphira.” Even though Celestine said not to be afraid, I had no intention of offering a hand to shake hello.
“Do you—“ Before I could ask if the creature spoke, the pointed nails dug into the boulder with enough strength to dent the stone and used its strong arms to hoist itself up toward me, mouth full of sharp brown teeth aiming for my throat.
Cursing, I flung myself off the boulder, grunting as I hit the ground and tried to get up but its nails dug into my boots. I was thankful for the forethought to wear them instead of my slippers. It hissed, it’s fish-like tail swishing back and forth from the waist in an attempt to steady its body on land.
“I’m not dying by some fish creature!” I roared and kicked to get free. My weapons were out of reach. It gurgled an unholy and blood-curdling scream.
This creature obviously missed my little mumble to myself earlier. After everything I’d survived thus far, I was not going down like this. I fought and managed to get my sword free without its nails biting into my skin. Something behind me landed on the ground so hard it shuddered, and the trees swayed away from the newcomer. The water creature released my leg in a hurry and crawled back into the swimming hole. The fear I’d managed to hide before could not be contained when I twisted my head to see what shook the Earth.
A black dragon stood behind me, its mouth open. Its razor-sharp white teeth gleamed in the sun’s light and the blood drained from my face. A bellow roared from its massive chest, making the ground tremble, and stopped my heart right there in the Hallowstags.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I did not blink nor move one limb as I stared down a beast that stood two stories high. Pointed, black, scaled horns sprouted from its head, four on each side, decreasing in size as they met with its powerful jaw. Webbed points started between the horns and traveled down its long neck to its tail with a horn on the tip. The wings were tucked in close to its broad body, but I wasn’t fooled—it was quick and agile. I wouldn’t be able to run fast enough to escape this creature.
The gray eyes looked like smoke rolled inside its irises, smoldering me with its gaze. I expected to become a pile of embers on the ground.
Do not be afraid.
If Celestine had warned me about this creature of legend, then she was crazy. What was I supposed to do? Ask it if it liked to play fetch?
The creature’s breathing remained steady as it watched me and listened to the heart beating erratically in my chest.
“Friend or foe?” I managed to croak out, feeling stupid for talking to the dragon.
His head moved closer to me with uncompromising strength. I was literally as big as its skull, maybe even smaller. My body trembled with fear as its snout came so close, the exhale of heated breath caressing my face. I wanted to cry, to curl into a ball, but I stayed still as the creature breathed in my scent. Its gaze never left me as it dropped its head to the ground at my feet, closing both eyes.
It was a submissive gesture, but my heart refused to find a normal rhythm. “I’m gonna be honest with you. I am freaking the hell out.”
