I said with conviction, “I’m going to fly to the Iron City to save Tor, and then open that onyx tomb. I believe Tor has the final piece to this large puzzle, and he needs to be freed from those evil creatures. Verin will try to stop me from all of this so that’s why I’m leaving tonight.” I nodded to myself, believing my own words, and knowing I still had so much to do.
“Fly?” Emrys asked. The excited smile on his face indicated he was confused and wanted a confirmation of his thoughts.
I grinned with him as I spoke clearly. “I’m going to convince my dragon friend to take me. We’ll be there in a few hours and hopefully out of there in no time. One thing you must know before any of this goes further, Emrys. Doing this will be exposing the Fae realm to the humans, and there is no coming back. There will be war, eventually.” It was a large burden to carry, but Emrys didn’t even blink before agreeing he wanted to help with the plan.
“I’m in, too.” My owl friend spoke with a newfound boldness as a warrior, not a librarian.
“Can you fight?” I didn’t want to insult her, but she was always in the library, so my question wasn’t unreasonable.
She gave me a look that promised I would pay for asking. “I can hold my own, and you will fail with this plan if you do not have knowledge. You need me to succeed. Books are weapons, my dearest friend, and I’ve read a lot of books.”
“Damn right you have. OK. I need to get out of this dress and then we plan. Meet in the dark library?”
They both nodded.
“I’m glad you’re OK.” Dris hugged me again as they walked toward the door and left me alone with my thoughts.
The bath I took was quick, and I changed into a pair of leggings I knew wouldn’t hinder any movements and a long-sleeved tunic that stopped just below my waist.
Once dressed, I didn’t head down to the dark library. There was one more thing I needed to do . . . something I hadn’t spoken aloud yet. There was another fear throbbing in my chest.
I picked up one of Princess Nyx’s books and read.
Books were a weapon, and she’d figured out how to even the scales against Verin from them. Now it was my turn.
Chapter Forty-Six
“Sapphira! Perfect timing. I knew there was something in here about the city where Tor is headed with those humans.”
My friend twisted a book she’d been reading toward my direction. Emrys had let me into the dark library where we could talk freely without someone hearing our conversation. Dris’s head popped up to look at me with a victorious grin on her face, then it faded. “Are you OK? You look sick.”
I nodded. I’d pieced together another clue I wasn’t ready for, and neither were they. I needed Tor; only he could help me right now. He knew the truth or at least suspected it.
Dris could see through my bullshit nod, knowing very well that I was not OK. I knew she would let me be, and that she knew I’d tell her when I was ready.
“What did you find?” I stopped at the dusty table and looked at the pages within the book she’d gotten excited over.
“It’s a book written by a Fae who was captured and escaped the Iron City. He talks in great detail about the wall made of iron spikes with human heads impaled on them. And the large castle in the middle has the metal on it lit up like a beacon of the sun. He also talked about their holding cells for the auction. He was meticulous in counting steps and listening to his surroundings. It’s how he escaped. He attacked one of the guards, donned his outfit, and followed the steps and turns out of the gate. Other than that, I haven’t found any tellings about those awful humans since. It seems like our people and yours have stayed far away from each other.”
Not for long. Soon the Fae would have the Dramens at their door and Verin’s army to contend with.
“Good stuff. I’ll take a look at it on our way. Emrys, you may want to read up, too. You probably could sneak in and get Tor easier than I could.”
The spider nodded and walked over to the chair next to Dris. “What now?” Dris asked.
“I go talk to a dragon, we gather weapons, and go. It will only take us a few hours flying to get there instead of the three weeks on foot. We slip in while it’s dark, fight anyone who gets in our way, don’t get caught or killed, grab Tor, and get the hell out of there.”
It was the easiest plan I could think of, and hopefully the most effective. Emrys was going to find me a way in, Dris was my walking, talking library, and Desmire was our ride and possible distraction.
“Emrys, after you’ve finished getting an idea of the layout, do you think you guys could swipe some weapons from the armory? I don’t think they’d let us take a whole bunch, especially now that Verin knows who I am and what I’m after.”
Emrys nodded. He and Dris still looked a little shocked when I said Verin’s name so casually in association to the king. He’d been pretending to be someone good and kind all the while being truly evil on the inside.
“Any particular weapon of choice for you?” Emrys asked, and I thought about what I’d want in my hands if it came to battle with a Dramen.
“Hatchets.”
“I’ll meet you guys by the waterfall in an hour. Bring the book and anything else you think we need. We need to be quick and as stealthy as we can.”
