“No, Briony, this land used to belong to our realm until the demons emerged and took it over. We still have the old mapsfrom those times. I’ve studied them and the fort is the place I think a person would most likely go if they escaped to the demon wastelands.”
“What?!” I gasp. It hadn’t even occurred to me that there was a time before the demons. I’d always assumed they’d existed for as long as we have.
“Would Bardin risk hiding out so close to the border?” Thorne says. “She must know the Empress will be sending men to arrest her.”
“We try there first and if we’re unsuccessful, we move on.” He rakes his gaze up and down my form. “Have you eaten enough?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Then let’s move out,” he says in that authoritative tone I’ve always found slightly infuriating and damn hot. Now I understand it’s a tone suited to command.
Blaze is sleeping, puffs of smoke floating from his nostrils as he snoozes, but I nudge him awake and he yawns, showing off his newly grown row of sharp teeth.
“Blaze, you have to stay here and wait for me. You can’t come with us.”
The dragon snorts, obviously not liking that idea and nudges me with the tip of his nose. I slide my hand up and down his snout and lean into his warm body.
“I’ll call you if I need you. Go back to sleep now.” I kiss him, expecting him to snuggle back up and fall asleep. Instead, he whines dramatically and scrapes the earth with his claws, giving big dopey eyes. “I’m sorry, boy. But it’s just not safe. Stay here, okay.”
I give him one last kiss and then I nod to the others, letting them know I’m ready to go. The three of them each swing back packs onto their shoulders and then we start walking towards the border.
We’ve only gone a few feet, when Dray points behind us and says, “Errr, Kitten …”
I peer over my shoulder and find Blaze is creeping after us.
I sigh. “Seriously, Blaze. You can’t come with us. You have to stay here.” The dragon whines pathetically, practically breaking my heart and my will. “Not going to work. Stay!”
He creeps forward, head hung low to the ground, continuing to whine.
“Please, boy, don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
He stares at me with those big golden eyes, then gallops forward.
“Blaze, stop!” He comes to a skidding halt. I point my finger right at him. “Blaze, stay!” He tips his head to one side but remains where he is. I take a step backward, testing him and he takes a step toward me.
“Blaze!” I shout out in frustration. “Bad dragon! You have to stay!”
He drops down to his belly, whining some more.
I don’t want to be mean, I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but being firm and angry like this, seems to be the only way I’m going to get him to stay.
“Now you stay here or else … or else …”
I give him my best angry face and at last he seems to get the message, although he watches us with those big golden eyes as we walk across the final few yards towards the strange ripple in the air that Thorne had pointed out.
The edge of the realm.
The border.
The point where our realm ends and the lands occupied by the demons begin. The air shimmers violently right in front of us, sparkling and dancing with light.
“Can we pass through it?” I ask.
“Yes, anyone in our realm can pass through to the outside. It stops anyone from passing the other way, though, unless they have permission.”
Which must be how they stop those who have been banished from simply sneaking back into the realm.
“Does it hurt?” I ask, “to pass through, I mean?” I tip my head back and trace the barrier all the way up into the heavens and beyond.
