Wary of the others around her, Adara instinctively placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. A palm covered her hand. Adara suddenly felt very aware of Dominic’s calloused skin brushing over her knuckles.
“Relax,” he said. “The people here are a lot more friendly than in Lykrios.” He glanced down at her hand on her weapon, then back up at her. “Unless you’rePherra,” he whispered.
With a glare, she shook his hand away from hers as he led her and the Andreilians down the cobbled streets.
“They don’t likePherrahere?” Adara asked once the buzz of energetic people roaming the streets masked their hushed conversation.
She’d never been anywhere in the world other than the five kingdoms and the Shadow Empire in Blemythia, along with Lykrios. Enfider was the complete opposite of Lykrios. The Kingdom of Gierok was far more developed than anything in Malryn. The cobbled streets were flat and even. A stark contrast to Lykrios, where Adara constantly had to watch her step as she weaved through the streets. Excellently crafted wooden cottages lined the outskirts of the city, decorated with bright paints and flowers. Deeper into the heart of the kingdom, the buildings turned to stone, and the vibrancy of the city was almost blinding. Nearly every structure was painted in an array of bright colors that hurt her eyes and made her want to look away, but she was also intrigued by the vibrancy of this kingdom.
The citizens here were much more content than those in Lykrios.Probably because they don’t have a tyrant on the throne like Lykrios,Adara thought bitterly. She found it hard to believe the apparent prejudice toward magic-wielders.
“Pherraare outlawed across the entire continent of Enfider,” Dominic explained. “They thrive with the use of science, not magic. They believe magic to be a curse from the gods, not a gift. But they’re not as cruel as the queen of Lykrios to arrest them or kill them on sight.Pherraare given the option to sail across the Plagued Sea to Malryn, where they can take refuge in the Kingdoms of Tarin or Remaline, though they’d most likely die on the voyage. They can pay a fortune to hitch a ride on a dwodi when they take flight for the trade routes across the sea out of harm’s way, or they can offer themselves for experimentation, trying to remove their magic so they can remain living in Enfider.”
Adara’s stomach churned at the last option, memories of her time spent in the Shadow Empire resurfacing. She squeezed her eyes shut against the gruesome images replaying in her mind, blinking them away. “And what if they refuse those options?”
“They face execution,” Dominic stated plainly.
Caleb and Vesper shoved past her, drawing Adara from her thoughts as they rushed over to a vendor cart selling exquisitely crafted daggers. Their pale skin and light hair stood out in the sea of Enfiderians.
Dominic turned to the others, whose eyes darted enthusiastically around the city. “Get some supplies to bring back,” he ordered. “Buy or steal whatever you want.” He shot them all a stern look. “Just don’t get caught.”
They all excitedly dispersed along the streets where wooden carts lined the edges, vendors shouting at any passerby to come ogle at their goods.
“They’re not coming with us?” Adara asked.
Dominic solemnly shook his head. “This is our fight,” he said, starting to head deeper into the city, “not theirs.”
While Adara’s eyes darted back and forth, taking in the carts filled with food, clothing, jewelry, handbags, and so muchmore, Dominic kept his eyes ahead, not amused by their advertisements like everyone else. The vendors brought many patrons to the streets, crowding them so much that it was easy for Adara to slip a hand into a man’s vibrant yellow robe that billowed in his wake and pick out a few coins.
“I take it you’ve never been to Enfider?” Dominic asked, grabbing her forearm and pulling her down an alley. Adara’s eyes caught on a petite woman in loose teal pants that bunched at her ankles, the color such a beautifully stark contrast against her sepia skin. A matching blouse with long, puffy sleeves nearly swallowed her hands, but Adara caught a glimpse of a delicate paintbrush between her long fingers. She lifted the brush between perfectly manicured nails—the color of the waking sun—to the stone wall and continued painting. Lifelike trees towered in the background, their shadows broken up by bits of sunlight shining down on a pond. The woman added thin strokes of white on lavender flowers around the water, giving the image of sunlight gilding the petals. Admiring the work, Adara thought back to Lykrios.
About how anyone who dared to vandalize the queen’s kingdom would be sent to the gallows.Anysmall crime could have you sent to the gallows in Lykrios if the queen was feeling spiteful, which seemed to be all the time.
“I haven’t,” Adara answered.
Dominic’s fingers wrapped tighter around her arm as he pulled her deeper into the alley, walking quickly until they stepped out into an open meadow. “We don’t have time for sightseeing,” he said harshly. Releasing his hold on her, he started hiking through the tall grass. Adara was tempted to turn back around and leave him to fight the Whisperer on his own, but she needed the eye as much as he did, if not more.
It wasn’t long before the grassy field gave way to trees towering over them, casting shadows that seemed to reach onforever. Here, at least, the forest was unlike Andreilia, where her skin crawled when she first stepped onto the island. Though the shadows of the Gierok forest reached every crevice, there was something peaceful about these woods and the way the sunlight streamed through the leaves overhead, lighting their path with its golden glow.
She had no clue how Dominic knew exactly where they were supposed to be going. Or perhaps, hedidn’tactually know and fooled her with his confidence since it felt like they were getting absolutely nowhere.
Eventually, they made it deeper into the forest where the darkness began to lurk. Despite the bright sun looming over them, it did nothing to penetrate the thick branches and leaves that towered over them. Dark as night, Adara produced a small flame in her palm, letting it flicker between her fingertips as they walked.
Attempting to distract herself from this harrowing trek, Adara asked, “So, other than seeing one’s past and future, what other powers does the Whisperer have?” She could not deny that she had no knowledge of the Whisperer, other than knowing it was an ancient creature that supposedly killed all who crossed its path.
Dominic kept his gaze forward, eyes sweeping through every inch of the forest, though she didn’t know how he was able to see so far ahead of the light she provided. She guessed that navigating Andreilia throughout the night, all the lifetimes he’d lived, probably made him much more comfortable in these situations than her.
“The Whisperer is immune to magic,” Dominic said, voice low. “So, that”—he pointed a finger at the fire sparking in her palm—“won’t work.”
“There goes my brilliant plan of burning it to death.” Adara sighed, only half joking.
“Do all your plans involve arson?” He side-eyed her. The corner of his lip tugged upward, a hint of mischief in those bright green irises.
“It wouldn’t be a good plan if it didn’t.”
He chuckled, but Adara noted the lack of mirth. She didn’t know if it was his attempt at another small gesture to lure her into his charming trap to get her key, or if he simply couldn’t find anything humorous on this daunting journey.
“How do we defeat it?” she prompted. He’d never told her his plan. Trepidation settled in her gut. Did he even have a plan? Was he blindly leading them to their deaths?
