How—How could this have happened?
No one else knew where this was save for Taiyo, Haruko, and Hellebore.
Water. She had to at least put it out before it spread to the castle. Maybe there were some there she could save. Maybe some alchemy she could do to—She fumbled for her charcoal and started to flip to an empty page.
No. First, she needed to alert someone and get back before she could try transmuting any water in the atmosphere. She spun around, ready to keep screaming the castle down for help when she crashed right into two familiar figures. The Moon Elves.
Before she could do anything, one grabbed her head and the other stuck a needle into her arm and was injecting her with the same sedative she’d once given to Taiyo. Her legs crumpled beneath her and the first elf caught her as her eyes fluttered shut.
“Sorry, Hels, no time to explain.”
But why would a Moon Elf speak Chymesian?
Chapter 23
Something wasn’t quite right, but Hellebore was groggy, and she really didn’t want to confront whatever the strange feeling was that was under her skin. She would rather stay in Taiyo’s arms for a few more moments.
Except when she rolled over to shift closer and listen to his heartbeat, there was nothing there. She stretched her hand out only to come up against rough wood. That was what wasn’t right.
There was no one lying beside her. No arm around her waist. No fingers tracing words across her skin. Taiyo wasn’t there.
She ripped her eyes open and scrambled to sit up with a sharp gasp and Taiyo’s name on her lips. But when she opened her eyes, his name died in her throat. She was in the back of a wagon. That was when it all came rushing back. The fire. The Moon Elves.
The irises were gone.
Worse, so was she.
“Perfect timing, Hels, we’re almost to our camp for the night.”
Hellebore blinked and looked at the two Moon Elves driving the carriage. Except, they weren’t Moon Elves anymore. They were wearing the same clothes, but the silver of their hairwas fading back to their natural colors, brown and blond respectively.
It was night, but the moon hanging overhead provided just enough light to see.
“Callahan? Emerson?”
Callahan eyed Emerson and said, “You didn’t get the mixture wrong and scramble her mind, right?”
“Of course not!”
Hellebore got her legs under her and crawled up to the front of the wagon where the two of them shifted so they could see her better. She gestured to their clothes and said, “What do the two of you think you’re doing running around pretending to be Moon Elves?”
“Hellebore, keep up; so no one traces your disappearance back to Chymes,” Emerson said with a snort.
Her mind was spinning. “Wait, so the two of you grabbed me in the garden.” Her stomach sank and the flashes of fire haunted her. Her voice lowered. “Did you two set the fire?”
Callahan and Emerson exchanged a look, and she smacked their arms. “Out with it! You drugged and kidnapped me, burned months of my work to the ground—you owe me an explanation!”
Taiyo.
Without the irises, she had no way to stop his death during the eclipse. How long had she been under? How long did she have to find a miracle to save him?
“Well…” Emerson said, reaching up and scratching the back of his head, causing even more of the silver coloring they’d used to rub off.
Callahan sighed. “Yes, we set the fire. You weren’t supposed to be there at dawn. The fire was supposed to be a distraction so then we could find you, grab you, and escape while the Sun Elves dealt with that.”
“Whose brilliant plan was that? You didn’t have a key to the garden, so how did you find the other entrance?” Hellebore’s voice rose as Callahan pulled the wagon to a stop. “Do you know what you’ve done?”
“Obviously, Hels, it was all me, and you know I never do anything without knowing exactly what I’m doing.”
