“For this to hold Red Highland’s interest, this key is no ordinary key,” Eldred said. “It must open something dire, an imaginable power to behold.”
Dyna’s mind flashed with the night she had jumped through Leoake’s enchanted Door.
Azulo told her there was another door on Mount Ida. “Many dire treasures were hidden inside of it. The Gods wish them to remain hidden.”
Then she recalled the glowing rhyme that had appeared on the key’s scroll when she had held it to the fire.
Seek a key and make your claim
but beware the door untamed.
Cross into realms of old,
in the loom its secrets unfold.
Once a bridge of finder’s luck,
now a curse to madness struck.
Dyna’s pulse drummed, her ears ringing.
Lief studied his sister and nephew carefully. “Has Rawn mentioned anything about this?” When they shook their heads, he worked his jaw. “This is dire. I need to know about this key and what it opens.”
“It opens a door…” All eyes turned to Dyna, and she realized she had said it out loud.
Leif’s eyes narrowed. “What door?”
“A door to the In Between. The realm between worlds.” As she said the words, Dyna knew they were true. “I think the Dragon Blades are there.”
Stark silence fell over the table. Raiden’s eyes locked on hers.
Leif leaned forward, his hands bracing on the table.“Where is the door?”
“Mount Ida.”
Voices of alarm, shock, and wonderment swarmed the room. And she saw the glint in the king’s gaze as he sat back in his chair.
“We need to get this key, sire,” the first counselor now eagerly said. “It will at last assure our victory against Red Highland. They would never dare challenge us again.”
“Only once I acquire both pieces. To discover where the second one is, Rawn must be returned to me. A trade is inevitable.”
“Wait…” Aerina softly spoke up. “Altham wants the missing piece of this key, but you have no piece to trade. What have you agreed upon for Rawn’s release?”
King Leif paused as he met his sister’s gaze. “To broker peace, Altham has proposed an alliance. He would trade your husband for a Greenwood Prince to wed a Red Highland Princess.”
A shocked silence once again filled the room.
“But it is forbidden,” a councilor in bewilderment. “The kingdom would never accept a union between a red elf and a green elf.”
Leif sighed. “Yes, it will be a difficult change, but it is a primitive law I aim to abolish to bring peace to the Vale. I tire of bloodshed, and so do our people. They will come to accept this.”
Aerina’s delicate features creased with disbelief and concern. “Leif, there was a time when you never would have contemplated that. You couldn’t possibly consider giving up your firstborn son.”
“I am not.” He stared at her, and Dyna felt her body chill.
Aerina’s chest heaved with shallow breaths as she glanced between Raiden and him. “What are you saying?”
“I told you once, sister. Those of royal blood must marry to serve the crown.”
