She clanked a fist over her heart and marched out of the room.
Stepping out onto the balcony, he climbed up onto the banister. Crimson flowers rustled gently in the wind. Closing his eyes, Cassiel breathed in the fresh air, filling his lungs. The moon called him west and promised to light his way.
CHAPTER 81
Dynalya
The hooves of Dyna’s Pegasus cantered on the hard ground as she landed. The air was warmer and drier than in Greenwood. It was night now, but she sensed it grew hot here beneath the sun. Before them was an immense obelisk made of stone.
The gateway had brought her to the Covenant Pass.
Sowmya and the squadron formed a perimeter around her as they quickly surveyed the area. Other than the forty female warriors, there was no one else nearby but them.
“The others must have landed elsewhere,” Dyna said, looking toward the east.
It was too dark to see the East Wall. That was where King Leif and Raiden surely had arrived with his delegation. She sensed Lucenna a little further up north.
That put her ahead. Good, it gave her a head start.
Dyna nodded to Sowmya. “You know what to do.”
“The Valkyrie await your command.” The Lieutenant clanked a fist over her heart and bowed her head. “Be safe, Your Majesty.”
Tugging on the reins, Dyna rode for the west, kicking up sand. The muscles of her Pegasus shifted, and she stretched her large white wings.
Dyna crouched low, her gaze fixed on the horizon.“Lashamayim,Shira. Lashamayim.”
The wind rushed to meet them as they galloped faster. Shira’s wings caught the wind and carried them off into the air. Dyna looked back to the east, where she had left a piece of her soul in the care of another. She would return to him when this was over.
Dyna faced ahead and focused on what she came to do.
They flew into the night. Time passed swiftly until the sky lightened with the coming of dawn. The sharp peaks of the Erdas Mountains rose before her, the border of Red Highland. With a command, Shira soared over the crest and the Blood Keep appeared in the far distance among the sea of red sand.
She was close.
Shutting her eyes, Dyna cast an invisibility spell over herself and her Pegasus.
As the sun rose over the horizon, the desert heat came with it. It blazed down on her, sprouting sweat on her skin beneath her armor. She felt relief when she at last reached the Blood Keep. It was an odd name since the tower was made of a pale stone. But as Dyna grew closer, she saw the bodies of long dead prisoners hanging from the ramparts. Their blood and the blood of many others had stained the walls a dark red.
Her empty stomach churned.
Dyna shut her eyes and looked away. In the middle of the keep’s courtyard was another Elder Tree. This one had pale bark and crimson leaves.
That would serve for a good escape.
She made it to the roof and landed. Dismounting, she petted the Pegasus’s muzzle. “You did well, Shira. Now return to Sowmya. It’s not safe for you here.”
Shira nickered softly. Turning, she cantered for the edge of the tower and took off into the sky.
Dyna surveyed the land. Many miles of sand dunes and rocky formations in all directions. On one side, if she squinted enough, she could see a hint of the hazy silhouette of Agarmon, the Capital of Red Highland. On the other side of the keep, the rising sun illuminated a stone barricade in the mountains.
The West Wall.
The delegation would have reached it by now. Her Guardians, too.
She had to sneak into the keep and retrieve the key before the trade for Raiden took place. They would not allow Rawn’s son to be taken.
Removing the ring of rope attached to her hip, Dyna quickly tied a knot to the battlements of the tower she landed on and scaled down the side. She was careful to go slow and step lightly. The invisibility spell may keep her hidden, but elves had keen senses and would catch her at the slightest sound.
