“Oh, by Mabona,” I exclaim as I suddenly realize why it looks familiar. “It’s like those spheres that lit the way after the Dryad Queen saved us by dropping us into her underground forest.”
That day when Draven and I fought and he finally broke through the flame of hatred that I had forced into his chest, there were golden orbs floating between the trees. And they pulsed and moved, almost as if they were alive. This sphere on the ground looks like that, except it’s bigger and has a deeper and more intense golden color.
“Well, let’s get this one back to her then,” Orion says, and bends down to pick up the slightly pulsing orb.
He hesitates right before touching it. But when nothing happens, he closes the final distance and gently lifts it up from the ground. It starts pulsing faster again, looking like a small animal that is fluffing out its fur. Orion stares down at it in confusion for a while before turning to me.
“Here,” he says, and holds out the sphere for me to take.
But before I can so much as reach towards it, the sphere pulses as if shaking itself off one last time and then flies up from Orion’s palms. We all jerk back in surprise. The orb, now glowing with warm light, bobs over to Orion’s fancy dark blue shirt and hovers there as if inspecting it. Then it flows down into his front pocket in a way that is similar to liquid being sucked down a drain.
He starts and blinks down at it incredulously.
It must have shrunk its size as well, because the whole sphere now fits in his pocket. Though the glow is much more intense than before, as if it compressed its energy into a smaller vessel rather than simply changed size.
“Uhm…” Orion says, very eloquently.
The orb pulses as it snuggles deeper into his pocket.
“It appears to like you,” I comment, trying and failing to suppress the amusement in my voice.
Tearing his gaze from the now very contented orb, he looks up and meets my gaze with such a baffled expression on his face that I almost laugh out loud. Next to me, Isera gives him a knowing smirk.
However, before he can figure out what to say, a woman’s voice echoes across the destruction around us.
“It worked!” Kath calls, and waves cheerfully at us.
She, Kyler, and Peter are climbing across broken bits of ice as they make their way towards us.
“Yes, it did,” Isera replies in a voice so low that only Orion and I can hear it. “Finally.” Smug satisfaction shines in her eyes as she slides her gaze to me. “I told you I would shatter this Ice Palace one day.”
A chuckle escapes my lips. “Yes. Yes, you did indeed.”
The three humans draw in deep breaths to refill their lungs as they at last reach us. Bright smiles shine on their faces as they meet our gazes. Then they turn so that they’re facing the same direction we are. Standing there side by side, we just look out over the city below in silence.
The secret tunnels ran underneath the massive ice walls that used to surround the castle, so those high defensive walls were completely destroyed in the explosions. With those gone, it now gives us an uninterrupted view of the city that has always been nestled here at the roots of the mountain.
We all gaze out at it.
Light from the midday sun glitters in Stoneshallow River,which runs through the city. The brightly painted doors of the houses in Ember Hill add splashes of color while the stone and wood buildings almost seem to shine with excitement. As if waiting for their owners to return home.
Kath lets out a deep sigh. “Stonehollow is back. Our city, our home, is back.” She turns to me. Sincerity shines in her eyes as she holds out her hand. “Thank you.”
Clasping her hand, I smile back at her. “Go bring your people home.”
Her eyes light up even more. “We will.”
Kyler and Peter flash us all a smile as well. Then the three of them start down the mountain. Next to me, Isera pulls out a piece of paper from her clothes. I keep my eyes on the humans.
However, they only make it a short distance before Kath turns back towards me and calls, “If you ever pass by this part of the world again, make sure to come by The Black Emerald.” She grins and winks at me. “I’ll buy you a drink and show you how thieves and rebels party.”
With a laugh, I raise my hand in acknowledgement.
She lifts hers to her brow in a playful salute and a final goodbye. Then they disappear behind a large chunk of stone and out of view.
“What is it?” Orion asks in a gentle tone.
Tearing my gaze from the city, I turn to look at my friends instead. A jolt shoots through me when I find Isera staring down at the pieces of paper in her hands while tears slide down her cheeks.
