Red and golden light from a setting sun at last appears up ahead.
We all let out a collective breath of relief.
Hurrying forward, we run the final distance out of the oppressive tunnel and into the open air on the other side. The stone rumbles closed behind with a boom. I draw in a deep breath and release the grip on my magic as a wide valley opens up before us.
Light from the slowly setting sun falls across the landscape, while the tall mountains to our left now block out the view of the battlefield entirely. Before us is just a vast open stretch of bare ground. There is not a tree or bush anywhere in sight. Only a broad valley made of gray rock, and then the mountains that rise up on all sides of it.
I shift my gaze to the peaks up ahead. Somewhere there on the other side is Jessina. Hovering in the air, untouchable like a goddess. A wicked smile spreads across my lips. Little does the smug empress know that a small group of fae is now about tosneak right through her defenses. She will never know what hit her.
“Are you okay?” Fenriel asks.
Blinking, I shift my gaze towards him instead. He is standing next to Trevor. Or rather, he is bracing Trevor with his body. With Trevor’s arm draped over his shoulders and his own arm wrapped around Trevor’s waist, he looks up at the stone-wielder with worry on his face. Trevor drags in deep breaths, exhaustion lining his face.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright,” he replies.
Isera narrows her eyes at him. “Will you still be able to open a new tunnel on the other side?”
He draws in another long breath before nodding. “Yeah. The walk over there should be enough to let my energy build back up. At least if I only create a single-file tunnel from the beginning this time.”
The other ten fae around us look from him to Isera and then to me. I quickly realize that they’re expecting me to take the lead, since this was my plan, so I clear my throat and straighten my spine as if I feel nothing but confidence.
“Alright, then,” I say in a determined voice. Then I raise my hand to point to the mountain up ahead and a little to the left. “That’s our exit point. We need to get there at the same time as the rest of our forces who are approaching from other sides. So let’s get going.”
They all lurch into motion.
Since most of us are here because we need to give our magical energy time to build back up, we all just walk in silence as we make our way through the barren valley. I try to relax and just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, but every few steps, my gaze keeps getting drawn to the mountain range on our left. Towards where Draven is. Flexing my hand nervously, I desperately wish that I could at least see what is happening on the other side.
“I’m sorry,” Trevor suddenly blurts out. “Can we just… Mabona’s tits, I just need to catch my breath. Can we just stop for like five minutes?”
I turn towards him. Fenriel is still bracing him with his own body, and sweat trickles down both of their necks.
“We should have taken a break right after we got out of the mountain,” Fenriel says, looking up at Trevor with stern eyes. “You already needed the break back then.”
“I know.” He draws in another deep breath. “But I didn’t want to slow us down.”
Twisting my head, I look back at the progress we’ve made and then towards the mountain that will be our exit point. We’re only partway through the valley at this point, but we’ve been making pretty good time. I flick another glance towards the left, as if I can see Draven through the mountains. Stress and worry pulse through my veins.
But Trevor really does need a break. Otherwise, we will never make it back out through the mountain again.
So I turn back to him and Fenriel and nod. “Alright, let’s take a five-minute break.”
Trevor immediately sits down on a rock. Resting his elbows on his knees, he rakes his fingers through his hair and heaves more deep breaths.
The other fae settle down on the ground to rest as well. A brown-haired woman, whose name I think might be Juliette, summons a small stream of water in the air. We all drink deeply from it before she lets her magic fade out again. With my hands now wet, I rake them through my hair and then re-tie the braid that keeps part of my hair out of my face. And every few seconds, my gaze keeps darting to the mountain range.
Stress streaks through my veins like lightning. Draven was right. We shouldn’t have split up. We’ve been splitting up too much lately. Logically, it makes sense. We’re wasting time and resources when two people as powerful as us are doing the exactsame thing. But I still don’t like it. Because I can’t shake that awful feeling that I have somehow made a terrible mistake.
“They’ll be fine,” Isera says.
I snap my gaze to her, quickly trying to hide my worry. But she saw it all of course.
Her gaze is steady as she holds mine. “Both Orion and Draven act as if they’re nothing but ruthless villains, but they’re actually incredibly protective of their own. And now that they consider each other brothers, they will never let anything happen to the other.” Her voice is full of confidence as she repeats, “So they’ll be fine.”
I draw in a deep breath, trying to calm my racing pulse. She’s right. They will protect each other.
But then why do I have this feeling that something bad is about to?—
A gasp rips through the air.
