The Dryad Queen snaps her head back down, her hair falling down too as it stops streaming around her head. Utter shock and disbelief pulse across her ancient face as she stares at the dryads rushing into the garden. Then relief, so intense that I actually gasp as well, crash across her features, and she staggers two steps backwards.
Beside her, Lavendera’s eyes return fully into focus. Pressing a hand to her chest, she drags in deep breaths while blinking furiously.
“RUN!” a voice bellows from the other side of the portal.
Ice spreads through my body when I recognize that voice.
Orion.
Across the grass and the stampeding dryads, Isera whips her head from side to side, panic suddenly crackling over her features. “Orion? Where is Orion?”
Through the mass of vines and leaves and branches that the dryads are made of, I can barely see the portal. Let alone what is happening on the other side of it. Isera is trying to push her way through the herd of dryads, but there are so many of them and they’re moving so quickly that none of us can get through.
Rising up on my toes, I try to catch a glimpse of what is happening on the other side of the portal.
My heart leaps into my throat when I spot Orion and Grey. Through the now thinning stream of rushing dryads on the other side of the portal, their homeland with the massive trees becomes visible.
Orion and Grey are sprinting across the ground from separate directions, as if they split up to gather the dryads from both sides of the area. Ice flames crash into the ground behind them, swallowing one of the dryads’ tree homes. The final stragglers that Grey and Orion are herding towards the portal scream in panic as a massive silver dragon flashes past in the sky right above the trees. Jessina’s tail smacks into the now frozen tree homes. They burst apart.
“ORION!” Isera screams, her throat raw, as chunks of ice shoot through the air.
Summoning her magic, she tries to get it through the portal to protect him and Grey, but the panicking dryads are in the way.
A shard of ice flames smacks into Orion’s shoulder from behind. He gasps, pain pulsing across his face as the shard buries itself in his shoulder with such force that he stumbles forward.
Behind them, Jessina roars.
“Get out of the way!” Isera screams, still trying to shove the mass of dryads aside.
“Alistair!” Lyra yells from the other side of the garden.
“Move!” Alistair bellows as well.
But there are too many dryads, and the garden is too small for them to quickly move out of the way.
Orion stumbles upright again as he and Grey continue sprinting towards the portal.
The final few dryads rush through, almost crashing into their friends in the now packed garden.
Wind booms down as Jessina swerves in the air and then flies down behind Orion and Grey right as they reach each other. Dread washes over their faces as Jessina lets out a bellowing roar and then opens her mouth.
“Orion!” Isera screams again, so loudly that her voice almost cracks.
“MOVE!” Alistair bellows as he summons his fire magic.
The dryads scream, pushing hard against each other to get out of the way.
A pale shimmering starts at the back of Jessina’s throat.
Orion and Grey hurtle towards the portal.
The dryads shove each other to the side.
Jessina releases her flames.
Ice fire shoots towards Grey and Orion in a massive torrent. On the other side of the garden, Isera screams. The dryads throw themselves down on the ground. Grey shoves Orion ahead of himself.
A rushing, crackling, clinking sound rips through the air as Jessina’s ice flames crash over Grey right as Orion hits the ground face-first on the other side of the portal.
