“Where should we go next?” Evanna asked, joining us in the middle of the hall.
“Well, that depends,” I admitted. “Is there any other place that might have been important to my father?”
Evanna and Asher shook their heads, lost because they hadn’t even met the Harbinger. Yet, it was Kingston’s fallen face that called my attention.
“TheForsaken Valley.” The weight in his voice was hard to miss; so was the way his hands fisted, the disfigured skin of his palms tightening with the stress.
His thumb rubbed against one of the scars as the pressure increased. I’ve seen him do that many times, whenever something brought him unwanted memories.
“TheForsaken Valley?” I asked, recognizing how dreadful the name was, and he nodded. That didn’t exactly sound like a place anyone wanted to or should visit.
“I’ve never heard of it before,” Evanna confessed, glancing up at her guardian like we all did.
“That’s because it belonged to the old kingdom. One I’ve only heard stories of.”
Exchanging a heavy glance with me, Asher stepped closer to him. “Where is it located?”
It seemed impossible, but the tension in the chief’s clenched fists increased.“The Outlands.”
The distress growing in him immediately spread onto Evie and Asher, and their gazes darkened as they connected.
“Where exactly arethe Outlands?” I asked, reaching for Evanna when her ache became mine. “I haven’t been there yet.”
“It is at the edge of theLost Kingdom,” Evie admitted. “Thein betweenthat separates Raithian’s kingdom from ours. The land devastated by war.”
There seemed to be far more to the story, but it was clear I wasn’t going to learn it from her, or from the chief. My gaze shifted to Asher.
“It was the battlefield used to fight Raithian through the years… where the Great Battle occurred, and where our great queen and king eventually perished.”
Fuck. Of course it had to be there. The one place where our people had lost it all, even Evie and Willow.
“You don’t have to come with me,” I immediately assured them. “I can do this by myself.”
“I’m your commander, and I’m going with you,” Asher argued, facing the chief. “If you tell me how to find the valley, I’ll take him.”
“There is no need,” I pressed. “I’m sure Tharion will know, or—”
“No.” Kingston shook his head. “If there is a chance we can find the crown, or at the very least a clue to where it is, then I must take you.”
“I’m going with you,’ Evie declared, her hand squeezing mine for strength until our fingers intertwined.
“Better we take one Dragon.”
Nodding to the chief, we all exited the castle.
Star returned to the Hidden Kingdom while the rest of us headed with Tharion towards the Outlands. As he flew around the castle ruins, my eyes widened, noticing the beginning of the devastation that would follow this realm for many lifetimes.
The entire rear of the structure was scorched. The towers melted from the force of Dragon fire. Giant trees were diminished to burnt sticks, large gardens, plazas, stone fountains, and what seemed to have been a city once were completely destroyed, the wreckage covered by a blanket of ash, as though it were snow.
I wasn’t entirely sure if this had occurred when the Warlock King first took power, or if he returned once he took Azazel to make sure that everyone who came upon this place knew without a shadow of a doubt what he was capable of. Either way, it worked. His message spoke loud and clear—no one went against the most powerful wizard to exist and came out alive.
Muscles tensing along every inch of my body, I dragged my eyes away from the devastation, and looked ahead, unfortunately for me, the view of my horizon did not improve.
The vibrant colors of lush mountains, shimmering seas, and endless bright skies that normally extended over our lands slowly turned darker and darker. The landscape became duller, grimmer, until the bright turquoises, greens, and browns of Caelisium were nothing more than a distant memory. The sun hid behind woeful clouds, and a dense wave of fog extended over us.
This place had been robbed of any form of life, and once we fully crossed into the Outlands, I swore even the chilled wind cried around us.
Here, war was not only a story of what our people went through… it was a vicious reality.
