“That’s it,” he said, stepping in front of me.
I could feel something in my palms, and I knew I was on the cusp of drawing it forward. It was right there. But the moment Kai screamed again, I lost my focus and it slipped away. We were officially trapped with no means of escape.
“Damn it,” he bit out and paced like a tiger watching its prey. The gate flew open, and before we could even get to the door, Kai was violently dragged across the ground by invisible hands and thrown in with us.
What are you?the dragon said into my mind.You do not smell like the others. You are different. Worldly. Will you come to me on your own? Be my pet if I let your friends go? I think I’d like to keep you, strange one.
I looked at Kai writhing on the ground, Fen pacing like a wild beast, and Greeve rigid and still. I could save them.
Chapter 31
NADRA
Could our minds be broken? I thought they could. He looked at me today. The one with the horns. He always did that. But I didn’t want him. I wanted my king. I needed my king. He wouldn’t love me though. Not yet. My mother was to join him, but she would not, and I wasn’t allowed to ask her. He said he would continue to punish me if I did. He let me touch his arm yesterday. I was supposed to like it, but it was nothing. Just like me. I’d bathed in despair and found solace in my own familiar nightmares. He told me of his plans. He knew I’d take his secrets to my grave. The shallow grave I’d already dug in my broken mind.
Chapter 32
TEMIR
After traveling as far as we could through the tundra of Alewyn, Gaea and I headed back to the comfort of the tropical island. I had my books spread around me in a circle as Gaea wandered deeper into the island looking for food. Somehow, I’d found peace with where we were. We had both laid everything bare, and now we could only grow. She no longer distracted me from living, and I hoped, if nothing else, we could form a friendship.
I caught her watching me a few times, but that pull to her was no longer there. I knew she felt it too, and I think we both found comfort in the possibility of friendship. The pressure was gone.
“Find anything?” She picked up a book and set it to the side so she could sit beside me.
“Nothing yet, but you know, I’ve been thinking.”
“Nothing new there.” She handed me a bright green fruit. “I don’t see what’s so special about a flower anyway.”
“This isn’t just any flower. It’s the adda. It’s like the king has asked us to capture a star from the heavens. Things that are so rare are always powerful, Gaea. I think the king needs that flower for something terrible, and that means it’s not going to be something we will easily find. It also means we need to start trying to figure out what he’s doing.”
“We know what he is doing. He’s trying to conquer the world by whatever means he can.”
I took a bite of the bitter fruit. “Aren’t you curious to find out what it is?”
“Not really. You’ve always been the bookworm and I’ve always taken a hands-on approach. Let’s just focus on trying to find something to fool him with, destroying the adda so he can’t use it and figuring out what our plan is from there. You have the rebellion, but I don’t know where that leaves me.”
“You could have the rebellion too,” I offered.
She shook her head. “Have you told them? About the truth serum?”
“Not yet. I don’t have enough made for it to be very useful to them. I’m committed to helping them, but I need more time.”
“So, you don’t trust them?”
“I trust them. I just want to be sure the serum doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
“So, you don’t trust them.” A smile lit her eyes.
“I don’t trust them the same way I trust you. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
The hollowness from my magic and the exhaustion from the long day creeped up on me as I tried to read in the silver moonlight, and the words moved around on the page until they were utter nonsense. I laid my book down, covered myself with my cloak, and rested my head on my pack beside Gaea, who was already asleep.
I was almost to sleep when I got an overwhelming feeling that someone was watching me. I opened an eye and scanned the shoreline. Empty. I rolled over and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw the old female, Aibell, standing in the distance staring me down. She held out a hand and crooked a finger for me to come to her. I put my cloak over Gaea and walked across the white sand beach to where she stood.
“What do you see, boy?” she asked, gesturing to the ocean.
“Why are you here? Who are you really?”
