10. CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 10

KALYLL

Something woke me. The numbness turned to pain.

As I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the bitter cold that still clung to me. I was still trapped in the force field, which pulsed with a soft blue light. I shivered uncontrollably, trying to make sense of what had happened.

Slowly, the memories of the sorcerer’s spell came flooding back to me. His spell had lowered the temperature so drastically that I had fallen unconscious within minutes. How long had I been out? I wasn’t sure.

As I tried to sit up, I realized how weak and stiff my limbs felt. My fingers and toes were numb, and my face and ears burned with a painful sensation. I took a deep breath, trying to push away the fog that still lingered in my mind.

A movement caught my eye. Someone came into the room, steps light and measured.

“So you are Kalyll Adanorin? ” a serene voice asked. “The great Dragon Soul.”

I struggled to focus. At first, the shape was blurry, then it sharpened into a tall, thin male with a bony face and hook nose. I had never met him, but I immediately knew this was Kellam Mythorne, the Unseelie King.

“You’re not much to look at.” He paced in front of the sphere, looking me up and down. “Though you’re not as insignificant as your brother. He’s not legendary like you, after all.”

I forced myself to stand up, even though every muscle in my body protested, and the cold bit at my skin. I watched him, wondering why he’d come. To taunt me? He would not succeed in that.

“Let me out of here,” I said, my voice a raw rasp.

“And then what? You will fight me? Perhaps another day. You’re not in any shape to do much at all. And after Runik has another go at you, even less.”

Runik? That was the sorcerer’s name?

Runik Begallard was a name almost everyone in the realm knew. He had served Queen Rothala, Mythorne’s mother. He was the one who, during The Slaughter at Stone Peak, summoned a massive storm that raged across the battlefield, raining down lightning and hailstones upon the Seelie army. The storm was so fierce and destructive that it nearly turned the tide of the battle in their favor. He was a legend all by himself.

“I was only mildly curious to see you. You killed my son, after all,” Mythorne said, “but I find that I’ve already lost interest. So… I leave you with Runik.”

Mythorne left, the sorcerer took his place, and I braced myself for more pain.