Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

SIYANA

“Kaida!”

“Theo!”

My heart raced as silence echoed back at me.

It was like descending into the quickening all over again. One moment I was safely strapped into the saddle, and the next I was on the ground and seemingly alone. I, at least, held onto my memories of who I was in this warped reality.

It felt like hours had passed since I was separated from Theo and Kaida, yet determination filled my steps, carrying me onward. I wouldn’t give up on finding them. We’d all known that we were descending into the unknown when choosing to come here, but I was positive that none of us thought the chaos would start this quickly.

With a hand on the hilt of my sword, I trudged on, continuing to call out their names in a desperate attempt to find them. But all I heard was the howling wind that blew the thick mist around my body, pressing against me like unwelcomed incorporeal hands. My heavy breaths puffed through my nose and over my lips, dissipating the heavy mist only for it to move back in seconds later.

It was eerie, the way there were no sounds or signs of life anywhere. All that met my eyes was mist swirling so thickly around me that I could barely see my hand when I raised in front of me, bracing myself for a jolt if I were to run into something I could see coming. Even glancing down, I could barely see the ground beneath my feet, dead vegetation appearing and disappearing again with each step I took.

A familiar voice cut through the air so suddenly I let out a startled gasp and jumped back, eyes darting around as my heart beat wildly.

“Welcome, Siyana. I’ve been waiting for you.”

A chill crawled down my spine, pulling an involuntary shudder from me. No. It couldn’t be. Could it?

Dread filled my stomach like a heavy iron weight, dragging my stomach down until it felt like it touched my feet. Flipping it violently, until I felt like I might vomit. We’d talked of the quickening we’d experienced somehow occurring within a premonition from Kaida, and Theo had even linked it to the possibility of it being in the lands of Sanctum. The fear that the possibility of what happened in the quickening becoming reality had been palpable, driving me to the point of denial.

I spun around, my body coiling with tension as I braced for the worst. Instinctively, my hand tightened on my hilt, ready to wield the sword. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

My body tensed in anticipation as I strained to hear the sound of steps, waiting for the disembodied voice to tell me to choose who died, either myself or my dragon. I knew how this would go, yet this time I wasn’t going to offer myself up. I refused to accept that either myself or Kaida must die. Perhaps it was foolish of me to hold on to that belief, but I couldn’t allow myself to fall into a pattern of fatalistic thoughts. Still, I waited for the voice, dread wrapping around me like a vice.

Yet it didn’t come.

“It matters not what I want, yet I do know what you want, mortal. To find your missing companions. To seek answers I don’t believe you are ready to hear.” He spoke in a voice that echoed with the faintest noise–something that whispered of the rushing rivers running throughout Andrathya, carrying fish from the ocean and through our lands.

Suddenly, the mist began to swirl a few feet in front of me, slowly spiraling into the shape of a person, not entirely corporeal, but seemingly made up of water and ice. Slowly, facial features and appendages became more clear. His eyes were like frozen sapphires, glistening with unspoken power, and his body seemed to shift and swirl like a blizzard in motion.

The undine elemental god. It had to be. There was no other explanation for what I was seeing.

My throat tightened as I tried to speak, but my words came out as a mere stammer. “Did you…did you take them?”

I could feel the weight of his gaze upon me, and I couldn't help the tremble that ran through me in fear. But still, I forced myself to stand tall before the enigmatic deity.

"I have been watching you," he admitted, disregarding my question and startling me simultaneously. "You have defied the odds set by the curse of a powerful witch–the very same curse that shrouds the lands of Andrathya. You’ve drawn closer to the dragons with each step you’ve taken. I must admit, you have impressed me, human."

Despite my overwhelming fear, I couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope at his words. But then the reality of my situation hit me once again. If he didn’t have Kaida and Theo, he needed to let me be, so I could find who did.

"Where are they?" I demanded, my voice shaking with both anxiety and determination.

The elemental god tilted his head, strands of mist curling around him like serpents as he regarded me. “You are just as strong-willed in person as I was hoping. It will serve you and your companions well. Perhaps it will even save their lives.”

There it was. He knew where they were and that danger would befall them.

"Please, don't hurt them," I pleaded, barely above a whisper.

I wasn’t above begging a god for mercy, but I also wasn’t above trying to kill one, either.

"The path ahead is treacherous," he warned as his body began to dissipate, swirling around me in a burst of flurries. I spun on my heel, following his energy before it returned to his previous form again. "But if your heart is pure and your intentions true, you may yet find what you seek."

The gravity of his words settled heavily on my shoulders as I prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead. I had to, for Kaida and Theo. I wouldn’t allow myself to be a useless human, waiting for one of them to find and save me.

“Follow the path if you have the courage.”

A soft light began to glow throughout the mist that obscured my boots. Curiosity overtook fear as I knelt down to inspect it. As soon as I touched the pulsating energy, a surge of power coursed through me. But just as quickly, a burning pain spread through my fingers and I jerked my hand back as a mocking laugh filled the air.

“Silly girl,” the undine god taunted, the voice suddenly feeling like it was at my back. I jumped to my feet as they continued, whispering directly into my ear, “You think you can tap into the ley line directly? You're not a witch or a dragon–you weren't meant to wield that kind of power.”

“How do you know I’m not a witch?” I questioned, genuinely curious if any still existed, seeing as Theo never mentioned catching the one who laid this curse to begin with. “Can you tell me, are they all dead?”

“You cannot trick the trickster, mortal,” they answered, now sounding faint. “I know you are seeking answers about your curse with that question. I have threaded double-meanings throughout my words for millenia, do try to remember that. Though I appreciate the audacity of your attempt, however, so I will say that there are no undine witches left.”

An answer that only led to even more questions.

So, there could still be others, from the other elementals. I tried to recall if Theo had ever mentioned which elemental line the woman his father slept with was from, but I drew a blank. If she was dead, the only true hope we had left was the god before me.

“That was a free answer, the next one will cost you, so choose wisely, when you wish to ask another,” they warned, the sound of their voice now a mere trickle in the mist around me. “Follow the ley line if you wish to find your companions.”

The clear instructions had me spurring into action, running as fast as I could along the blue, pulsating line of magic. As I stumbled over a root and nearly fell, I was shocked by the first sign of life here besides myself. I steadied myself and continued on with renewed hope, following the ley line until I stumbled into a clearing completely void of mist.

It was so strange, finally seeing something other than a wispy white void around me, that I almost didn’t believe it as I drew to a sudden stop in the clearing. I quickly scanned the area for the undine god or anyone else, but found myself alone with four standing stones, arranged neatly in a square. Between them all was an opalescent-toned swirling void.

I walked slowly alongside the blue ley line that connected to the nearest stone before placing my hand on the rough surface. It hummed with energy beneath my fingers–perhaps the stone was a conduit for the immense power that had burned me prior. Each of the other stones had their own ley line running from it, and it wasn’t hard to piece together the colors and directions spreading outward from this center point.

To the left was a vibrant green ley line heading toward the eastern kingdom of Eruthya. To my right was a violet streaked ley line running toward the western kingdom of Isomythia. My gaze lifted to the southern ley line opposite ours, which burned as brightly as I imagined the molten lava on the land of Salarya did.

Sanctum was truly the center of all of the magic in Edath. The connection to the gods and the powers granted from them. It took my breath away to see such raw power at its core. I couldn’t imagine many got the opportunity to see this, and as I took hesitant steps toward the portal, I would bet that even fewer took the risk of traveling through it.

Whether it was because they weren’t idiotic enough to travel to Sanctum like we had, or because they weren’t enticing enough for a god to take interest in, as the undine had us, remained to be seen.

Indecision gnawed at my chest, my brain warring with my heart in what felt like an unwinnable battle. This had to be where I needed to go to find Theo and Kaida. The ley line had led me here, and according to the undine god, it would take me to them. But did I trust that information? He had openly admitted to being a trickster, to using doublespeak, and finding amusement in my own attempts to subvert him in my search for information.

It took all of a few seconds of looking around, knowing I’d simply get lost if I tried to search elsewhere, before I took a few more steps toward the opalescent portal. The tips of my boots were mere inches away from making contact, and I had to take deep, steadying breaths to stop myself from backing away. The fear of this unknown began to take root, knotting in my stomach and causing a slight tremor in my hands.

I had to risk it for them.

With a surge of adrenaline, I stepped into the center of the swirling magic and closed my eyes.

Please don’t kill me.

For a moment, nothing happened. But then I felt a tingling sensation all over my body, and before I could comprehend what was happening, the stones were gone and bright white light consumed me. Weightlessness left me spinning in the void and I shut my eyes, feeling nausea rise up, the threat of me spilling what meager breakfast I’d forced down this morning very real indeed.

When I suddenly felt solid ground beneath my feet once more and opened my eyes, I found myself at the base of a towering mountain range that I recognized. I turned on my heel, knowing that if my thoughts were correct, Theo’s castle would be behind me. But we couldn’t be back home, could we?

The castle before me wasn’t Theo’s, yet I did recognize it. The icy walls glittered with crystals that reflected the sunlight like prisms. Rows of torches lined the path toward the large doors, and there, perched upon one of the walls was my dragon looking down at me, from the same castle we’d found in the quickening.

Our eyes connected and he let out a loud trill. I opened myself to our bond and felt his concern and relief pouring into my mind. I sent those same emotions back to him tenfold, thankful, at least, to have one of them on my side once more.

Kaida.

I couldn't help but smile as he swooped down to land beside me, knocking up a spray of fresh snow with his tail. I rushed to his side, throwing my body against his chest as I did my best to hug my arms around him. His head dropped to my back, a rumble sounding from him and vibrating against my heaving chest. I gulped breaths greedily, relief pouring into me from the contact with my dragon.

“Hey, buddy,” I whispered as a tidal wave of emotions suddenly clogged my throat. “I was so worried. It turns out your premonition was correct.”

He nuzzled against me affectionately as I took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears of relief from cascading down my face.

But then another thought crossed my mind—where was Theo?

"He's safe for now," came a familiar voice from behind us. My heart skipped a beat as I turned to see the undine god once more, but this time in a human form as he approached.

Tall and imposing, he exuded an air of power and an ethereal quality that was both captivating and terrifying. His icy blue eyes seemed to pierce through my very soul, while his flowing light-blue hair cascaded down his back like a frozen waterfall. Every movement he made sent shimmering ripples through the air, as if he was surrounded by an invisible aura of frost.

Kaida growled from behind me and I held out an arm, scared of what the god would do if he attacked. The iron weight of dread threatened to pull me to the ground, but I stood straight, steeling my reserve as I faced the undine god before me.

“Now, Sia, I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he said, holding his hands out as twin daggers of ice appeared in them. “Either you die or the dragon does.”

We had known it would come to this, but my heart twisted painfully in my chest anyway.

I wasted no time in drawing my sword, ready to fight until my heart stopped beating to protect Kaida.

“I don’t mean the dragon behind you,” the god clarified, smirking at my confusion as the tip of my sword began to fall toward the ground. “I mean the one who has already offered to sacrifice himself for you.”

My breathing turned shallow, coming in small, panicked gasps as the realization hit me.

Theo .

The dragon spoken about in the premonition had been him.