Protector of the Enchanted

Warm sunlight hits my eyes, jostling me from my slumber. Slowly, I part my eyes, blinking away the grogginess to take in my surroundings There are blue velvet curtains hanging from both the windows and the door. It is a pretty colour and suits the general aesthetic of the room.

 

“You’re awake.” A husky voice whispers near my head.

 

My head immediately turns towards the sound, eyes widening as they meet another shade of blue. His hair looks like a bird’s nest. I wonder if it’s as soft as it looks. Apparently, I don’t have any impulse control right now because my hands reach out to run my fingers through the dark locks.

 

“Hi.” It really is so soft. “How long have you been here?” It really isn’t fair how soft it feels.

 

His eyes are blown wide, body tensing as my hands run over his hair. Lips parted and eyes softening, he doesn’t seem to have heard my question.

 

I gently tug on it, “Well? How long have you been here?”

 

“I..Uh…” There is a tinge of red on his ears. “I’ve been here the entire time.” The blush spreads to his cheeks, “Why…”

 

“Hmm. It’s not fair how soft your hair is.”  My lips purse as I sit up to be better able to run my hand through it. I don’t think I could ever get sick of doing so.

 

“Darling,” His face is starting to look like a tomato. How cute. “What are you doing?”

 

I open my mouth to answer him, but I catch the smell of fresh rain on pine. Without thinking my nose moves so it rests at the crook of his neck. “Smells nice.” I nuzzle further into it to prolong the scent in my nose. He tenses even more.

 

“What…What are you doing?” A pause. “Are you smelling me to decide whether to eat me?” The smug grin pulling at his lips is shaky and not believable at all. Especially since his face is still a tomato.

 

“Mmm…I just might.” I mutter out loud. I wonder if… Before I can go further along that trail of thought, he pulls back with a jolt. The movement causes him to fall flat on his butt.

 

“Pfft…Oh god that was hilarious. I can’t breathe. My sides…Help!”

 

The help that I want is rudely not given to me. It seems he has left me to my fate. I suppose I’ll just have to die of laughter. Not exactly the worst way to go.

 

He coughs, clearing his throat. Then slowly starts to stand up again. He pushes his hair back with one hand, sighing as he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, “I forgot how you can be when you’ve just woken up.” Which is just absurd. However, it does clear up my mind enough to process what I’ve just done.

 

Blood rushes to my cheeks, choking out the laughter. Now, it’s my turn to cough as I try to regain composure. The big jerk just stands there with an amused smile. He looks too smug.

 

“So…” I start, “Where are we?” My eyes wonder over the room once again before meeting his.

 

“The town inn.”

 

Well that explained the homely feel, I simply nod and then slowly make my way towards the window. “Well, it seems like the people have had life breathed into them.” A small smile tugs at my lips.

 

“I don‘t think you should be standing right now, you’ve been asleep for two days.” He gives me an unimpressed look.

 

“Two days?” I can feel myself beginning to gape, “What!”

 

A hand wraps around my wrist and gently tugs me back towards the bed. Not giving me any time to process, his arms scoop me up in a bridal carry, before gently depositing me on top of the bed. I only realise what’s happening when the soft cotton of the blanket touches my skin. And before I can question him on what he just did, the door swings open with a loud bang.

 

“You’re awake!” Cylen’s smiling face greets me from the door.

 

“Do you have any idea what you just put me through?” My cousin on the other hand makes a beeline for the bed and starts shaking me, “Don’t ever do that again!”

 

“Gem…”

 

She doesn’t seem to have heard him, “I mean, how could you just rush towards that thing alone?”

 

“You keep trying to do things alone.” Ryan adds in nodding in agreement.

 

“Just leave us to watch.” Gem’s hands are shaky on my shoulders, as they become slower in their movement for a second. “Making us feel utterly helpless.”

 

“And when you do come back,” His voice turns icy, “You immediately collapse, leaving us in worried suspension for two days.”

“Two. Very. Long. Days.” Gem grits through her teeth. Then she lifts her hands off my shoulders, giving me time to jostle out of the dizziness her movements had caused.

 

“I’m…Sorry?” I don’t know what else to say.

 

“You better be.” Her voice becomes wobbly as I see tears starting to well in her eyes. I immediately pull into a hug on instinct, my hand automatically running soothing strokes over her back.

 

“I’m sorry.” I feel tears fighting to well in my eyes. “I’m so sorry Gem. I didn’t mean to make you so worried.” Turning up my eyes, I see the boys looking at me as well.

“To make any of you worry. I’m sorry.” 

 

“You scared us.” Gem sobs into my embrace, her tears soaking the shoulder of my shirt. “We didn’t know…Sob…what happened…Sob… No injuries and…Sob... you still didn’t wake up! ...Sob… No one could tell us what was wrong.”

 

“One of the most horrible experiences of my life.” The sapphire of his eyes is giving a dark blue gleam.

 

Cylen nods along, running a hand sheepishly over his neck. “Please don’t do that again.”

 

The only answer I can give to that is a small smile. No promises. If a situation like that ever happens again, I am not going to just sit back and do nothing. But something tells me that saying that would not go over well in this situation.

 

“So, what happened while I was asleep?” Gem has stopped sobbing, but still has her arms wrapped around my waist, lying lazily on my lap.

 

Cylen turns his dark brown eyes to me from his position at the end of the bed. “A peculiar thing did happen actually…The town’s people suddenly stopped being gloomy and the castle’s remains crumbled into dust around us. All the signs are gone too.”

 

I hear a hum of agreement from my side, “That mirror is still in your satchel. No one was willing to touch it and I know how you get about these things.”

 

My eyebrows furrow at the end of that sentence, but I decide to ignore it for now. “It just crumbled to dust?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Everyone seems friendlier.” Gem states from her position at my waist, “They’re even letting us stay here for free.”

 

“Oh!” Cylen perks up at that, “There are baskets of gifts for you in the next room.”

 

“Gifts…For…Me?”

 

“Hmm… They wanted to show their gratitude.” His voice has softened from earlier, but there is still a hint of ice, “They were worried when you didn’t immediately wake up.”

 

Gem scoffs a chuckle. “They weren’t the only ones.” She uses her chin to point towards the man at my side, “That one especially. He hasn’t left your side for a second since you became unconscious.” She gives him a pointed look, daring him to deny it.

 

“You did?” I search his face. He’s been here the whole time? A warm feeling starts to well up in the pit of my stomach.

 

“He’s also the one who carried you here.” Cylen adds in, “He wouldn’t let anyone near you in that state.”

 

As my eyes haven’t left his face, I can see a red tinge spread from his ears to his cheeks. Cute. He tries to hide it by giving a choked sound and covering his mouth with a fist. And I can’t stop the delighted laughter from escaping mine. Even when he narrows his eyes at me.

 

“You did not have to tell her that part.” He lets out a frustrated sigh.

 

“But I did mate.” Cylen says as if that were obvious.

 

Gem gives a sly smile, “She did want to know what was going on.”

 

“Well, that doesn’t mean…”

 

What ensues is a back-and-forth of excuses and complaints.

 

Well, it seems their relationship as improved as I slept. It wasn’t really tense before, but there was a hesitance in their encounters that doesn’t seem to be there anymore. I’m glad. I don’t entirely understand it, but a feeling of rightness spreads through me at their easy interactions now. Weird.

 

“Thank you.” I cut in as the argument doesn’t seem to be ending. “Thanks for staying with me.” I hope the grin on my face is enough to convey that.

 

This seems to leave him stunned, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times before he settles for a whispered, “You’re welcome.”

 

Fire consumes the room. It is present in the columns. And it is present in every little ornament that decorates the room. As is expected for a demon of his calibre. His eyes hungrily devoured the words on the pages of the tome in front of him, glee dancing in his eyes. Finally, a clue!

 

He had been searching for this treasure since he was a young fledgling, newly emerged from the fiery pits. Several decades of labour and deceit had led him to this moment, to his destined reward. His tail swished behind him at the thought of the treasure that would soon be his.

 

The pendant would allow him to obtain a power like no other. A power that even the lords of this realm would not be able to rival. His flames would burn brighter than ever, powered by a limitless well of energy produced in the crystal at the heart the pendant.

 

A maniacal laugh escaped his mouth as he imprinted the ruby red colour of the gem into his memory. The gold snaked adorning the side of its holding creating the illusion of the forbidden. It positively glowed on the page as it moved. But that was only a small reflection of the magnificence it would have in his possession.

 

When he had first heard of the treasure, more than two centuries ago, he had been cynical. Believing that the higher demons were playing a trick on him, as demons were known to do, he’d brushed of the whispers. But that was before the red one had baited him with the prophecy.

 

She had shown him a vision of what he could do with the pendant in his possession. A marvellous sight of the world bowing at his feet as he sat on the high throne, flames enveloping him wherever he went. He had to have it.

 

Running his fingers reverently over the pages, a shuddered sigh left his lips. Soon. Soon he would be able to touch it with his own hands. For now, though, he had to find an unwitting human dumb enough to obtain it for him, as demons were forbidden from dwelling in the upper realm without a summoning.

 

He’d heard royals were desperate these years. Perhaps he should send a minion to convince them that doing so would somehow benefit them. A problem for later. For now, he needed to learn as much about the pendant as he could. Being taken by surprise was never pleasant.

 

With that he dove into research, not noticing the crow sitting on his windowsill. Even if he had noticed, he would have ignored the red glow around its eyes. Just as he had ignored the hazy red glow around the vision.

 

Sweat covers my back, my breath coming out in ragged exhales. For some reason I had decided that training was the best thing to do after what felt like a visit with death. It wasn’t until I tried to move away from the bed that I realised that my body felt a little sore. But all that I wanted to do was train.

 

Now I suffer. Ryan was giving me a worried look, which I immediately brushed off, with a smile. The worried look immediately evaporates as he shrugs and swings his sword at my head. My hand automatically comes up to block it, the move now being second nature.

 

“You know we can stop anytime you want.” His lips look smug.

 

I shake my head, dodging his sword. “It’s fine.”

 

“You sure?” His head tilts to the side, “Because you look exhausted.”

 

I am. But I’m not about to tell him that. The bastard would most likely take that as a win. He’d told me that I should wait before training. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of saying ‘I told you so’. So, I just give him my best confident grin while trying to get my breathing under control.

 

Shaking his head, he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like “stubborn woman”. Then humours me by continuing our spar. A smile pulls up lips as a laugh escape. I know I should probably stop using swords if my limbs are tired, there’s a risk of getting stabbed, but there’s a bone-deep feeling that he would never let me be harmed. An unreasonable certainty that he would immediately abort the movement if it came close to stabbing me.

 

Which makes no sense since I haven’t known him for very long at all. But he hasn’t done anything to dispute that hope, so I suppose I’ll just trust him for now. He’ll never do that, a voice in my head whispers. A voice that I choose to ignore. It’s a thought for later.

 

“Maybe we should take a break to eat.” He doesn’t wait for a response before walking back towards the log where our bags lay. Blinking, I stare at his back. How did he know that I was reaching my limit? We have been sparring for a while. His expression has grown more and more stony at my refusal to take a break. I guess he has had enough.

 

“Alright!” I call out, rushing to pack up and follow him as he starts walking back towards the inn. There was conveniently a training ground not far from the inn, which the residents let us use because we saved them. I can’t help but notice that his stride slows to let me catch up as I run towards him, my sword slung across my back.

 

The sight of Gem and Cylen sitting in front of a spread of food greets us as we walk through the doors of the inn. The motion for us to take a seat, scooting over on the wooden bench to make room. As I make to sit down next to Gem, a mirror on opposite wall reminds me of something I forgot to tell them.

 

Peeling off my training shirt, I turn to stare them all in the eyes. “Do not under any circumstance look into that mirror. Just leave it in my satchel.” I pause to make sure the words sank in. “I forgot to tell you that before.”

 

Gem’s lips twitch. “Of course, you did. You were too eager to train to think of anything else.” She stops trying to hold the grin back when she sees the red undershirt clinging to my skin.

 

“Battle junkie.” Cylen accuses as he stabs a fork into the mashed potatoes in his plates.

 

I snort. “You’re one to talk.” I know for a fact he sleeps with his spear within reach.

His head tilts to the side, eyes sweeping over my face before shaking his head. He shrugs and continues eating.

 

“You didn’t deny it.” Ryan adds, before moving his focus to eating. A grin spreads across my face. I can’t help but notice that none of them questioned my warning.

 

“You know there’s a festival being held in honour of a new start being held tonight.”

 

Humming, I flick my eyes to Gem. “Sounds fun.”

 

“We deserve to have some fun after the hell that our lives have been these past few weeks.” Cylen adds.

 

Ryan taps a finger to his lips, “I haven’t been to a festival in a long time.”

 

“Then I suppose we’re all in agreement.” I shoot Gem a smile, “We’re going to a festival.” Her answering excited grin is almost blinding.

 

“Look! Isn’t this fabric beautiful?” Celeste asks her as she rubs it between her fingers.

 

“You said that about the others as well cousin.” She snorts, a fond smile on her lips.

 

A pout appears on Celeste’s face. “That’s because they are.”

 

“Yes. Yes.” A slender hand pats her head. “They are all beautiful.”

 

The pout changes to a grin, as Celeste drags her further into the store. “Come on let’s buy some. We have an hour until tea with the boys.”

 

A laugh. “Alright.” And though she is forced to look at mountains of fabric, the radiant grin on her lips doesn’t fade as they walk out with several bags of the ‘pretty’ fabric.

 

“Pretty…” It’s the only way I can describe the sight that greets me. There are flowers everywhere, decorating the stalls, with petals lining the ground. There are various stalls selling foods and even more with games to play. And that’s not even mentioning the stage where performers are entertaining the audience to laughter. It doesn’t even feel like the town we first walked into.

 

Several snorts sound from my side, but I’m choosing to ignore them in favour of the festival. A huge smile set on my face.

 

“Is she bouncing in place?” Cylen whispers

 

A chuckle. “Seems so. Her joy is infectious.” Gem whispers in answer.

 

“I think she has already forgotten about us.” Ryan’s amused voice joins in. “Figures a festival is what would distract her.” The last sentence has a very cryptic edge to it, but I’ve already decided to ignore what doesn’t make sense.

 

“Come on. Come on. Come on!” I shout, grabbing the nearest person and dragging them towards the shooting game I can see in my direct vision. It just happens to be Ryan, who lets out an amused sigh, not doing anything to stop me. Soft footsteps behind us let me know that the others are following.

 

“I win!” I fling my arms up into the air to celebrate my victory. Turns out Gem is terrible at shooting arrows. Cylen somehow being even worse. The smug bastard to my right has an unfair advantage, so we’ve decided he doesn’t get to play anymore. It took five games for us to come to that decision, with three of them being draws between us.

 

“Yeah. Yeah. Rub it in.” Cylen tries to sound disgruntled, but the smile on his face gives him away.

 

Gem chuckles, “I’m glad that you’re having fun.”

 

“Here.” Ryan passes me cotton candy, “You can’t come to a festival and not enjoy the food.” He passes two sticks to the others before digging in.

 

“When did you even get these?” I ask savouring the sweetness on my tongue.

 

“When you were celebrating your win. A seller passed by us.” Smugness colours the words.

 

“Speaking of food,” Gem cuts in, “I want to try those ice-cream cones over there. They have very interesting colours.”

 

“Let’s go buy some.” Cylen immediately agrees, before turning his head to me, “I feel like we’re going to need it.”

 

My eyes narrow, “And what is that supposed to mean?”

 

“That you’re a menace.” He doesn’t even skip a beat. He’s become too comfortable.

 

A snort from my side tells me that the boys are in agreement.

 

“Just for that, we’re going to play every game here.”

 

“Every game?” Gem raises her eyebrows.

 

“Sounds like a challenge.” Pure glee in his eyes. “Let’s do it.”

 

Cylen side eyes him but nods anyway. “We can sure try.”

 

“You’re both mad.” Gem adds in. “But I suppose we can try.” Well, this festival just got even more interesting, as is the case when you have a goal.

 

“Are you sure we should be disturbing this nest?” The tall man asks his blue-eyed companion.

 

Theo merely shrugs. “Not entirely, but that’s half the fun.”

 

His eyes narrow, “If I die, I’m going to haunt you for as long as you live.”

 

A grin pulls at Theo’s lips. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” He stoops into a mock bow.

 

“I mean it bastard.” He mutters in frustration, “These griffins better not be the death of me.”

 

“I thought you were used to that after spending time with her.”

 

“Amara is just as prone to dangerous situations.” He sighs, “You’re both truly mad.”

 

A small chuckle, “Don’t worry my friend, you’re not going to die today.”

 

“If you say so.” A small smile flickers over his lips. “I trust you.”

 

Theo grins, “I promise it’s not misplaced.”

 

As it happens, we do manage to play every game. By which I mean, Ryan and I, the others gave up half-way through. They are keeping close though, only wandering away to get some food. Cylen has called us both monsters several times today, his stare clearly displaying his disbelief. A red flush colours my cheeks from running all over the place. This is so much fun.

 

In my excitement, I don’t think twice before jumping on Ryan, my arms clinging onto his shoulders as he swings us in a celebratory hug. My cheeks hurt from how wide I’m grinning, but that’s not a problem right now. Cathartic laughter escapes from my mouth, growing louder as we spin and finally come to a standstill.

 

“They truly are mad.” Cylen notes, sipping the drink in his hand.

 

Gem shakes her head, “Well she sure sounds the part.”

 

“How rude.” I state as Ryan puts me back on the ground.

 

“Well…” The aforementioned man starts to speak before I interrupt.

 

“You laughed too.” I point out. “You have no room to talk.”

 

He just shakes his head, a grin to match mine on his face. “In any case, I think a celebratory drink is on order.”

 

“Yes!” I find myself forgetting all else at the suggestion, “Let’s go.”

 

“You know you don’t need to give me a dagger to make me like you, right?” The delicate dark-skinned woman teases.

 

Theo gives her a mock glare, “It’s a gift.”

 

“Really?” She pretends to think, “It almost seems like a bribe.”

 

“Nothing gets past you.” His tone is amused despite himself.

 

“Of course,” she sagely nods. “What is it that you want in return friend?”

 

“Nothing but your company.” Theo gives her a charming smile, “and for you to share with me the secrets of your rose tea.” He adds at her expectant face.

 

She snorts before loud laughter fills the room. “Celeste.”

 

“Yes.” He answers even if it wasn’t a question, “She keeps asking for it. I’m afraid she doesn’t find mine up to standards.”

 

More laughter as she wheezes. “I’m sure she drinks it regardless.”

 

“If course.” His lips twitch, a chuckle escaping.

 

“You truly are smitten.” A soft smile plays on her lips. “Have no worries my friend, the secrets are yours.”

 

Munching on my grilled octopus, my eyes follow the dancers on stage. They move fluidly in sync, the music amplifying the performance and drawing the audience into the story being told. It reminds me of those dragon performers, except there are no dragons. Instead, they are telling a story about a knight who must save his friend from a fiery death.

 

Turns out the friend was framed by his uncle and set up to be a traitor to the crown and the ruler decided that he was to die by fire. The knight, being a good friend decided he could not allow this and chose to investigate the truth to prove his innocence. Personally, I think he’s a little stupid because he keeps overlooking the uncle and hasn’t even really spoken about it with his friend. But the music and choreography are good, so I’ll just wait to see if he becomes smarter.

 

“You’re thinking he’s stupid, aren’t you?” The blue-eyed man sat at my left whispers into my ear.

 

“How’d you know?” I lean over him to grab a doughnut. All the food is in the middle of the table.

 

Gem snorts a laugh and passes me the doughnut. Thankfully, Cylen is fully engrossed in the play and is not paying attention to our words.

 

An enigmatic smile is the only answer I receive to my question. I frown but turn back to the stage. Later.

 

Finally! The stupid knight has finally started suspecting the uncle. Bonus points for finally deciding to question the friend about what he thinks happened. Minus a few for stupidly going to confront him without weapons. I shake my head in disappointment when he gets stabbed, and sigh when he gives a dramatic speech which somehow makes the uncle’s henchman switch sides. But the friend is saved, so I guess it’s a happy ending.

 

“Well, the story was weak, but the performance was great.” I decide to add my input as we walk back.

 

“What do you mean?” Cylen exclaims, “The story was great! He managed to save his friend.”

 

“The dude was dumb.” I flatly state, pointedly ignoring his strangled chokes.

 

“He was not!”

 

“Was too.”

 

“Was not.”

 

“Was…”

 

“Alright children.” Gem softly interrupts, “I think that’s enough.”

 

Cylen pouts, “Not until she admits the knight was not dumb.”

 

Ryan snorts out a laugh, “Sorry mate, but he was in fact an idiot.” He adds fuel to the fire by continuing with, “But the story wasn’t too bad.”

 

I gasp in outrage, “How could you? How could you say that?”

 

“Now you’re just being dramatic.” Cylen’s unamused voice cuts.

 

“And so what if I am?” I grin, “Doesn’t make the knight any smarter.”

 

It’s his turn to gasp in outrage. Gem sighs, while Ryan just watches in delight as our argument continues.

 

“Amara wait up!” He feels very out of breath, but such is the usual when he’s with this woman.

 

“No time to wait!” She calls back, “The play is about to start.”

 

“You’ve never been in such a rush to see them before.”

 

“That’s because the ones you enjoy are too cliché and lack a feasible story.”

 

He spluttered in outrage as he finally caught up with her, “They do not.”

 

“Do too.” She childishly answered, before laughing at his face.

 

“Don’t worry, I enjoy them just the same.” A mischievous smile turned her lips, “Even if the plot is very predictable.”

 

He gave a long-suffering sigh but chose not to argue. They could do this all day without someone to act as moderator, and in all honesty, he wanted to watch this play at all. The ones she chose were more complex than the ones he was used to, but he did enjoy them. Not that he would admit that to her.

 

“Whatever you say.” He sighed, but the smile on his face as he followed her gave him away. More than the play, her excitement was infectious. He truly was glad to be her friend.

 

A tired yawn escapes before I can stifle it, my eyes growing heavier by the second. I don’t resist the sleep, burrowing further into the soft blanket. A smile making its way onto my face as I reflect on the day’s activities. Neither of us won that argument, but I’m not too mad about that. It was fun.

 

I find myself in that space again. The doors glowing with a translucent light, something that they hadn’t been doing before. The open doors beckon me to them, but my attention is drawn to the large one at the end, suspecting it to be the most important.

 

The vines that covered it before seeming to have receded. A faint glow emits from the space that it opens, too faint to beckon, but strong enough to notice. My eyes widen as it creaks open a fraction before my eyes. I want to open it completely. An impatience itches through me, my steps unwillingly going towards it.

 

My hand reaches out for the handle, but a force within in me has me pulling back. Not yet, it says, soon. And I believe it. The overwhelming feeling that it won’t take long until this door is completely open, and all the other doors with it. There’s also the feeling that there will be no more doors when that happens. There will be no need for them.

 

The feeling lingers within me as the morning light awakens me. Slowly fading into my subconscious as I rub my eyes, before sinking into my pillow. I jolt awake when it moves. My eyes go up to meet sleepy blues. Oh! I feel cheeks turning pink as I realise, I’m using him as a pillow. Oops.

 

“Morning.” He yawns.

 

I move off him to let him stretch his arms, “Morning.”

 

When he brushes a hand through his hair, a weird familiarity makes me put my hands on his cheeks. One of my hands moving of its own volition to smooth his darks locks back into place. He stills, eyes widening, all traces of sleep gone. My lips purse at his surprise, the look not seeming right.

 

Red blooming on his ears breaks me from my trance, and I immediately pull back. What…What was that? Why did it feel so right? Never mind that, focus on the now. I decide to listen to the voice and think about it later. Mumbling an apology, I head to the bathroom to get ready.

 

It isn’t just him that feels more familiar. Gem and Cylen’s movements are eerily familiar now too. I realise this when various of their movements during breakfast send a flicker of familiarity through me which they didn’t before. My surprise must have been obvious because Ryan has been shooting me curious looks through it all. I just shake my head. I’ll just avoid that for now. Too many questions.

 

We all agreed that we’d continue our journey later today, so I decide to escape the confusion by packing up my things. However, it’s becoming apparent that it is instead garnering the opposite result. It is now all that’s occupying my mind.

 

Maybe it’s because I’ve known them for so long? I hypothesise when it starts to become too much. I have been spending a lot of time with them. But that doesn’t explain the extent of the familiarity. It feels like I’ve known them for years and not a few weeks. My eyebrows furrow as the last of my things are packed. Maybe…Maybe it has something to do with that door?

 

Before I can go deeper down that train of thought, the banging of the door opening makes me jump.

 

“Ready to go?” Cylen asks.

 

“I thought that was later.”

 

“It was.” A wry smile, “But Ryan pointed out that it would be better to move when it’s still light out.”

 

I shrug. “Fair enough.” I shoo him away, “Go on, I’ll be there in minute.”

 

It’s not long after, that we find ourselves in front of the carriage once again. All our gifts and winnings from the festival have been stored in a space bag that was also gifted to us. We would have left them, but there are a lot of useful things in them. The residents wave us goodbye as we enter the carriage.

 

“Where to?” Gem questions as we exit the town borders.

 

I carefully pull the mirror out, facing it away from them and at an angle from me. I slip my hand underneath the cloth to run across the glass. It slips inside and touches a scrap of paper. Pulling it out, a memory of the queen telling me how to do this, plays through my head. Strange.

 

After the mirror is once again safely within the satchel, I turn my attention to the words on the paper.

 

“The next step in your journey leads into the domain of fire. To reach it, you must lose all pretences. For true power lies in those who live by the truth. Fires bloom from true worth and not one stolen from the amidst the dirt.”

 

“Well then,” Cylen clicks his tongue, “Anyone know what that means?”

 

“It mentions truth various times.” Gem points out.

 

Ryan gives a grim smile, “So I suppose there’s only place it could possibly mean.”

 

“And what is that?”

 

His eyes flick to mine, “The valley of truth.”

 

“What? The valley of what now?”

 

Gem sighs, “It’s said that you can’t come out of it unless all your secrets are laid bare.”

 

“But that’s not the truth.” Cylen adds, then grins at the pun. “It’s not all secrets. You just need to know what is true.”

 

Ryan hums, “At least from what we’ve heard.”

 

I still don’t really understand but, “Seems legit.” I shrug. It’s not like we have any other ideas.

 

“There just better not be any more monsters to battle.”

 

“But…” I don’t get to finish, before three pairs of eyes are boring into me. I clear my throat and give them a sheepish smile.

 

Gem frowns, “Don’t you think of rushing into danger.”

 

“We can only hope.” Ryan snorts, but his eyes tell me that he’s anything but amused.

 

“It’s the valley of truth, not the valley of danger.” Cylen decides to contribute.

 

“Then, let’s go.”