“I’m creating some patches of ice now,” Isera says in an overly explanatory tone while giving Draven a pointed look.
I chuckle, shaking my head at them, while Draven just rolls his eyes.
Circular ice patches appear outside the sheets of hanging moss, forming a pathway out. Isera jumps up on the first one, and the rest of us scramble to follow her.
We run across the ice until we’ve cleared the immediate area and disappeared farther into the woods. Then Isera lets her magic fade out, and we continue jogging across the soft grass.
My heart still pounds and my head spins with questions about those beings we just saw. They must be the native population to these lands, and they were probably caught inside the barrier when Hana created the pocket reality. No wonder they’re so aggressive. They probably thinkwedid it.
To calm the worried storm inside me, I throw my magic out again in search of those sparks of suspicion. They’re still heading in the other direction. I breathe a small sigh of relief. Then I disconnect it and throw my magic out in search of sparks of excitement, just in case.
I suck in a sharp breath as my magic connects with five people heading towards us from the left.
“Another team is coming,” I snap.
Galen curses under his breath and casts a sharp look over his shoulder. “We can’t fight them here without those strange fae in bronze armor noticing it.”
“Agreed,” Draven grinds out. He shifts his gaze to me. “Selena, which direction and how far?”
“They’re coming from the left. Based on the speed they’re moving, they’ll be here in less than two minutes.”
“Fuck.” But his breathing is even as he continues running while casting a glance at the rest of us. “We need to push ahead. Fast. Better to have them behind us than next to us, because that will at least put them between us and that group of natives.”
We nod, still zigzagging through the mass of twisted trees.
“Aye, aye, captain,” Alistair says.
Draven cuts him a look, but then just returns his gaze to the forest ahead and says, “Run.”
My heart leaps, and I pick up speed. Pushing ourselves hard, we sprint through the woods so fast that I barely have time to check where I place my feet. I leap over a twisted root, almost slamming into a tree at the hard landing. The dark purple moss sways as I stagger into it. Shoving it aside, I keep running.
Our pounding feet and rapid breaths echo around me as we hurtle through the forest.
The other faction is getting closer, picking up speed as well now.
Goddess damn it, we need to lose them. Or shove them into the path of the natives. Or somehow?—
Air explodes from my lungs as I slam into Draven’s muscular body.
The force of the hit sends me stumbling backwards. I flail my arms, trying to regain my balance. Next to me, everyone has screech to a halt.
“What are you doing?” I snap, staggering upright again. “The other faction is almost…”
Trailing off, I stare at what made them all stop.
A massive yellow cloud spreads out before us, swallowing the forest ahead.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
We stare at that yellow mass that floats in between the tree trunks almost like fine sand. It obscures the view of the forest ahead, turning everything into a murky yellow haze, and it spreads out on both our left and right.
Alistair raises his hand. “I vote fornotwalking into the suspicious yellow cloud.”
“Excellent idea,” we all agree.
Cocking my head, I glance between the cloud and the trees to our left, where another faction is still drawing closer. “Speaking of ideas, I might have one.”
Half a minute later, I’m standing alone in front of that swirling yellow cloud while footsteps echo between the trees on my left. Sunlight, though slightly distorted through the half-transparent ceiling of the pocket reality, filters down through the gaps in the thick green canopy above. It catches in that yellow dust, making the small specks appear brighter. I wonder what it is.