Page 73 of Realm of Wind and Vines
Another whimper slips from her lips, and she cowers down on the floor.
I stalk out the door and back out into the night.
Neither of them raises the alarm.
Warm night winds wash over the countryside, making the crops in the fields around the village sway. I quickly leave them behind as I jog towards the center of this village and the green building that is supposed to be there.
I slow down as I reach the middle of the village. It’s difficult to see in the darkness, but I think the building up ahead is green. There is only one problem. It’s surrounded by dragon shifters in silver armor.
Biting back a curse, I throw myself in between two houses before they can spot me. Sneaking along the wooden wall, I peer around the corner on the other side. The ring of dragon shifters continues around the whole building.
I suppress a frustrated sigh. How am I supposed to get through without any of them seeing me? I could use my magic to connect to some emotion in their chests, but for that to work, they all need to be feeling the same thing. Unless I create an emotion out of nothing, of course. But the problem is that I have no idea if I’m able to do it to this many people at the same time.
Before, I’ve only ever done it to one person at a time.
Or two people, my mind corrects. If I did make my parents hate me with magic, that would mean my current maximum for creating emotions out of nothing is two people at the same time. Not one. Goddess, I really need to visit them soon to find out the truth.
I cast another glance around the corner. But of course, nothing has changed. An entire circle of dragon shifters still stands between me and the green building.
Drumming my fingers against my thigh, I consider my options. But impatience still tears at my chest, and I’m finding it hard to concentrate. I flick a glance up at the roof. Would it be possible to jump from this roof to the roof of the green building?
It’s worth a shot.
However, I’m not skilled enough in the art of scaling walls that I can just climb up the side of a two-story building without any handholds. At least not without the very convenient climbing gear that I got from the human resistance in Frostfell. I really should’ve brought that with me when we escaped. Though I suppose I had a lot more urgent things to prioritize back then. Like Isera and Alistair. And Draven.
That tiny light of hope inside my soul flickers as those dark waves threaten to crash over me again at just the thought of him.
While trying to block out the pain in my chest, I hurry over tothe door that leads into the building I’m currently hiding behind. If I can just sneak through the house instead, I will be able to reach the windows on the second floor, and from there, it will be much easier to get to the roof.
After picking the lock, I sneak inside. A short hallway and a large living room meet me inside. I sweep my gaze over the deserted room but draw my knife just in case. There is no way for me to know where the staircase is, so I just cross the living room and move towards the doorway at the back of it. Soft carpets muffle my footsteps as I sneak forward.
Impatience thrums inside me like a storm.
Too long. Everything is taking too long.
Picking up the pace, I hurry the final distance to the door and round the corner.
And come face to face with a dragon shifter in silver armor.
He jerks back, looking just as startled as me.
Then his gaze snaps up to my face, and recognition dawns in his eyes. He opens his mouth to sound the alarm, but I was already moving. Jerking his head back, he barely manages to avoid the dagger I thrust towards his throat. The blade misses its target but slams right through his jaw and tongue instead.
Pain crackles across his stunned face.
I yank the blade again to free it from his jaw, but he jerks his head in pain, which ends up cutting parts of his tongue in half instead. A gurgled scream makes it past his lips. Panicked, I yank the blade out while praying to Mabona that there is no one else inside this house. His scream wasn’t loud enough to be heard from outside. But if someone else is awake in here, they would definitely have heard it.
Trying to press the advantage, I lurch forward and swing at the soldier’s throat again.
He kicks me in the chest.
Air explodes from my lungs, and the sheer force of it sends me flying back into the living room. I hit the side of the couchand crash down on the floor. Rolling over, I try to gasp in a breath through my throbbing body.
Steel rings into the dark room.
Alarm screams inside my skull, and I barely manage to roll out of the way before the soldier slams a sword down into the wooden floorboards where I used to be. Blood drips from his mouth as he snarls at me through his shredded tongue.
Blinking hard, I try to focus enough through the pain to summon my magic.
