Page 5 of Realm of Wind and Vines
However, they all pick up the pace a little as we start down the river again.
Once we reach the spot where Draven and I met up after we were ambushed by the dryads last time, we leave the river behind and start moving straight into the forest instead.
And then we walk.
Since the layers of thin tree trunks that make up the ceiling block out the view of the sun, I can’t tell for certain how much time has passed, but I can feel the hours slipping away. Worry gnaws at my chest as I sweep my gaze over the endless forest before us while we make our way deeper into the woods.
Trees in all shapes and colors stare back at us impassively. Lyra jumps up gracefully and taps a thick branch above her as she passes it. It makes the branch shift slightly, rustling the beautiful pink leaves. A smile blows across Lyra’s face as she watches it while she strolls past.
The sight of her easy smile dispels some of the tension in my chest. I’m glad she’s here. I’m glad Draven has her friendship again. He needs it. In fact, I think we all need it. Between the seven of us, she might be the only one who actually contributes to the good mood at the moment.
“Enlighten me,” Orion begins in a voice that somehow manages to sound both mocking and annoyed at the same time. “How did you find the dryads last time? Because it feels to me as if we’re just wandering aimlessly through the forest.”
Draven opens his mouth to reply, but given the irritation that flickers in his own eyes, I know that he’s about to snap at the Unseelie King, which will just turn into another argument between the two of them.
So before he can get the first word out, I quickly reply, “We didn’t. They kind of found us.”
Orion shifts his gaze to me and arches a dark eyebrow. “Sowhat’s the plan then? Just wander around hoping that they will find us again?”
“No, we know that they?—”
Vines shoot out around me and wrap around my whole body.
I gasp as they snake around my wrists and ankles, quickly trapping me, but the sound is cut off as a thick vine slides between my teeth like a gag.
Then the world goes dark as another vine wraps around my head, blindfolding me as well.
CHAPTER THREE
Ajolt shoots through my hip as I’m tossed to the ground. Vines are still wrapped around my body, keeping me immobile, gagged, and blindfolded. I let out a huff through the thick vine between my teeth while more thuds sound around me as my friends are no doubt deposited on the ground as well.
Abruptly, the vines pull back.
“Have I mentioned how much I fucking hate forests?” Alistair grumbles from somewhere on my left.
Pushing up to my knees, I blink against the sudden light.
My jaw drops open as I stare at the incredible scenery before me. Trees as thick as houses rise up like giants before us. From the glowing light that twinkles from holes in the massive trunks, there appears to be dwellings inside. Though there are no steps leading up to them. Only vines that ripple down along the bark. High above, vibrant green leaves rustle in the wind as the trees reach towards the heavens above.
I stare at the late afternoon sky, streaked with pink and gold. I have no idea where we were taken, but apparently, we are no longer underground.
“It was very foolish of you to come back here a second time,” a familiar voice says.
Lowering my gaze back down from the imposing trees and the colorful sky above, I give my head a quick shake and blink at the source of the voice.
A woman made of the woods stands before me. Her dress is made of vines and leaves, with a few thin branches to add structure to it, and it pools around her like a green waterfall with specks of brown. It complements her pale green skin and deep brown eyes, making her truly look like an embodiment of the forest. The only other color she wears comes from the red flowers that grow around her head like a crown. Her long hair, made of fine vines and highlighted with beautiful leaves, ripples around her as if on a phantom wind.
It’s her. The dryad leader, whose name I don’t know, but who I have come to think of as the Dryad Queen.
I quickly scramble to my feet.
“We forgave your trespassing once because it was an accident,” she says, her voice low and smooth but with a sharp edge of threat to it. “But now you have returned of your own free will.”
I open my mouth to say something intelligent that I still haven’t quite figured out, but before any words can make it out, we are all startled out of our stupor by what can only be classified as an excited squeal.
Everyone starts in surprise as Lyra jumps to her feet with another excited squeak. Her wavy brown hair flutters around her face with the sudden movement, but she just tosses it out of her face while grinning broadly. Her orange eyes practically sparkle in the golden afternoon sunlight when she meets the Dryad Queen’s gaze.
“Hi!” Lyra blurts out.
