“It stinks of blood and seawater,” said Fyrian.
A shudder ran down my spine. “What kind of blood?”
“Not any animal I’ve ever eaten. Besides, it’s silver.”
I jerked my head away from the barrier, trying not to think of creatures that had silver blood.
“They sacrificed one of their own.” Gladius dipped a silvery wing toward the curtain of magic.
I grimaced. Now the spriggan who had laughed even when its head had been cut off made a little more sense. They weren’t like normal fairies or normal villains. The Forgotten King had obviously twisted their minds to make the spriggans completely loyal to him, something the Snow Queen had failed to achieve with her trolls. “Unless they could make more spriggans, which is doubtful, it means there are only four of them left. The one Father cleaved in half obviously recovered enough to steal the blessing.”
Up ahead, King Magnar landed Byrrus by a grove of skeleton trees whose trunks consisted of wisp-thin tendrils of wood that twisted together to appear solid in the distance. Spindly branches twisted from the tree like the elongated fingers of the kinds of grasping skeleton I’d once read about in a horror scroll. We flew down and landed beside the oxblood colored dragon.
“Anything wrong?” I asked.
The light filtering through the skeletal canopy made King Magnar’s hair appear white. “From here up to the sea, the topology consists of similar mountains without low hills or valleys. I’m assuming the spriggans have affected the land stretching out to the coast.”
I frowned, hoping a three-day journey wasn’t the solution. “What do you suggest?”
He pointed north. “Is it possible to travel directly north to the sea? I doubt that the spriggans would have stretched their barrier beyond the land.”
I turned to Gladius, who stood beside Fyrian in his iridescent dragon form. “What do you think?”
He transformed into a man and walked behind the dragons. “I can take you to the coast. Transporting two dragons over the sea will be dangerous, so we will fly the rest of the way.”
He held onto Fyrian and Byrrus’ tails, and in the blink of an eye, we stood in an ice-covered landscape. Howling, freezing wind blew strands of long, platinum hair into my eyes and across the surface of my skin, leaving a thin coating of ice.
I narrowed my watering eyes to stop their moisture from freezing into an icy crust. To our left, the mountains formed a blot in the distance, too far to see whether the magic extended so far north. Up ahead, the Cursed Sea stretched out into the dark horizon. Thick chunks of ice formed a sheet over the water’s surface, thinning to transparent where they had broken and reformed in the extreme cold.
Evolene raised her staff and created a bubble of warmth around us. Next to us, Botilda did the same.
Sensation returned to my skin in a tingling rush, and the tears that had frozen from earlier rolled down from the corners of my eyes. I exhaled a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Evolene turned around and smiled. “I’ve never been this far north. Have you?”
“Hibern in the United Kingdom of Seven is cold like this,” I replied.
King Magnar cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted over the wind, “The border is fifty leagues east. Astri and Botilda think that the magical barrier over there might be unstable.”
“What are you suggesting?” I shouted back. For all his faults, King Magnar seemed to have an excellent knowledge of the landscape.
He pointed toward the distant mountains. “We make our next stop forty-five leagues south-east from here and fly out to sea.”
Before I could turn around and ask Gladius what he thought, the wild dragon transported us to a new location. Thanks to Evolene’s shield, I didn’t feel the wind, but I suspected this part of Steppe was less brutally cold than our previous landing point. Here, the barest crust of ice lay over the Cursed Sea, thin enough to reflect the moonlight, and the barrier over mountains to our left swayed in the wind like a curtain of snow. Where it met the sea, it dissipated into the wind like a snowdrift.
“Let’s fly over the water,” I shouted. “What’s the nearest of your locations to this point?”
“The dragon facility in the region formerly known as Pampas,” shouted King Magnar. “The spriggan chose the location, so perhaps it’s significant?”
Gladius transformed into a dragon and flew ahead of us toward the sea, reflecting the silvery light of the moon on his outstretched wings. Fyrian launched herself into the skies and flew after the iridescent dragon. As this part of Steppe was further south than our previous location, the ice mingled into the dry earth, glinting against the sunlight like faceted crystals. I stared up ahead and tried not to think of what the spriggans might be doing with the stolen blessing.
Once we passed the coast, the dragons glided low over the Cursed Sea, keeping as close to land as possible, but avoiding the clouds of enchanted snow blowing off the spriggan’s barrier. A school of avian sharks about the size of rapier reds flew up from the surface of the water and coasted through the air alongside us. Gladius turned his head and snatched one of the sharks in his mighty jaws. He tossed it into the sky, shot a stream of fire over the huge fish, and swallowed it whole. The rest of the sharks dove back into the water with a chorus of splashes.
“Are either of you hungry?” I shouted.
“I ate this morning,” replied Fyrian.
“I enchanted two baskets and gave one to Mr. Cobbs,” said Evolene. “He puts food in his basket, and it appears in mine.”
My brows rose. “Let’s have a look.”
Evolene reached into her sack and pulled out a square, wicker basket the size of a dinner plate. I leaned over her shoulder, eyes wide. She flipped its lid, revealing two slices of buttered currant bread each sporting a huge hunk of cheese.
My mouth watered. “Can I have one, please?”
“Of course.”
As soon as we had flown far enough into the sea to have cleared the remnants of the enchanted barrier, King Magnar steered Byrrus along the coast and back over the land. We followed, keeping from the hills and the tendrils of magic reaching the sky. Moon-drenched meadowland stretched out into the horizon in a burst of silver-tinged greens and yellows. Evolene released the bubble of warmth, letting in cool, grass-scented air. I sighed and gazed up into the clouds. This land reminded me of Mount Bluebeard.
Byrrus flew south, over the grassland and over a lake so large, it supported several inhabited islands. No lights shone from the windows at this time of the night, making it difficult to see the villages. The mountains loomed to our left, always shifting and moving in the wind. King Magnar had probably suggested flying because there was no telling whether Gladius’ transportation ability would cross the barrier. After several minutes, we reached the foothills of a tree-covered mountain that lay in front of the border mountain within the spriggan’s enchantments.
“Do you think that’s where the spriggans asked him to build the dragon facility?” I asked out loud.
“It would make sense, as Mount Fornax is also a mountain,” replied Fyrian.
“I think so,” said Evolene. “If I were going to bury a wicked fairy, I’d put him under a mountain, where he wouldn’t be able to get out.”
“It makes sense if the spriggans chose this mountain for both reasons,” I said.
We flew around the mountain’s base, where giant cows the size of rapier reds grazed in the grass.
“Why are they awake at this time of the night?” asked Evolene.
“If the spriggans have something to do with them, they’re probably up to no good,” I said out loud. Turning into our bond, I asked, “What do you think of those, Fyri?”
“Disgusting!” She let out a curl of brimstone-scented smoke. “They probably got that big from eating something cursed.”
I bit my lip to avoid laughing into our bond. “How do you think the largomorphus rex got that big?”
“They’re a natural breed of marsupial rabb
it, aren’t they? Marsupial means giant.”
“The word refers to the pouch, actually. Master Jesper used alchemy to make them big.”
“That’s all right, then,” she replied.
Before I could ask what she meant, Byrrus swooped down to a ledge on the side of the mountain. Gladius landed beside him, and Fyrian landed beside Gladius. I turned to King Magnar. “Are we close?”
He tilted his head up. “The dragon facility is on the other side. I thought we could walk the rest of the way so as not to alert any spriggans.”
Evolene wrung her hands. “I-Isn’t there some kind of magical protection around this land?”
He shook his head. “No one would dare approach with the fanged cows patrolling the mountain. They’re a breed that can consume a person’s life-force in less than ten minutes.”
“No wonder they’re so big,” I muttered. “Let’s go.”
Fyrian and Byrrus stayed behind as they were too large to come with us, much to Fyrian’s annoyance. We walked around the mountainside with the light of the moon on our backs. The tall trees didn’t block the illumination, as the leaves growing on their branches seemed to glow in the moonlight instead of blocking it. King Magnar led the way, flanked by Astri and Botilda. Evolene and I walked behind them, and Gladius took the rear in case any of the monstrous cows decided to attack us from behind.
“This place is far less welcoming than Mount Fornax,” whispered Evolene.
“It’s a secret dragon base,” I whispered back. “They probably designed it to be off-putting.”
We continued through the increasingly brightening forest until the silvery light became so strong, I had to squint. Placing my forearm over my brow in an attempt to provide a bit of shade, I asked, “What in the Known World is going on?”
“It’s the lunar trees,” said Astri from up ahead. “Don’t stop. They cause madness in the feeble-minded.”
Clenching my teeth, I strode ahead. “It’s a good thing you’re keeping a good pace, then, isn’t it?”
She stopped. “What did you say?”
King Magnar sighed. “Stop making trouble and be grateful three seasoned warriors are willing to help us regain our home.”
“Sorry,” she said in a small voice.
Since the apology had been directed at her brother, I kept my head down and trudged on. The light couldn’t be that bad if she hadn’t created a parasol with her magic.
Moments later, we cleared the forest of lunar trees, and King Magnar stopped. He turned around, pointing up into the mountain. “This is the location of the emergency exit. It’s a chute that leads into the heart of the facility.”
“How are we going to climb up it?” I asked.
Astri’s lips twisted with a combination of disgust and mirth. “I can turn it into a staircase.”
“And what happens if your magic alerts the guards?”
“Who do you think built it?” she asked.
I turned to Evolene for her reaction, but she shrugged. King Magnar’s sisters probably knew what they were doing. Botilda pointed her staff to the ground and shot a stream of magic that transformed the rocky soil into earthen steps that led twenty feet up into the mountain. She and Astri took them two at a time.
King Magnar turned to me and smiled. “Princess Alba, before we go into battle, I want to say how much I appreciate your help. After I’ve regained my throne, would you consider—”
I raised my palm. Whatever he was about to ask would probably be something unpleasant. “Let’s focus on the task ahead. If the Forgotten King is buried here, then all the spriggans will be inside, digging him out.”
His face fell, but he nodded, turned back to the stairs, and hurried after his sisters.
“Didn’t you want to hear what he was going to say?” asked Evolene. “He’s been very nice recently.”
Following after him, I stared up at where Astri and Botilda stood in front of a giant pipe, the opening was covered by a grate. “I’ve never doubted his ability to be a protective brother or even a good guardian. It’s the rest of his personality I don’t trust.”
We ascended the stairs in silence with Gladius at our backs. To our sides, the branches of lunar trees swayed in the wind, threatening to cast their toxic light on our heads. The chute had a diameter of about four feet and emitted the scent of damp stone. Droplets of water clung to its walls, making me wonder what could cause this level of moisture. I peered into its depths. King Magnar and his sisters had already climbed halfway up, illuminating our way with white light. Moments later, we caught up with them at another grate.
“Why have you stopped?” I asked.
“The level is filled with human workers,” replied King Magnar. “Something in their movements suggests they’re being controlled by magic. If we surface, they’ll probably attack with the same level of force as the enchanted cattle.”
“I thought you said the base was unoccupied.”
His brows drew together. “It was. The spriggan told me he wanted to fill it with dragons stolen from Mount Fornax. I can’t fathom why humans are here.”
A shiver ran down my spine. Whatever the reason, I had a feeling that it would be something disgusting, horrifying, or both.
Chapter 7
I squeezed past King Magnar and his sisters and peered up into the grate. Dozens of humans staggered around a stone room lit by flaming wall sconces. They carried boxes from the right side of the space to its left. Many wore shoes that gaped open with wear, revealing blackened feet, and some wore no shoes at all. I couldn’t see their faces, but from the dirt encrusting their legs, they had either toiled in the facility for a long time or had worked in a mine. Nobody spoke. They trudged up and down the room, feet dragging along the ground, arms straining against the weight of their boxes. I might have heard the cracking of stones, but that could have been the cracking of their bones. A lump formed in my throat. This situation reminded me of the riot in the capital where witches clad in sleeping chemises attacked the palace. Some kind of enchantment was forcing them to work.
“Is there an artifact buried somewhere?” I whispered.
“Probably,” Botilda replied. “But do we have the time to look for it?”
“My breath contains a potent venom that can kill or cause humans to sleep. I can break through and render them unconscious,” said Gladius from the steps below. “Then they won’t have time to alert their spriggan overlords.”
I glared down at the wild dragon. “And who’s going to fix their fractured skulls from when they fall?”
The wild dragon snatched his gaze away and hung his head. In all his time of terrorizing the humans in the Unknown Continent, he had probably never considered the aftermath of his actions on people who must have been terrified of him. I hoped that witnessing innocent humans being forced to do the bidding of spriggans might help open his heart to non-dragon species.
“Those people have probably been laboring like that for months,” said King Magnar, his voice heavy. “Any further injuries might kill them. We have to do as Princess Alba suggests and find the artifact.”
Gladius growled. “How long will that take? They could have resurrected the King Who Must Be Forgotten by now!”
My nostrils flared. “But if we do nothing, we might condemn these people to a lifetime of servitude. Some of them look ready to drop dead!”
“Astri, Botilda,” said King Magnar. “See if you can find where they’ve hidden the artifact.”
I turned to Gladius. “You should go with them. The last one we destroyed needed dragon fire.”
As the trio descended the stairs, I squinted at one of the human workers, who stumbled close to the ground. She was about Evolene’s height and build, but soiled clothes hung from her too-skinny body. Matted, greasy hair formed a curtain around her pale face, making her look like she hadn’t eaten or washed since the building of the facility. “We have to do something now,” I muttered. “They can’t carry on like this for a moment longer.”
&
nbsp; “What do you suggest?” asked King Magnar.
“Let’s at least remove what’s in the boxes, so they’re not straining themselves.”
He pushed himself against the wall, creating a space for another person to pass. “Evolene, can you do that?”
She climbed up between us. “The noise might alert the spriggans, but I can make the boxes lighter.”
“Do it,” he said.
Evolene filled the room with pale, white light. The humans up above let out collective sighs and continued moving the boxes. I gave her a pat on the back. At least once Gladius and King Magnar’s sisters had destroyed the artifact causing them to toil like mindless homunculi, those waking up from their trances wouldn’t hurt themselves with the shock of the boxes’ weight.
We waited in silence for what felt like an hour until King Magnar turned to me, turquoise eyes lowered. “It is hard to see one’s subjects in such a deplorable condition. I built this facility to guarantee the safety of my sisters.” He shook his head. “Had I known it would be used to enslave humans…”
“But you must have known the spriggans would use it to enslave dragons.”
“Until Byrrus bonded with me, I considered them intelligent beasts.”
“Even people like Master Fosco?”
His brows drew together. “Of course not. Our spies told us all about the dragon masters, likening them to puka fairies who transform into beasts. Look at your mother. Just because she is capable of shifting into a bluebird, that doesn’t mean all bluebirds should be treated like humans.”
A box thudded to the ground, and a little voice said, “Hello?”
My head snapped up to the grate, and a thrill of triumph shot through my heart. Gladius had destroyed the artifact, and the humans were regaining their consciousness.
“Nicola,” said a man’s voice. “Is that you?”
“Father!”
Exclamations and sobs filled the room, with all the human slaves trying to work out what had happened and why their bodies were in such deplorable states.
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