by Lea Doué
“That puts your squirrel nose to nose with my dragon.”
“Perfect. Your move.”
They continued in much the same manner, with Eddy asking for reminders from time to time. He even managed to capture one of her turtles and a fawn. She meant for him to take the two butterwings.
They had been playing for at least an hour when he captured her twiggy-legged wolf queen. Chess had never been her best game. She handed over the piece. Biting her lip, she concentrated on the board, determined not to let him get any more.
Before she made her next move, Eddy gasped and sat up straight, one hand over his eyes. He took a few deep, gasping breaths and then chuckled.
Gwen frowned. “Are you all right?”
“Uh… yeah, I think maybe I shouldn’t have made that last move.” He laughed sheepishly and admitted, “I don’t even know where all the pieces are anymore.”
“Do you want to stop playing?”
“No!” He dropped his hand into his lap. “Let’s go on. I haven’t beaten you yet. Just… just tell me the layout again.”
She did, and they continued. He seemed distracted, though, fidgety, and he lost quickly after that. Maybe capturing her queen had been a bad move.
She scooped the pieces onto the cloth, and Eddy rolled it up and stowed it in the chest.
He paused at the door. “Good night, Gwen. I’ll see you in the morning. Or… well, you know.”
She grinned. “Good night, Eddy. And thank you.”
“For letting you win?”
“You wish.”
He chuckled on his way out.
*
She woke sore and tired, unused to all the walking they’d done the last few days, but she shrugged off her discomfort. If Hazel or Bay were out there, they would be in worse shape, not to mention hungry, dirty, and maybe even hurt. Meanwhile, she was healing fairly quickly and no longer had to wrap her shoulder.
She’d had a thought as she was falling asleep and was eager to share it with Eddy. She found him sleeping on the floor just outside the room, tangled in a grey wool blanket. Sun filtered in through the cracks in the wall, speckling his hands and arms. He looked peaceful. His blindfold had slipped sometime during the night, leaving one eye uncovered. His lashes were as light as his eyebrows. If she called his name right now, he would look at her with his blue eyes, and he would fall in love with her. Then he could search the forest without a blindfold and have a better chance of finding both her people and his.
But what if Sissi was lying and there was no one out there? Or worse, what if the potion changed him somehow, made him selfishly twisted like her?
Gwen wouldn’t do it, of course. She wouldn’t take away his choice. Besides, he was an heir, and she’d already decided she wasn’t cut out to be a queen. As Mother had pointed out, how would she look after her sisters?
At least she wouldn’t have to say goodbye. If she could convince Hazel to admit she was in love with Holic and marry him already, then she would have an excuse to visit Eddy in Osha. Not that she needed an excuse. Or that she would want to visit him. She would probably be too busy with her sisters.
If she and Eddy could even get out of this place.
She admired his commitment to his own family and his people, to stay here and keep them safe from Sissi, even though no one knew what he was doing. She liked his sense of humor and his kindness. He was the sort of man she would be interested in, if she were looking. Which she wasn’t, especially not under these circumstances. And he was still an heir.
The sunlight slowly edged its way up to his chin. He stirred, throwing an arm over his face, and she retreated behind the door. What was she doing? He could have seen her. She tapped on the door to wake him, and then paced, giving him time to retie his blindfold.
He knocked. “You awake?”
“Yes.” She opened the door quickly to see him smiling only a few inches away. Really smiling, a big ear-to-ear grin. “What is it?” He couldn’t have found out any good news in the few seconds it took him to wake up.
“Nothing. Just glad to hear your voice.” He backed up so she could step out and lock the door. “I’ve woken up to silence for far too many years.”
Why did he have to say such things? Surely anyone’s voice would have made him just as happy. She shook herself—she needed to tell him her idea.
“So, I was thinking last night that we’ve been running around blindly in the woods.” She pressed her lips together, regretting her word choice. “I mean…”
He shrugged. “It’s true.”
She picked up his blanket and folded it as she spoke. “Well, you can’t see anything, and I don’t know what to look for. We could all be going around each other in circles and not know it. So, I thought, why don’t we give them something to follow to find us?” She set the blanket by the door.
“Go on.”
“Why don’t we build a bonfire? It would be a guide for anyone lost in the forest, or for the search party. There has to be a search party by now. We can keep the fire going and still do some searching, in case someone is hurt and can’t get to us.”
“I like it, but the ground is too wet to find enough firewood to get it started.”
“I thought of that, too. There are lots of branches and fallen tree limbs in the unaltered parts of the ruins. We can start with those and then add other wood to make lots of smoke.”
He grinned and shook his head. “You’re a genius. I wouldn’t have thought to do something they could see.”
After breakfast, they walked to the nearest dark hallway and each gathered an armload of limbs and branches. It made a pitifully small pile in the courtyard.
“Too bad we don’t have a wagon to help us haul things,” she said.
“Or a basket.”
“What about a blanket?” As long as they didn’t take it out of the fortress, they could use whatever they wanted. “A tapestry from the dining hall would work. Those are thicker.”
They fetched the tapestry and dragged it to the entrance of an abandoned hallway. After a momentary twinge of guilt for subjecting it to such treatment, knowing first-hand how much work went into them, she remembered it was created using sorcery. Either way, it made gathering wood easier. Eddy dragged loads of branches and dumped them at the front entrance, and she transferred them to the growing pile outside. They cleared two hallways before lunch and then started on a third. She wanted to have a good-sized bonfire to start, plus extra wood inside the entrance hall to keep it going as long as possible.
She wiped her hands on her tunic and picked a small splinter out of her thumb. Her shoulder ached. She’d need a good wash and change of clothes after this.
Eddy dragged in another load. “I’ll fetch my flint so we can get the fire started. Can I borrow the key?”
She had the wood unloaded by the time he returned, and he handed over the key and the flint, obviously trusting in her ability to do the job.
She knelt beside the pile of wood that would hopefully soon be a bonfire. Melantha had dragged her along once to practice fire starting by rubbing sticks together. She’d managed it, but it had taken a full day, and she’d had the blisters to prove it. With Eddy’s flint, she ignited a few leaves she’d swept from the front entrance after only three tries. The rest followed quickly.
Eddy joined her. “I smell smoke. Tell me there’s fire to go with it.”
“Of course there’s fire to go with it. You think I can’t—”
He snorted, and his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
“Oh, go get some more wood, will you?” She grinned as he walked off, chuckling.
He gathered three more loads before the grey light faded to starless black. On his last trip, he left the tapestry in the entrance hall and brought some food and the wool blanket, and they ate picnic-style near the fire, side by side.
The rain held off. Frogs began their nighttime serenade.
And nothing happened. She shouldn’t have expected immediate result
s. If anyone were close enough to see their bonfire, she and Eddy surely would have found them by now. But it was a start.
She sighed and kicked off her boots. Her head ached, and she let it droop onto Eddy’s shoulder, much as she would have done with Eben, Lily’s fiancé, who was the closest thing she’d ever had to a brother. Six nights of not sleeping well were catching up. Or was it seven?
He spoke quietly, “Despite everything, I think this is one of the best nights I’ve had in a very long time.”
“Mmm.” She watched the forest framed by the old gateposts and crumbling wall. Small lights appeared among the trees, winking in and out. They weren’t floating around like fireflies. She blinked, too tired to sit up. “What are those—the yellow lights?”
“Sparklers. Little dragons, no bigger than a robin. Their tongues glow, and they open their mouths to attract bugs.”
“Kind of like what we’re doing,” she murmured. “Only not with bugs.”
“They’re harder to catch than fireflies, but when you get one by the tail and swing it around, they hiss and their glowing spit flies out like little sparks.”
“That’s horrible.”
He chuckled. “Nah. Just makes them dizzy.”
She shook her head against his shoulder. “Boys.” She could name a sister or two who would have done the same thing.
Beyond the fire, a rustling and snapping sound echoed from the trees. She sat up. Something was coming and fast. Neither she nor Eddy had time to stand before the figure ran full tilt out of the forest, a burly man with hair glinting gold in the firelight.
Theo!
“Get your hands off her!” Theo yanked Eddy off the ground by his tunic and then shoved him so hard he fell flat on his back. He grabbed her arm—her sore arm—and tried to pull her towards the trees.
She dug her bare heels into the courtyard stones. “Let go of me!”
He loosened his hold. “Are you all right?”
Her arm burned. “No! Yes! And that’s your brother!”
Theo froze and stared open-mouthed as Eddy picked himself up off the ground.
She stepped to Eddy’s side and looked up into his stricken face. “Are you all right?”
His chin quivered. “Which one?” he whispered.
“It’s Theo.”
Hazel and Holic ran out from the trees almost as fast as Theo had, neither of them slowing as they approached. Holic ran right up to Eddy and wrapped he and Gwen both in a bear hug. Tears washed down his dirty cheeks. Hazel joined them, hugging as much of the group as she could get her arms around. Theo stood to the side, arms limp, still staring.
Her idea had worked. Gwen struggled free of the reunion, pulling Hazel with her and keeping an arm tightly around her waist. They were all a mess, their clothes torn and muddy, but they were here. She reached up and wiped tears from Hazel’s cheeks with her sleeve, smoothed back her snarled hair. They must be hungry and tired. She needed to get them inside. A shallow cut marred Theo’s cheek, and Holic’s leg was bandaged with what looked like his own shirt.
Gwen glanced around the bonfire. She stepped away from Hazel for a moment and walked to the edge of the courtyard, blinking to adjust her eyes to the grey night, an uneasy feeling spreading through her body.
“Hazel?” she spoke into the darkness. “Where is Bay?”
Chapter Nine
Gwen cradled her sore arm and turned towards the others, repeating her question. “Where is Bay?”
“What do you mean ‘where is Bay?’” Hazel asked. “She’s not with you?”
She shook her head. “I followed you after she fell. I—”
Hazel’s voice rose. “Didn’t you go back for her?”
“Buttercup wouldn’t turn. She was fine. There was a dragon after you. And me, too, if you remember.”
“How could you leave her?” Hazel wailed. Holic put an arm around her, and she cried into his shoulder.
Gwen didn’t take the accusation personally. Hazel was clearly exhausted.
And Sissi hadn’t been lying. Bay was out there somewhere. Alone. Hungry and cold. Possibly even trapped. Why else would they “never find her”?
Gwen couldn’t find Bay tonight. Perhaps if she had a torch, a messenger dragon, or even some dogs, she might have some hope of succeeding. But she could take care of everyone else.
Eddy spoke first. “We’ll find her tomorrow. She’s out there, and from what Gwen has told me, she can take better care of herself than anyone else here. I’ll stay out tonight to keep the fire going, just in case.”
“I’ll stay, too,” Holic said.
“And me,” Theo added.
Eddy turned in her direction. “Gwen?”
He wanted time with his brothers, no doubt. “I’ll get Hazel settled inside.” Hazel didn’t protest when she took her hand and led her towards the front hall.
Holic jogged up and joined them a moment later. “Eddy says one of us should stay nearby, and you’ll explain.”
“I’ll tell you both everything I know, but let’s get you cleaned up first.”
She grabbed the cloak and an armful of clothes from Eddy’s room and then led them to the bathing room. While Holic waited in the hallway, she helped Hazel wash up, telling her everything she’d been through since they’d been separated.
Hazel listened silently, tears trickling down her cheeks, and let Gwen brush the tangles out of her hair. She’d lost weight since leaving Eltekon, her indecision about Holic affecting her more than she would admit. Gwen helped her pull the shirt on, fastened the cloak around her shoulders, and led her into the hallway, leaving their dirty things behind for the mysterious maids to clean up.
Hazel found a bedroom, where she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep immediately. Gwen leaned against the door frame and stood watch while she waited for Holic to clean himself up. When he finally joined her, she left him to guard Hazel while she fetched some food.
She found Eddy in the dining hall doing the same thing. He smiled at her approach. “Gwen?”
“How did you know?”
“I’ve gotten used to the sound of your feet on the stones. How are they?”
“Resting.” She helped him pile food onto a tray that wouldn’t disappear when he walked outside. “Theo?”
“He’s dealing with things the best he can. He’s always had a hard time handling situations that were out of his control.” He gripped the edges of the table. “I can hardly believe my little brothers are here. They sound the same, and yet they don’t. How is that possible after only four years? I wish I could see them.”
“I’m sure they haven’t changed much, except for growing a bit. Theo’s not quite as tall as you and Holic.”
His lips curved, a strained attempt at a smile. “At least I’m still somebody’s big brother.”
She touched the back of his hand. “It’s going to take time for you to catch up. Be patient with them.”
He nodded.
“Good night, Eddy.” She picked up her tray and walked to the door.
“We’ll find her, Gwen. Your friend Bay. Tell your sister that when she wakes up.”
“I will.” Tears blurred her vision as she walked back to the bedroom. Gratitude that her sister had been safely found warred with heartache that Bay was still out there somewhere alone. She’d seen the stone dragons in action. There was little chance Bay had made it back to the traveling party.
She found Holic in a chair, elbows propped on his knees as he watched Hazel sleep. While he ate, she explained again everything she’d told Hazel, but he listened much more attentively, asking questions and making comments as she progressed. And then he told their story.
When he’d heard Bay scream, he and Theo had both rushed into the woods. His bodyguard tried to follow, but the stone dragon cut him off. They followed the tracks until they found Hazel huddled against a tree. The dragon—he wasn’t sure if it was the one from the road or a different one—caught up to them. Hazel said to get off their horses, and as soon
as they did, the dragon settled down, content to circle them. Whenever they tried to move towards the road, the dragon blocked them. When they moved farther away, it let them go.
“It was herding you, just like it did me,” she said.
“We figured that out after a while. And then it just stopped. Sat down and turned into a statue.”
“Theo had to test it, didn’t he?”
“Of course. He got close, the dragon came to life and blocked him. He moved back, the dragon turned back into a statue. Weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
She raised an eyebrow, surprised that he would say that after everything he’d seen only a few weeks ago.
“Perhaps not.”
“So, you never saw any sign of Bay?”
He shook his head. “No, but we thought she was with you. We found a stone hut with a wall missing. Theo caught a squirrel and some fish. I managed to make Hazel laugh when I brought her a handful of acorns I’d found stored in a tree.”
“You have to soak them first.”
“Now you tell me.”
“You ate them?”
“A fellow has to snack while he’s working, doesn’t he?”
She chuckled. “I hope you didn’t get too sick.”
“I hardly noticed it with the gnawing already in my belly,” he said with a grimace. He swallowed his last bite and leaned back in the chair with a sigh. “I can’t say that’s the best meal I’ve had, but it’s certainly the most welcome.”
“Do you think there’s actually anyone looking for us?” She bit her lip.
He gave her a steady look. “Yes. Your own parents will have the entire forest combed until they find you, and my father will do the same.”
She nodded and then leaned her head against the back of the chair. Their families would search, but could this place be found? Could Idris have hidden it somehow using sorcery, made it impossible to get to unless led by the dragons? Tharius’s home had been hidden. He’d spent his entire life trying to break out.
She would drive herself crazy thinking like that. “We should get some rest.”