Fires of War (War and Deceit #4) - Erin O'Kane Page 0,139
steadies me, stopping my fall. Pulling me against his chest, he lets me rest, and I use the opportunity to catch my breath. We’ve been running since we left the army, and while I’m not as fast as a full-blooded elf, I’m faster than the average human. We’ve covered a huge distance in a matter of hours, and we are out of the forest and on the flatlands now, but it’s starting to take its toll on my half-human body.
Nausea rolls through me as another wave of the dark magic hits me. My back protests, and my scar twinges, reminding me I’m not back to normal yet. Taking deep breaths, I try to breathe through it until the sickness and pain passes. Thankfully, it seems to pass relatively quickly, and I pull away from Vaeril, pushing back the stray strands of hair that have escaped my braids. “Did you feel that?”
He nods, his brow pulled into a severe frown. The closer we get to Galandell, the worse it gets. Whatever the queen is planning, she’s gathering a huge amount of power, and it fills me with dread.
Knowing we don’t have any time to waste, I start moving again. Although we’re on the ‘flatlands,’ we’re currently at the edge, jogging up a hill to reach the plains. Once there, we make our way to the river. We’re almost at the top, and I’m looking forward to being on flat ground that’s not covered in tree roots we constantly have to navigate.
Vaeril reaches the peak first, freezing in place. Frowning, I hurry to his side, fearing something has happened to him. “Vaeril…?” I trail off when I see what’s struck him dumb.
The plains run as far as the eye can see, the great river splitting the land looking like a silver, shimmering snake. To the right, towards Arhaven, the grass is lush and green. However, to the left, everything is black, like the life has been drained from it. Veins of darkness crawl across the land, much like the scar on my back. Everything the darkness has touched is dead, much like the flowers the queen had caressed in the gardens of Galandell when she was warning me. I knew back then her powers were deadly, but this is something different altogether. Is this the price of her magic?
“We have to stop her,” I whisper, horrified by what I’m seeing, the destruction one being could cause.
“And we will.” Threading his fingers through mine, he squeezes.
Together, we jog towards the river. The great river is huge and branches off into several smaller channels, and this is the one that feeds Galandell. As we reach the riverbank, I watch as the water lazily passes by, the flow controlled by the damn just down the waterway. If I close my eyes, I can hear the roar of the water being let through.
My hands begin to shake with the monumental realisation of what I’m about to do.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I get the sense I’m being watched. Glancing up the river, I see a set of glowing amber eyes and black pointed ears. I give Vaeril a pointed look. I hope he has the sense to stay back as I walk down the sandy riverbank, never taking my eyes off the furious yellow orbs.
“I’m here to fulfil a deal.” My voice seems to echo out across the water, and several more sets of eyes appear, making me gulp. I had no idea there were so many of them in this part of the river. The first kelpie, the one that is closest to me, starts to rise from the water. I get the impression this one is female as she glides towards me, only her upper body visible.
When Vaeril and I escaped, he was poisoned and needed a weed to survive, a weed that was found at the bottom of the kelpies’ lake. The kelpies there agreed to help me, although I’m still not sure why. In return, I promised I would try to break a spell on a dam that was separating them from their family—the dam that protects Galandell. When I break the spell, it will break the dam, allowing the water to crash through the city. It will destroy much of Galandell, and hopefully, take out many of the forsaken. The palace is built over the river and on the edge of a cliff, so who knows what the force of all that water will do. I’m about to