Silence - By Kailin Gow Page 0,7

-blooded Hugtandalfer. Waltham adopted him when he had need of an heir.”

“You said ‘part of the problem’,” Briony observed. “What’s the other part?”

Leytham looked uncomfortable for a moment.

“That would be the part where the Prince is handsome, but cold, and selfish. Even our king is not sure Vigor wil be suited for the throne.”

“Father,” Aunt Sophie said, “you aren’t about to take my niece into danger, are you?”

“I am merely bringing her home. Word of how King Waltham’s daughter is a natural-born leader in the human world has gotten through to Palisor. You are here because King Waltham is dying, and he wants to see you, which is why Archer was sent to find you, but that may not be al …”

Archer moved forward from the back of the group, interrupting what the male Hugtandalfer was about to say. “We must go now. There isn’t much time.

We have wasted enough time getting Briony here, fighting that vampire at the gate.”

That was enough to make Aunt Sophie purse her lips. “Pietre. I should have finished him when I had the chance. I should have known he would not give up trying to get here just because I left. He tried to use Briony, then?”

Archer nodded. “He’s stil out there trying to figure his way in. I don’t think he’l stop, even now.”

“Could he get in, though?” Briony asked.

Aunt Sophie shrugged. “Probably not. Not now.

But it is always better to be certain. Especial y with him. If he were ever to get through…” Since Aunt Sophie stil had an arm around her, Briony felt the shudder that ran through her.

“It would be that bad if he got here?” Briony asked.

Aunt Sophie nodded. “With a vampire like Pietre in Palisor, he would bring his darkness here and pol ute the Hugtandalfers. More than that though, he would find it easy to gain more power here. Power that he could then take back to Wicked in order to kil both werewolves and humans. He has wanted that for years.”

“So if he had managed to persuade you to take him through…”

“Things would have been very bad indeed.

Fal ing for him wasn’t exactly my best moment.”

Just hearing those words, thinking about Pietre stil out there, brought Briony’s mood down a little.

What had happened to Fal on, Jake and Kevin? Were they al right, or was Pietre hurting them even now?

There was no way to know. No way to help.

As though sensing her mood, Archer grinned.

“Come on. You should at least see some of this kingdom before you meet its king.” He looked to Leytham. “If that’s al right?”

“You’l take her to the castle?”

Archer nodded, and shifted. On the path, his form took up most of the available space.

“On you get, Briony,” Aunt Sophie said. “It seems you’re doing this the comfortable way.”

Briony hesitated, but climbed onto the golden dragon’s back as it knelt to let her up. In place, she looked around. “How do I hold on?”

Aunt Sophie smiled. “For dear life.”

Briony grabbed hold of Archer’s neck automatical y as he took to the air in a bound that let him spread his wings. In just seconds, he was far above the trees. It was total y different from flying with Fal on. That had been uncomfortable, and slightly frightening, and more like leaping than truly flying.

This was a smooth glide, higher than Briony had been outside of an airplane, with the trees rushing away beneath her. Then it was clouds.

“Archer? Could you maybe go a little lower?”

The dragon snorted with what Briony was sure was laughter, but he flew lower. Low enough that Briony could real y see everything below better. At first glance, it looked a little like the land around Wicked, but there were differences. It was a much brighter land than the world she had left, for one thing, like a painting that had been done purely in primary colors.

Those colors were subtly different too, almost surreal. The sky had pinks and purples in it as wel as blue, like the first glimpse of sunset permanently mixed in with the rest of the sky. The clouds danced with light in rainbows of color that made Briony gasp to see them.

There were differences in the land below, too.

Instead of the flat expanse of trees there would have been back home, these ones quickly gave way to rol ing hil s cut through with streams and deep pools.

There were creatures on those hil s. Briony thought she saw horses, though when she looked closer,