AISLIN | I

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

THE LANDSCAPE around us lay in ruins. Piles of crumbling brick and timbers lay like a poorly played game of pick-up sticks in piles where homes and shops had once stood tall and proud.

Laventhorpe had fallen to rubble and debris as the metropolis made its final resting place.

The city was littered with the white bones of the bodies that once belonged to the citizens of Laventhorpe. The tan rubble was dotted with tinges of rusty brown- a sign of a long-lost battle.

The air, which would normally be loud and bustling with sounds of a boisterous city, was muted by a heavy and thick silence. There was no coming back from this.

The history books said a rebellion had risen against the kingdom. They fought mercilessly over a minor difference in belief and lifestyle. However, this war found a victorious third party who should never have been involved; Thrinfexe. Those lost to the fruitless battle lay where they had fallen all those years ago. The monsters that Thrinfexe called warriors hadn't even bothered to dig a mass grave.

The toll on both nature and humanity was devastating. It'll likely take decades more before this city recovers fully. Rubble, bodies, and indistinguishable structures have taken the place of businesses, homes, and schools.

My heart clenched at the sight but I refused to let it show as we continued our way into the broken city.

"Wow," August whispered, his voice filled with sadness. Méabh and the hunting group had rejoined the group only hours earlier, with enough food for all of us to go into it well-fueled. The recent meal threatened to resurface. "Look at this place."

"I can't begin to fathom what this horror show looked like when the war was in play," Willow mumbled. I heard Blakely-Rose murmur in agreement.

The main road leading to and from Laventhorpe was barely distinguishable beneath layers of dust, sand, shrubs, and leaves. Gardens had grown beyond their artificial borders and begun claiming parts of the streets and houses.

In the small number of buildings that remained, doorways and windows lay in shambles, rotted away or destroyed by the wildlife that was repopulating the city. Dry rot, vines, and other undesired vegetation had taken the place of paint.

No matter how you looked at this town, it was just plain eerie. There was no other way to describe it. An entire civilization was forgotten, completely ruined.

"Company, halt!" Kingsley commanded.

We all stopped at the sound of her voice and turned toward her. I watched as she bent down to the ground and dusted away some debris. She looked up with weary eyes. When her eyes met mine, the one word she spoke made my blood run cold and my heart race in anticipation, "Footprints."

"They're fresh," Méabh mumbled looking at the uncovered impression, "Someone has been here."

At that moment, I knew we were quite possibly mere seconds away from finding the king; mere seconds away from finishing our mission; mere seconds away from the end of everything we had built in the last few months.

"We need to search the remaining buildings for King Kole. Now!" I ordered, "August, Kingsley, and Willow take the east half of the city. Blakely-Rose, Leland, and Méabh, you guys cover the west half. Now, split up."

"Wait," Leland stopped me, "Who's going with you?"

"Uh. No one." I answered like it was obvious.

"You can't go by yourself. What if you get hurt or-or something worse-" He blabbed but I cut him off.

"Leland." He looked at me, "I have single-handedly killed fifteen people with a seven-inch blade. I think I'll be okay."

In the past, when I made comments like this, he would shut up but not this time," No! I won't leave you on your own."