We lie on our stomachs looking out over the cliff. My heart races with nerves. We are so exposed. I can't shift, I can't feel my water magic. Though, I do still have my hearing, speed and strength. I guess his magic blocker isn't so strong that it blocks everything completely.
The lush green field we saw before stretches out before us. But it isn't lush at all. The ground is muddy and dried with dead yellow strands of plants. The mountains beyond have disappeared, instead, there is a cliff which drops into the sea. The cliffs curve into a small cove with a beach. NightShades walk up the beach from small boats. Some are dragging things along with them. In the distance, I can see great ships. Hundreds of them, all anchored to the seafloor. They are what brought them here. I can see more on the horizon too. Still more are coming. I can't believe how realistic those mountains looked. I am shocked that I thought we were still so far inland and not already at Shadow's coast. I didn't even notice they weren't part of our lands. The field is covered with thousands of tents and NightShades are walking around everywhere. Swords are being sharpened and armour cleaned and strengthened. That would be bad enough but it gets worse. Worse than we could ever have imagined. There are huge metal cages full of shrieking creatures and monsters. I look at my siblings and gulp. They are monsters from our island. There must be over one-hundred of the black furred beasts. With their multiple red eyes and limbs and muscular limbs. Like the one I fought before we were brought back. But these ones are bigger and have been manipulated with magic. Black Root spikes line their bodies and coat their teeth. They run and slam into their cages, desperate to get out. Desperate to kill.
A high pitched scream, like the scream of a child, fills the air. I look at my siblings with horror and my heart hammers in my chest wildly. Looking back, I see NightShades hauling a Bone Crawler from the beach. I feel sick as I see it. It's huge, long legs which allow it to reach great speeds. It's white skin which sticks to its bones. Then, there is its head. The long face and huge mouth, filled with rows and rows of sharp, black root covered teeth. The pale, almost translucent skin that looks like it has been stretched over empty eye sockets. It screams again and I have to cover my ears. Toryn taps me and points. He is walking calmly toward King Harrison. I growl and focus in on them. Thankfully, still having my senses allows me to zoom in on them and also focus my hearing on what they are saying.
"My King," he bows at King Harrison. He nods his head.
"What information did you gather?" the King asks.
"The High Queen is a mess," he grins and even though I was expecting it, the betrayal still hurts. "She and her siblings are falling apart and not coping well with the new responsibility. Lady Aspen also killed one of them. The Earth one." Tanya tenses beside me and I press my palm to her arm.
"Ahh, good," the King smiles and I growl. "How did you get all of this out of her? Did she torture you?"
"No, she doesn't have it in her to torture. She hasn't got the stomach for it," he grins. "But I managed to get plenty from her. All I had to do was show her a little kindness and she fell straight into my arms." The King raises his eyebrows and a smile crosses his face.
"Oh really?" he asks. "How far did you go with my future wife?" he asks. I stiffen as I feel bile rise in my throat. He chuckles but doesn't answer that particular question.
"She won't be your wife. She may not have it in her to torture me, but she definitely wants you dead. You were the one who gave Lady Aspen the magic to kill her sister. There is no way she will agree to your deal." The king shrugs. "She has also gathered all her forces. They are all set up outside the palace. Well over five thousand," he tells the king who shrugs.
"She'll have to find us first. Plus, if she has pulled all her soldiers to one place, that means there's no one guarding the rest of these lands," the King says. I chuckle. That's what he thinks.
YOU ARE READING
Waterfalls
Fantasy"The enemy will always cheat, Isla, you need to be prepared for anything." Isla and her siblings have lived in a cave for as long as they can remember with no memory of how they got there or who they were before. They only remembered two things...
