Draygon Inferno | Book 2 | ✔️

Chapter Thirteen

          Siobhan touched her hand to the smooth surface of the reflective ice. It was like walking through a hall of mirrors, unlike any ice she'd ever seen before. Multiple Siobhan's and Wrens looked back at them, mimicking their movements at every step. It was unnerving to see herself replicated in infinity. Her fingers dragged over her reflected face, crossing through her white eyes.

It should've been cold, but it wasn't. There was warmth pulsing from within the walls, coating her fingertips in a blanket of heat. However, it wasn't painful. She didn't feel her skin burn or want to draw her hand back. It was as if a blanket swaddled her while she rested by a camp fire. Her eyes shifted to Wren's reflection. He continued to stare toward the curving tunnel feeding deep into the depths of Esa'Drago.

Siobhan turned to look at him. His arm trembled at his side, sweat glistened on his brow from a light source unknown.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

She looked down the tunnel. It curved a few feet away, the ice reflecting itself making it impossible to gauge how long it was or where it was going. There was nothing. Not the sound of wind howling from an opening in the wall, no crackle of fire suggesting the source of the light. It was silent. Still. Like the world when the sun first poked free from its slumber, ready to awaken life for the day.

"Are you hearing voices?" Siobhan was all too familiar with that question. Back in the spires, she'd heard the voice of Garrith calling to her, pulling her toward him as if she were tied to a string. While she hoped it impossible, there was no telling if Garrith waited for them at the end of their tunnel. For all Siobhan knew, this was an elaborate set up by him to get her into his clutches. Lady Lenore could've been lying to her every step of the way. At this point, Siobhan knew she could take nothing for granted. To help her people—and Wren—was to expect anything to happen.

Wren touched a quivering hand to his temple, shaking his head. "No. She doesn't hear it. It's not true. You're not real. You're in my head."

"Hear what, Wren? Talk to me. What do you hear?"

"She's screaming at me. Telling me it belongs to me, not you."

"Who? Are you hearing Natalia again?"

"Stop it. Why are you doing this? It wasn't her fault! She didn't make me kill you. It was my choice!"

His veins rippled with red, pushing through his arms. Sweat intensified, soaking through his collar until it was a ring of moisture in his tunic. Both arms shot out from his side, flames exploded outward and hit against the ice walls. Siobhan narrowly rolled out of the way before the flame could barbeque her alive.

"It's not true!" Wren sprinted forward, sparks dripped off his fingers like water before fizzling away into steam as they hit the ice floor.

"Dammit, Wren. Stop running away from me you moron." She pushed herself to a stand and glanced to the walls. Water streamed down into pools on the ground from where Wren's flame had hit. She looked back to where they'd released the horse's reins to take their break. Bob was licking the wall, his tail swishing back and forth. Wyx stood still, watching Siobhan with his dark eyes. She couldn't keep up with Wren and lead the horses. Their hooves had slipped on the ice floor as soon as they entered the doors, but Wren refused to leave them behind. So they'd walked slowly, careful, ensuring the horses didn't hurt themselves. "Well it's not like you guys can open the door and get out of here."

She pulled her staff free from its loop, connecting the ends, and sprinted after Wren. This time she wouldn't take Wren for granted. He wouldn't blindside her again. At least this time his sword stayed safely secured on Bob's saddle. No sound came from her boots as she ran. The tunnel stayed as silent as ever with mirrored Siobhans running on either side. She zigged and zagged, winding with the tunnel deeper into Esa'Drago. It seemed like an eternity, an impossible distance to cover within an ice mountain.