It’s time,” Blake told our group.
I was worried about Becky, George, Dean and Sammy. They had gone with the group that was going to attack at the parade an hour from here. She wanted to be the one who was going to free her father.
He was telling them about the plan for the thousandth time. The key was to not get separated and to stick with your partner.
“Elena.” He touched my leg gently.
“Huh?” I asked and looked at him.
“Now I know how the professors felt.”
“I know, stick close, it’s going to be fine. I can feel it, it’s going to be a good day.”
He nodded. “Just don’t stop breathing.”
I looked at him. Stay alive, it’s all he wants. I nodded, and he gave me a kiss.
He couldn’t transform, as Etan had almost no dragons left; they only had wyverns, and the two species did not mix well.
He pulled the ragged cloak’s hood over my head.
I was worried about Sir Robert, but Blake knew he was with George and Becky. He knew the plan well, had even come up with it, and had promised he would stick to it no matter what. It was the only way he could free his Dragonian.
I’d never seen him this excited about anything before.
We went to Boliva; apparently it was where our castle was. Boliva. Blake had told me about that last night. I struggle to say the name how he and the others pronounced it and he laughed every time I tried.
As the people of Boliva were setting up their market, we stayed in the forest. The trees hid us well as we watched from afar.
Blake could see all the way from where we stood that men guarded two huge, closed doors we assumed led to the courtyard.
The plan was simple: The two kings were going to kill Goran and hope that his hold over the Saadedine might disappear or disorientate him, which would lead to an easier victory. It just had to work, as I couldn’t think of how else we were going to do this. The missing ingredient, we still had no clue.
Blake got up, pulling his robe’s hood over his face. We walked through the market. It was more or less the same kind of set-up as in Eikenborough, the only different was the palace at the back. I’d never seen Boliva before.
“Welcome home, princess,” Blake whispered.
I smiled. This was my home, or it would’ve been if Goran hadn’t betrayed my family that day. And look what was left of it now.
“What am I called again, a Bolivan?”
He chuckled. “And then I saw her face, now I’m a Boliva,” he sang and I laughed. “Yes, you are a Bolivian, Elena. I know it’s not much now, but it used to be so big and beautiful.”
“No, Blake. You were just small.” Raymond came up from behind and slapped him hard on the back. “Everything looks big when you are small.”
“You can be glad I saw the light, old man, otherwise that slap would’ve cost you your life.”
Raymond laughed and took a deep breath. “I am a Bolivian too, so we can finally say we’re home.” He looked at me and winked, which made Blake grunt playfully as Raymond led us down another path, through the forest again, toward the castle. My home. It only hit me then. I am home. I felt like Blake had the day he saw Alkadeen, when he’d fallen to his knees and kissed the ground. But I didn’t.
Goran had stripped so much from me.
“Don’t let Goran and what he’s done get to you. Remember what I said. He is the two kings’ responsibility now. The hold will fade over the Saadedine, and together will we defeat him. I need you to keep your emotions at bay for only a little while longer.”
“The bond came back?”
He smiled and looked at me. “I wish.”
“Then how did you know that I was thinking that?”
He touched his stomach. “I felt it the day you brought me here.”
“You mean the day you tricked me and snuck in with me?”
He smiled. “That, and the look on your face.”
I nodded. “Got it.” I meant his previous request about keeping my emotions at bay.
We found two guards on the road to the castle. My heart jolted in my throat as I had no idea if they were with us, or from Goran’s army.
“Don’t fret, princess,” Raymond said. “It’s two of ours.”
Fred, the other ops guy who had come with us, greeted them and Blake took my hand and approached Fred and the two men.
Both of them bowed their heads as we neared.
Blake nodded, and so did I.
They were speaking in Latin, and a couple of gadgets were passed from Raymond to the other guys.
Then they led us further down the path. My stomach turned as the structure of a big wall came into view.
Blake sighed deeply.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I haven’t seen this place in eighteen years.” He spoke quietly.
Three towers were rising high into the sky. It didn’t look anything like the pictures I’d once seen with Cheng in the Museum of Etan.
“What happened here?” Blake asked one of the guys we’d just met.
“From what we’ve gathered, this is what was left after the night the Creepers consumed Etan. A fire broke loose in the west wing.”
I knew it was where my mother had stayed, as she was burned alive that night.
“It destroyed the entire west wing and part of the south wing as well.”
They handed Blake another gadget. “This is what we could gather of what’s inside now. Shioni got really close to Goran. We couldn’t have done this without her.”
I couldn’t remember her, but Blake had told me a little about her last night. She was one of the women I’d taken in on our second trip when we’d gotten Emanuel out. Raymond had said she had beautiful dark hair and gray eyes.
The way they spoken about her made me think of my mom.
She’d made Goran fall in love with her, and with the intel she’d gotten these past few months, this guy was right, we couldn’t have done it without her.
“Frank will see you inside.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” I said, and we went to the wall that was closest to the west wing that was almost burned to the ground.
It was completely deserted and Blake whistled like a dove.
It was so beautiful and I didn’t even know what to say.
Two long ropes appeared and I sighed when I saw them. I was seriously not good at climbing ropes. Still, I did what Blake showed me, pulling the rope around me once and making the loop around my hand with part of the other rope. I kicked the tip of my boots hard against the wall and spikes came out.
“After you,” Blake said next to me, and I nodded.
I pushed the spikes into the wall and started walking up slowly.
Blake wasn’t following yet, probably for safety reasons.
When I’d almost reached the top his rope pulled tight and he started running up the wall.
The guard who waited for us helped me get safely over, and as my feet reached the ground of the tower, Blake had already hoisted himself over the tower’s wall and had landed.
I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
“Dragons do things quite differently.”
“Show-off,” I teased, and we followed the guard to the door of the tower.
“Be safe,” he said, and Blake nodded.
We went quickly down the steps and reached the first door. Blake ran further down until we reached a second door. I saw a three-dimensional map of the castle’s layout on his devices and saw a red dot on the level lower.
“Is that –”
“Yes, it’s him,” he said and we walked one level lower. “It’s not our mission.”
I nodded as we went through the door.
Just then, the red dot disappeared.
“Fuck.” Blake grunted.
“What?” Where the hell had the red dot disappeared?
“This can’t be good. There is some sort of enchantment inside the castle.”
“Enchantment?”
He nodded and fear crept over his face as he looked around and back down at his device. He closed his eyes, swallowed hard, and then the fear disappeared. How does he do that? “Still, we know where that red dot was. We should get word to the two kings. They must be inside already. Come.”
I didn’t like it that much, as we were straying from our mission, but we had no choice.
He put the device back in the pocket of his silver vest and grabbed my hand. We ran down the hall on the left. It didn’t look anything like that time I’d been here with Lucian. Too many stone walls and not enough pictures. The carpet was dull and dirty, and I remembered it had been so beautiful.
My steps were the only steps we could hear. Blake was silent. If he hadn’t been walking slightly in front of me, I wouldn’t even have known he was here.
He suddenly stopped and pushed me against the wall.
My heart stammered fast as a couple of guards walked past us. He was doing his blending in thing again. I could see the shimmer around us, or at least what it looked like from the inside. I so loved it at this very moment.
They chatted, making disgusting jokes about one of the poor maids who worked in the castle. It reminded me of Seymour.
None of them noticed us standing right there against the wall.
When they turned into a corridor farther down, Blake moved in the opposite direction quickly, my hand still gripped in his.
My heart started to beat faster as we turned down into the opposite corridor. We were getting closer and closer to where the red dot had been. We were getting close to Goran.
Another few steps then Blake opened the door closest to us and we slipped through.
We were once again in some sort of tower with steps.
I couldn’t handle this at all. I’d thought I was ready for it, but I wasn’t.
Steps from above made both of us look up then we rushed down the steps to a lower level.
Blake showed me the sign, the one we’d come up with the previous night for when he had to kill someone.
I knew it was going to happen, but I didn’t want it to be right this instant.
I took a deep breath, and nodded as I retreated further down, as a backup in case the traitor escaped Blake’s clutches.
Not likely, but just in case.
I took a few more deep breaths, as if the air was disappearing and I couldn’t fill my lungs properly.
The steps creaked softly and I heard the gasp as swords were drawn, but it stopped just as quickly as it had started.
They were from our group.
“Shit,” Fred said with a number of other swear words thrown in for good measure. “Did you find him?” he said after taking a deep breath as well.
“No, but we know he was around here.”
“I think we found the Saadedine, his growl came from the dungeons.”
“So it’s confirmed. It’s in the dungeon?” Blake asked.
Just then a group of men ran up the stairs and Blake, along with Fred and Raymond, pushed me out of the way, behind them into the wall.
They were ready to attack.
Fred and Raymond blew out some air as I saw King Helmut running up with the two of the men we’d found earlier in the woods.
Emanuel wasn’t with him.
“Where is Emanuel?” Raymond asked and drew his sword.
King Helmut rested on his knees, stared at the sword Raymond held then up at Raymond. What was Raymond doing?
“Careful, Raymond. This castle is filled with enchantments. I discovered it the minute I walked in here. It drained me of all my abilities.”
“Very convenient wouldn’t you say?” Fred said.
What the hell was wrong with these two? Blake stared at all of this, still pushing me against the wall.
“Where is Emanuel?” I asked.
“We got ambushed as we found our team. Caleb and Emanuel stayed behind. I had to do what I had to do Blake.”
“Your abilities?” Raymond asked.
“We can’t use them,” Blake answered. “I’ve already tried. He’s speaking the truth.” He told Raymond to lower his sword. “You can’t go after him alone.” He still had an expression I couldn’t decipher. It was as if he didn’t believe –
“Yes, I can,” King Helmut said. “It’s my duty.” He spoke softly and the contemplating look on Blake’s face disappeared. He rubbed his face hard. “You know what this means, right?”
King Helmut nodded. “Paul was right.”
Blake cussed and looked at me. “Whatever you do, don’t leave my sight.”
I nodded. What did they mean Paul was right? He knew we were coming. He’d prepared for this for months.
“We’ll come with you, help until Emanuel and Caleb show up. You can’t do this alone.”
“Do you have any idea where he is?”
“Yes, well, the castle is filled with enchantments. The red dot was close by, I think the study or his tower, but it’s on the upper level.”
“Remember what I said, Elena.” Blake looked down at me, and I nodded.
King Helmut looked at both at us for a short while then led the way.
Don’t let Goran rile you up.
Why king Helmut had to leave Emanuel and Caleb behind was so not part of this deal. He’d told everyone not to split up in that speech of his; still, he was going to face Goran alone.
I hoped Sir Robert and my friends were fine. I drew a few breaths again, and hoped he found my dad and was getting him to safety with all his other men.
Blake pushed me slightly in front of him, so I could be between him and King Helmut.
Fred and Raymond were right behind us; the others looked like guards. The two men who had met us in the woods came to assist King Helmut.
Blake gestured with hand signals to where he’d seen the dot last, and King Helmut started to run in that direction into another corridor.
Blake cussed softly as I followed King Helmut, picking up my pace. “Elena, wait.” Blake sounded alarmed. I stopped immediately, thinking he’d found Goran, and when I’d turned around to look at him, he was gone.
My heart raced as I stared at the empty spot where Blake had been a second ago. I ran back down the hall, but none of them was there.
What the hell is this? He was here a few seconds ago.
My heart stammered into my throat.
“Blake,” I whispered loudly, more than once.
“Please, don’t be dead, please, please, please.” I started to panic, tangling my hands in my hair. I breathed deeply; that thought was driving me to insanity.
It was all I could think about at present. Why the hell was he just gone, vanished into thin air? I ran; it was corridor on top of corridor. I couldn’t find the door through which we’d come a few minutes ago; it had all just vanished. The windows, everything was gone. Just walls and corridors going around and around in circles.
What was this, and why did Blake keep on vanishing whenever he set foot in Etan? Then again, the last time it had been him alone; this time it was an entire group. At least he wasn’t alone. He was safe in some way, from all of this. Goran’s name was written all over this. He’d wanted me away from Blake; he saw me as weak, and it angered me more. I wasn’t that pathetic girl he’d last seen on that mountain. It’s now up to me. How the hell I was going to kill the Saadedine or find a door, I had no idea, but I would find a way to kill the beast. He wasn’t the Elementals we’d hatched so long ago. He was going to kill us, and I wouldn’t let him.
I ran to the opposite side of the room and turned into the other corridor, smacking straight into King Helmut, which almost gave me a heart attack.
“Where are the rest?” he asked me as I clutched my chest.
“I don’t know. They were just behind me and then Blake called my name and he was gone.”
King Helmut took a deep breath. His nostrils flared and he looked around, bewildered.
“It’s just like before?”
“Before?”
“He is safe. I don’t care if he is in that dark place, he is safe.”
“No, Elena. I don’t think it is that.” He put new fear into me as he examined the ceiling, his head moving from side to side.
“What do you mean?” I followed his gaze then looked back down the corridor to where Blake and the rest had been only a few seconds ago.
“I should’ve known.”
“Known what?”
“Goran,” was all he said.
“What about him?”
“Blake is still there.”
I turned around but couldn’t see anything.
“Where?” I asked again.
“You can’t see him. All of them are. This entire corridor is enchanted. We are the idiots that walked into it. They’ve been blocked; that’s why you can’t see them.”
Blake had caught on but had been too late, as I’d already walked through it. That was why he’d cussed. “So they are still here?” I looked back but couldn’t see anything.
“Hopefully, unless Goran had already found them.”
“No, he can’t use his abilities.”
“Don’t worry, I know this spell. He will.”
“What spell?”
“The minute I entered, my abilities disappeared. Everyone’s abilities disappeared. He conjured the spell like that, from this corridor.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The minute we walked in here, all that magic, this spell, this corridor sucked all that power in, trapping the two of us.”
“So Blake will have his abilities now?”
“Yes, we still don’t, but he does.”
I stared down the corridor. Screw this. He can’t fight that thing alone. Somehow I would find a way to reach him. I started to run as fast as I could and turned into another corridor. I ran down that one too, and as I turned again, I found King Helmut standing there. How the hell did he get here so fast?
I ran back down the corridor and turned the corner into the other one where I’d last seen King Helmut. He was still there, looking at me.
I ran again down the corridor and turned into the other corridor. King Helmut was in the direction opposite to me again.
I knew what it was. It was like a loop of corridor and it didn’t matter how many times I ran down this corridor, or the other one. They would all be the same corridor, with King Helmut standing in the middle.
I’d never experienced this kind of magic before, and to be honest, it scared the living shit out of me.
I didn’t understand or see where Blake was, and I didn’t like our separation at all.
I was trapped inside a stupid magic spell while he was out there, in the real world, having to find Goran now to break this as well.
King Helmut sat down and rested with his head against the wall.
“There has to be a way,” I said.
“There isn’t.”
“How long will this last?” I asked.
“Until they kill Goran.”
“What?”
“Elena, sit down. It’s not a bad thing. It means you’ll be safe.”
“While Blake is fighting against Goran and the Saadedine? This wasn’t the plan.”
“There is nothing you can do.”
“I don’t believe that.” I started to pace.
There were no windows, not one.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how messed up this had gotten. Blake was going to die. I couldn’t live in a world without him.
Goran knew we were coming, but why hadn’t he escaped from Etan? Why wait for this day?
I sat opposite King Helmut and rested my head against the wall.
“There has to be a way, c’mon. You know magic. We need to get out of here.” I got up and tried to summon my own, but nothing happened. Blake had given me consent, whether he was in human form or not. We’d practiced long and hard to succeed with it, and…
I shook my hands once again. Nothing.
“What don’t you understand? You are wasting your time,” Helmut said. “It’s useless. This zone is magic free.”
I looked at him and started to get angry with his don’t care, don’t fight attitude. It wasn’t like him to give up. We needed to get out of here. “No!” I wasn’t ready to give up. I needed to get to Blake. This felt so wrong.
I closed my eyes, hoping my heartbeat would calm down. It was silent for a long time as I thought about ways to get out of here. I kept staring at where I’d seen Blake the last time. Is he still there?
“It was you,” King Helmut said.
My head turned to King Helmut, who was expressionless. He was just sitting there, giving up.
“What was me?” I asked.
“I just realized it now,” he huffed.
“What?”
“You’re the reason my son is dead.”
