Page 105 of Bound By Darkness

“Through a line of trees?” I asked. “There’s no way the horses will fit through there.”

Beau neighed her agreement, a high-pitched whine rising above the wind.

“See? You’re scaring the horses.”

“It’ll be fine!” Ivan yelled back as he edged the horses closer into the thick of the forest. We were going to crash into the giant line of oak trees towering in great sweeps?—

The trees warbled against the immovable scenery.

I blinked, rubbing at my eyes as I willed the headache to subside. Maybe I was imagining the trees as they bent and snapped. Maybe?—

The scenery around us broke into brilliant prisms of color. Light danced around me, tickling the hair on my body. A low hum rumbled through the land, ringing my ears as the world grew vibrant. The hair on my arms raised as a current ran through me, caressing my heart and bones in a drumming beat. It intensified, tickling my brain as the trees snapped in half—as the world cleaved in two.

Twisting my head to look back, the trees and dirt path we had traveled on were gone. Instead, a picture of a field mirrored back as the barrier snapped back into place.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words faded as hundreds of tents at the end of the hill came into view.

Fin stood, his arms outstretched for balance as he surveyedthe area. “What is this?”

“Welcome to the Hideaway,” Ivan said, stopping the cart a few stones from the nearest tent as he hopped down.

Jumping off the back of the cart, I surveyed the land, the tents, and the children running up the hill toward us.

Children. So many children raced up the hill, their smiles bright and genuine as they scrambled up the grassy expanse. A girl, no older than twelve, waved furiously, her hands cupping over her mouth as she screamed, “You’re back!”

Ivan grinned, waving back to the young girl before meeting her below the hill, his hand rubbing the golden locks atop her head. “It’s good to see you too, Kyla.”

“What about me?” a young boy pouted, his hands resting on his hips. Seven at most.

“You too, Seth.”

The boy, Seth, grinned wildly as he tackled Ivan. The other children joined in, their laughter mingling with his.

Fin shared the same expression on my face as I walked closer to the children and him.

Kyla glanced at me, her eyes widening.

“It’s alright, Kyla. They’re with me,” Ivan said as he gave her a reassuring pat. “I need to talk to Iyanna to pick up a few things. Is she here?”

Kyla nodded, her finger pointing at the farthest tent resting below two elm trees, the branches threatening to touch the top of the red tent. “She’s been working from there the past couple of days. At least what father says.”

“Thanks,” Ivan said as he peeled himself from the group of children. “I’ll come find you all later.”

The kids whined, but they dispersed a few minutes later with much coaxing from the once apathetic Fae. “Follow me,” he stated once Kyla bounded down the hillside. “We’ll have to see Iyanna first before I can get any supplies for our trip.”

“I’m sorry. Do you mean the seer Iyanna? As in Iyanna of Krones?” Fin probed.

Ivan huffed. “Yes. We aren’t on the best terms right now, so stay silent until I work it through.Bothof you.”

“The Queen of Krones. We’re meeting the Queen of Krones.”

“Yes, now be quiet. Do not talk unless I tell either of you. She is a dangerous woman and should not be messed with,” he said as he waved us forward through the muddied streets.

The makeshift hideout was larger than Laias, and the streets were lined with vendors and carts. A whole makeshift town lived in the valley, full of light and merriment as children wandered the streets aimlessly.

“Why are there so many kids?” I whispered to Fin, his eyes roaming over a nearby cart filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Probably misplaced by the war.”

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