Page 100 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

“Ten thousand Drakkarians must have taken Viribrum,” Ezren said, his quiet words laced with fury.

“Aye,” Leiya nodded. “’At was me count when I saw the bastards up north.”

“They reached Valfalla during the Skøl, hitting the palace first, as it was relatively unguarded,” Ezren continued, shaking his head. “In hindsight, this is no surprise. Of course, Drakkarwould attack when the entire capital was distracted, with only a handful of palace guards on duty. From what I saw, a subset of the remaining ranks proceeded to the Skøl while the others pillaged the nearby country towns.”

Leiya gave a slow, grim nod. “Aye, I had the same thought. I would say, we shoulda seen et comin’, but the strange theng es, we would’ve. How can ye mess an army that size?”

“So the question is… how did they pull it off?” Fayzien muttered.

“No army has ever snuck up on Viribrum—ever—in the history of our kingdom,” Xinlan whispered. “We are surrounded by sea. We have so many posts, so many redundancies, each with fliers to announce enemies.” She went silent for a moment. “There is only one explanation.”

My eyes snapped to hers. “They were invisible,” I breathed.

“Ten thousand soldiers? Cloaked? Ha!” Fayzien snorted. “EvenIcouldn’t manufacture such a spell.”

“There es strange magic afoot… I can feel et. Somethen about the way the fire spread—et was spelled, te be sure, but somethin’ felt… wrong,” Leiya murmured, almost to herself.

Images of pain and anguish flashed through my mind. “I saw something in the fire.” I pressed my eyes shut, remembering the screams and the suffering I’d absorbed. The memory was so fresh and alive in me that I had to shake my head to loosen its grasp.

Ezren’s words interrupted the flashback. “What did you see, Terra?”

“Shadows,” I whispered. “Shadows of the dead.” I shook my head again, trying to shed the lingering tremor of agony I’d experienced from those people. “I felt their pain. What does that mean?”

Five blank stares met my gaze.

Leiya scanned the group to confirm everyone was as confused as she. “I have no idea, Lassie, but we’ll figure et out, together.”

“So, what do we do now?” My eyes drifted in Ezren’s direction.

“We get you to safety,” Ezren and Leiya said at the same time. They cocked their heads at each other, looking pleased to be on the same page, before turning back to me.

My nostrils flared, silent rage crossing my face. “Are the two of you serious?” I whispered, more shocked than angry.

“Aye,” Leiya said. “Ye have significance fer stopping thes war, and ye know et. I have dreamt about et each night sence returnin’ from the isles. I can feel et en me bones. And the Drakkarian said as much when they were tryin’ te take ye! We canna lose ye.”

“Agreed. The Rexi will have my head if you lose yours,” Fayzien chimed in, though picking his nails in disinterest. “I’ll go find the queen. You leave with them, find safety. If you flee to Nebbiolo, there will be a place for you.”

“We have a Dragon.” Xinlan narrowed her gaze at Ezren. “Why notusesaid Dragon?”

“He es not en control a’ hes sheft—not fully. Hes awareness en the shape es lacken’ an’ he canna remain en the form fer long. Unless a trained Wetch es spellen’ hem, he willna be a’ weapon,” Leiya said.

Ezren’s eyes sharpened at the comment, but he gave a tight nod. “And I am drained—from Terra’s wound and healing. I’ll need at least a day to recover my magic, let alone my shift.”

“I amnotgoing to abandon Viribrum,” I said, my voice low. “I amnotgoing to run while innocents perish at the hands of invaders.”

“Viribrum islost,Terra,” Ezren emphasized. “Ten thousand soldiers caught us unaware—there is no way the palace guard of merely five hundred could have defended against them.”

“We have to see if there are survivors,” I growled. Names ran through my head. Olea. Cas would have gone back to defend the city. And where was Gia? The thought sent a pang through my chest, drawing Jana’s image to mind. If Jana hadn’t been safe from the king, I had to imagine he’d found Gia, too.

“I agree with Terra.” Everyone’s head turned to Xinlan, but she avoided my eye. “We cannot leave our people.”

“Yourpeople,” Fayzien corrected.

“Let me be clear. I’m not leaving. Not without looking for survivors first.” I held Ezren’s stare, infusing myself with every ounce of confidence I had remaining, shoving down the grief and fear.

Leiya finally spoke again. “Okay then, Princess,” she said, crossing her arms, a look of smirking challenge painted across her face. “What’s yer plan?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

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