Page 101 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

NOT ENOUGH

There was blood everywhere. Streets, shop doors, storefront windows. Blood lined the cobblestones as it dripped through the grates, like a murderous micro-canal network. Like a wave of terror and punishment had doused the city by the hand of an angry god. I wondered if wehadangered the gods.

It took until noon the following day to climb our way out of the arena. There was a reason the competitors entered via free fall—it was faster.Muchfaster. The spiral path that lined the Convallis stretched out in a never-ending ascent. Even with Leiya scouting in her falcon form, guiding us bit by bit to ensure we didn’t run into any surprise threats, I was drained. Emotionally, physically, and even magically. I’d spent a fair bit of my power on not only erupting the Earth but keeping myself from teetering over the brink of death after a near-fatal shot to the neck. So, my portal was weak and limited to a very short distance. We portaled in bursts, Fayzien doubling back for Cobal since we could only portal one passenger at a time. After my portal sputtered so violently Fayzien thought I would get lost in the in-between, we decided to walk the rest of the way.

Ezren had accepted my plan, though he made a valiant effort to protest at first. Severely weakened after sharing his lifeblood, he’d agreed to go with Cobal to the docks to find Sanah, Dane, and Leuffen, and attempt to secure passage from Viribrum should the city be lost indeed. Leiya and I would sneak into the palace, seeking survivors. I could only pray Gia hid among them.

If anything went wrong, Leiya could fly out undetected for help. Ezren grumbled at the logic, and my heart seized at the idea of letting the warrior go so soon after seeing him again, but he consented in the end.

Xinlan and Fayzien stayed quiet. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they formulated their own plans, independent of ours. We were allies of convenience rather than allegiance. But one thing became clear—the Manibu would not be able to leave without searching for his queen.

Before we parted ways, the six of us camped in the forest. The sounds of the wood became so reduced it was as if the animals and faeries knew what tore through their kingdom and had gone into hiding. We had only the eerie silence to comfort us, and the far-off smell of smoke. If it came from the Convallis alone, I couldn’t tell.

We’d regroup at sundown, by a city cargo entrance Leiya knew about. Should there be a way to take back the city, to save its inhabitants, we’d formulate a plan then. If not… well, we’d get to that.

Valfalla was quiet, too, not unlike the wood. Where I had expected to hear screaming, only the whisper of death lingered in the air. The fighting must have been swift and brutal for the city to have fallen in less than two days. Bodies—whole and very much not—lined the paths. I hadn’t known what to expect, but it was horrific. And even more strangely, there were no Drakkarian soldiers in sight.

“Where are they?” I whispered to myself.

A woman curled up in a ball raised her head from her forearms. I hadn’t even seen her—she was partially hidden by the shadows of the alleyway and covered in filth. “In the palace, m’lady,” she said back, her voice weakened, but not empty. “I heard their orders—to take their prizes only from the palace.”

My stomach curled.Prizes. I knew what that meant in the context of war. I pressed my nails into the heels of my palms, willing my eyes to stay dry, willing the contents of my stomach to stay put.

I knelt down next to the huddled figure. “Did you hear anything else?” I asked her gently. “Orders for soldiers to be stationed certain places or to look for… specific targets?”

Her tired eyes met mine. “Yes, m’lady. I mean, I didn’t hear no stationing orders. But there was one in charge. He said that if the Princess of Nebbiolo was found, she was to be brought to the main hall alive. But everyone else was to take the blade. I think—” she choked a sob back. “I think the king may be…” She dipped her head. A moment later, she looked up towards the palace gates. I squinted, and eventually my eyes focused on something I hoped wasn’t truly there. I swore under my breath. If I had to guess, we were looking at a severed head on a spike.

I swallowed. “You have to leave this place, do you understand? Run as far west as you can bear. There should be other Fae, Faeries even, hiding deep within the forest.”

She nodded.

I stood, making to turn but cast a glance backwards. “What is your name?”

“Gemilane, m’lady,” she responded. She blinked at me, some fire returning to what had been a gaze of fragility a moment before.

“Be strong, Gemilane. We all need to be. For the sake of Viribrum.”

My plan wasn’t terriblyoriginal. It hinged on my guess that at leastsomeof the Drakkarian soldiers would have fallen in the invasion. We’d need only to find two of our size, with relatively intact uniforms.

For that reason, we agreed I would not attempt to portal directly into the palace—nor did Leiya shift and fly in her falcon form. We darted back and forth between alleyways, hiding behind pillars, searching for the right disguises. We had seen some wisps of black capes on the outer balcony of the palace—Drakkarian soldiers patrolling the entrance below them. Hidden from view, we couldn't count their exact number, but at least a hundred guarded the perimeter.

We continued to move in stealth, checking around corners for fallen Drakkarians—but had no luck. It seemed the Witch soldiers were precise about cleaning up their dead. I almost suggested pivoting plans when we came across an abandoned building near the palace gates. “En here,” Leiya motioned downwards to a cellar opening, shaded from any watchtower view by a faded purple awning.

The Fae warrior heaved up the solid wood door and we slid through the opening, easing it shut with a near silent click. I chewed the inside of my cheek, remembering when I’d last been in a storage cellar below ground. That passage led me to find my mother at the hands of her murderer. I didn’t want to imagine what I’d find at the end of the passage this time.

We came upon a stone wall and Leiya pushed a brick in. The wall opened up in front of her, revealing a dark labyrinth ahead. The light peeking in from the cellar wouldn’t go far. She grabbed a dead torch from the wall and extended it towards me.

I took it from her, assuming she wanted me to carry it.

“Why’re ye staren ‘a me, like ye’ve been thumped en the head, too many a’ time?” she hissed.

“What do you want me to do with this?” I asked.

“Light et, ye fool! We dinna have time—aren’t ye a Fire Wetch now?”

I looked at the torch, unsure of how to proceed. I could feel no existing flame, no magic already called. I didn’t know how to summon fire that didn’t exist. When I called the Earth, I could already feel its presence.

Leiya let out an exasperated sigh and went back into the cellar, returning with two flints before I could think to follow her. She struck them over the torch, grumbling, and then the oil caught.

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