Page 107 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

I stilled for a short moment, weighing the meaning of Cas’s emotional drivel and how it changed the tilt of our world, but the footsteps continued.

I latched onto his arm, dragging him after me. “We have to go,” I said, moving towards the East Tower. “Now.”

“There is no exit that way,” Cas mumbled as we ran up and up the spiraling servants’ stairway. I ignored him, keeping my senses strong and alert for any threats lurking around the corners.

I maintained a ruthless pace. Up and up we went, until we neared the top of the East Tower. I had only ventured to this place a few times, for it housed Gia’s favorite reading nook, with a view of the gardens and the roiling sea.

I kept looking backward to ensure Cas was there and to keep an eye out for any pursuers.

I kicked open the thick wooden door. The familiar smell of leather and parchment filled my nose. It smelled of safety, of respite. But there was no Ezren. I paced around the room in a flash, searching under window seat pillows, as if he or a clue might appear. The sound of footsteps carried up the staircase. Not friendly footsteps.

That traitorous—what did I expect? Trust isn’t cheap, nor easy.

My eyes caught on the horizon—a little pale dot on the ocean. A ship.

I gritted my teeth, thanking Maester Sabnae for stranding me out there during my training. I visualized the portal, a window opening in my mind, a door to take us there, pulsing, beckoning us forward.

And then it sputtered.Shit.

“Terra,” Cas’s voice grew worried, and the footsteps grew closer. “Can you portal us out of here?”

“I just tried,” I said, fighting the panic from seeping into my voice. “I don’t think I can, not without risking the in-between.”I must be drained from my earlier eruption, and those damned magic dampeners.

“Terra! They’re getting closer.”

Think, think, think.Xinlan’s words echoed in my mind.Ezren is waiting.

But he wasn’t. I didn’t know what to expect—Ezren here to defend me, or outside to catch me as I escaped. I checked through the window. Nothing. No Dragon in sight.

Not that a Dragon circling the tower in wait would be inconspicuous or wise.

I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing I had less than a minute to make my decision. I could either trust Xinlan with a literal leap of faith—or take my chances fighting our pursuers and regroup.

The second option seemed like a bad idea, given I was so drained I couldn’t portal.

I turned to Cas. “Shift.” I went to the curtains, ripping a long strip of fabric from them.

He sputtered. “What? No. Why would you ask that? I’m useless in my shift.”

I fought my eyes from pressing shut in exasperation, the footsteps ominously loud now. “Cas, we don’t have time for debate. Just shift.”I better be right about this.

He huffed, making to argue more, but then the pounding on the stairs outside arrived at the door.

“Now!” I yelled to Cas.Now, I said to myself.

Cas jumped, but then did as I bid, leaping in his feline form into the swaddle I had prepared from the ripped curtain, slung around my shoulder. I tightened it, ensuring he was fixed there. I swung the furry cat from my chest to my back.

I stepped up on the reading bench and made to unfasten the window openings that overlooked the steep drop to the sea. But there were none. Someone had welded the window shut.

I padded back to the far end of the circular room, shaking my head. The creature on my back meowed in protest, but I had him snug enough that he could not move. Then, I ran full speed towards the window as the Drakkarians entered the room, their blades looking hungry. Before they could stop us, I burst through the glass, breaking the impact with my forearms raised in front of my face.

We fell, slivers of glass stuck in my hair, the wind whipping by us. My eyes closed on instinct the moment I passed through the window, but I forced them open now. I looked down to see nothing but swirling ocean and damp rocks beneath us.

We approached it faster and faster, the wind beginning to burn my eyes.

Fear flooded my veins.Had I been wrong?

My heart pounded so fiercely that I could feel it in my ears. I tried to reach out with my magic, to beg it to catch me, but I wasafraidand had no command over the water. Closer and closer, the details of the rocks came into focus, sea foam caressing their jagged surfaces.

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