Page 27 of The Knights of Gaia

“A good Knight is also chivalrous,” I pointed out. “And compassionate. So even thoughyouweren’t scared, I’m sure you can understand how everyone else was. It’s only human to be afraid of monsters.”

“Are you lecturing me?”

I smiled at him. “Of course not.”

“For as long as I’ve been a Knight, no Apprentice girl has ever lectured me.”

“How about an Apprentice boy?”

“No.” The word dropped like a heavy stone into a lake.

“Wow. It must be really boring to be you.”

“Not really.” He took another step toward me, and when he spoke again, his voice was gentler. “Are you all right?”

His sudden shift in tone confused me. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you were attacked by a fire tiger. I need to make sure you’re all right.”

Ok, so at least he was chivalrous.

“I’m fine,” I said, but my shaky voice gave me away.

That thing had been pretty scary.

“A fire tiger,” I said. “I didn’t know such a thing existed on Gaia.”

“They don’t.” The Knight sheathed his sword. “But we’re not on Gaia anymore.”

My heart hiccuped. And my voice sounded very small when I asked, “Then where are we?”

He turned to face me. “Shadow Fall. A place that exists in the shadows between the light.”

“What does that mean?”

“We’re in another dimension, a place between realms.”

“Wow.” I blinked. “That’s really weird.”

“It’s just magic.”

Magic. If only I understood it better. If only I understood myself better.

“So, back in the Garden, when you cast that bright light on the Cursed Ones, you were sending them here? Into the shadows?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied, turning to look around. “And you got pulled in when one of them grabbed you.”

I rubbed my sore ribs. “Oh…” I offered the Knight a smile. “Well, thanks for coming in after me.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We still have to find our way out of Shadow Fall.”

“Can’t you just cast another spell to get us out?”

“No. My magic is…unavailable at the moment.”

“Why?”

“Something went wrong when I tried to pull you back before you were dragged into Shadow Fall. The spells crossed paths and collided. The resulting explosion blew out my magic.”

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