Page 20 of Enchanted Heir
“Right now?” he asked.
Owen added, “She’s not wrong. Come with us for ten minutes.”
“I’m coming too,” Keir said as he stood.
Krew also stood and moved toward us. “I guess we will finish this when we get back.”
“Take your time!” Emric called.
“I thought you were tired,” Krew murmured to me.
“I was. I mean, I am.”
“Then why are you bursting with energy right now?” he asked.
“Just hurry up,” I told him. “Grab your royal coats and I’ll show you why.”
I headed for the door, but Krew grabbed my arm and spun me back toward the room. “This way.”
He pushed a brick in by the fireplace and clicked a button. Another secret passageway.
So that would explain how they met here without the king knowing about it. I took Krew’s hand and stepped into the dark tunnel, Owen and Keir behind us.
Once we all got in the tunnel and the secret door slid back shut, Krew lifted a finger to use his magic to illuminate the way. The other hand he kept on my back, guiding me through.
“Is that necessary?” Keir snapped at him.
“Yes,” Krew stated. “You never know who might see the four of us together.”
Keir snorted his disagreement.
“Where are we going anyway?” Krew asked me gently.
“The forest,” I whispered back.
Even in the dimmer light, I could see his lips turn up. “Of course.”
The tunnel kept going and going. There were both stairs and long, windowless hallways. I decided I didn’t like it. It felt in some spots like the walls of the tunnel were crowding in on us. I just wanted a damn window to be able to see where we were, but there were none. And just when I thought we would never get out of there, we went up a few steps. Krew used a key and we found ourselves in a storage room of sorts. I could see jars and jars of food and jams.
I wanted to read the labels and see what each and every one was, but we didn’t have time for that.
Keir led us out of the massive pantry, into the kitchen, and out the door we usually took to the meadow.
As we headed in the direction of the Dead Lake, I got excited again. My blood could fix things! It couldn’t kill the king, unfortunately, but my blood could at least revive the forest. I could help fix it.
I looked over my shoulder at Owen. “What if it’s not there when we get back?”
“It will be,” he provided. “And if not, I’ll vouch for you. I saw it too.”
“Either of you care to tell us what the hell is going on?” Keir asked.
I knew he wouldn’t believe me if I did tell him, so I kept my mouth shut the rest of the way to the Dead Lake.
“Impossible,” Keir said, blue eyes wide as he took in the flower. “That’s impossible.”
“What am I missing?” Krew asked.
I walked over to the flower and pointed. “This is where I stood when I cut my hand and tried to use my blood to see if it would help the lake.”
