We hiked through the caves for several more hours before I grew too exhausted to continue, then made camp in a relatively flat and dry spot. There were no twigs or branches around to light a fire with, but Broghan changed into a bear, and I curled into his furry bulk as I slept. His big, warm body was a welcome contrast to the frigid stone floor of the cavern, and I was able to catch a few hours of sleep before we continued on.
“Is that a light?” Broghan asked as we trudged through yet another stalagmite-filled cavern. Looking up, I saw him flit into one of the three tunnels up ahead. “Yes, I think we’re almost there!”
The excitement in Broghan’s voice sent a surge of energy through me, and I jogged to catch up with him in the tunnel. We came through the other side into a much smaller cavern, and sure enough, a ray of light speared through the endless darkness. Following it, I saw that it came from a hole in the wall a good forty feet up. From the light coming through, it had to be daytime.
“Dammit,” I said as I levitated up there to examine the hole. “This is way too small.” I stuck my arm through the hole, and the sensation of wind caressing my fingers encouraged me further. “We have to figure out how to enlarge it.”
My magic was starting to run low, so instead of using a spell, I found a sharp rock on the cavern floor and began chipping away. However, without standing on anything but air, I didn’t have much leverage, so it was slow going. Luckily, the hole was being obstructed by encrusted bat dung and dirt rather than actual stone, or I would have been forced to use my magic to melt it away. Broghan turned into a dragon, then flew up to join me, using his sharp, steel-like claws to help me carve out the hole.
Finally, the opening was big enough for me to fit through, and I got onto my belly and wriggled out through the other side. But my relief was short-lived—the window we had opened was on the sheer, vertical side of a mountain. Terror gripped my throat as I stared at the verdant valleys far below—if I shimmied forward more than another foot or so, I would fall straight down and split my skull open on the rocky ground. And the winds here were far too high and unpredictable to risk the levitation spell.
“Hang on,” Broghan said as he crawled through the hole behind me. He launched himself into the air, and with a few flaps of his wings propelled himself upward, beyond my field of vision. I considered twisting around to see where he was going, but I didn’t want to accidentally fall off, so I waited anxiously.
A few moments later, Broghan soared back down, his dragon form ten times bigger than before. I ducked as his powerful wings blasted me in the face, and a small rock glanced off the back of my head.
“Climb on, quick!” Broghan ordered as I lifted my head. He pressed his body close enough to the mountainside that I could easily leap onto his back. But I was afraid that the blustery winds would carry me away before I landed, so instead I crawled carefully, gripping the tough membranes of his wings as I dragged myself across his big body. Several long, agonizing seconds later, I reached the depression between his wings and collapsed there, breathing hard from fear and exertion. I wasn’t usually afraid of heights, but it was a long way down from here.
Satisfied that I was properly mounted, Broghan launched himself from the face of the mountainside. I screamed, grabbing onto the spines jutting from his back as we plummeted straight for the valley below. We were in free fall for nearly a minute, and then he snapped out his wings and began to glide.
“You’re going to give me a heart attack,” I scolded as we coasted easily along the wind currents.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Broghan chided. “You’re stronger than that. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
Where indeed? I thought as we landed in the middle of a large field. His antics made me feel positively sedate and middle-aged in comparison, even if they had saved my life several times now.
A herd of deer had been grazing nearby, but they all fled when Broghan’s shadow covered the land. Thankfully there were no humans nearby to frighten—the last thing we needed was to draw attention to ourselves.
As I slid down from Broghan’s back, I marveled at how quickly my life had changed yet again. Just last week, I’d been wishing I could get away from the palace and all the duties that had come along with it. Well, I’d gotten that wish, and had spent the last couple of days living experiences I’d never imagined in my wildest dreams. Or rather, nightmares.
I’d take paperwork and committee meetings over dealing with Ta’sradala any day, I admitted to myself as I sat down in the grass. At least back home Iannis had been close by, and I’d seen him every night, tired or not. I missed him so badly, it felt like one of my limbs had been severed, leaving me with a phantom ache I couldn’t cure.
Broghan morphed back into the wolf cub and curled up next to me, as if he were trying to console me. He said nothing, simply being there for me as a warm and solid presence, and I was grateful for his company.
As we rested, I tried to muster some optimism. We’d made it out alive, and this had been the third and final test, hadn’t it? Against all odds, I’d survived all her challenges. If she stood by her word, Ta’sradala had no choice but to let me return home to Iannis.
Would she, though? Ta’sradala couldn’t be trusted to let me enjoy my victory; she might easily find some pretext to prolong this evil game of hers. People who accused others of cheating were most likely to do so themselves whenever it suited their purposes. A haughty Tua could be just as hypocritical as humans. And who would dare call her on her bullshit, anyway? Definitely not Iannis’s mother, who didn’t seem to have enough spine to stand up to Ta’sradala even if she wanted to. Anyway, I just wished she’d hurry up and spirit me back home. The sun was setting on yet another day, and I was running out of time.
15
At some point, I dozed off in the middle of the field, with Broghan using my chest as a pillow. I’d scrutinized the constellations above us earlier to try and determine if I was in Recca, but I hadn’t been able to come up with a definitive answer, so I decided I might as well try to regain my strength. I was just having a nice dream about being back at home, surrounded by Iannis and my friends at a feast and sinking my teeth into a juicy haunch of meat, when I felt myself suddenly yanked away.
Opening my eyes, I found myself prone in Ennartha’s garden once again, with the three women staring down at me. Deryna seemed relieved to see me and gave me a tentative smile. Ennartha was impassive, and Ta’sradala furious. I jumped to my feet, adrenaline rushing through my body as I realized I was finally back.