Rolf turned away from me to stare outside once again. After some time, I noticed that he’d closed his eyes. His gentle breathing let me know he’d fallen asleep. The rhythmic whoosh of the carriage lulled me, and I finally gave up on rehashing my worries. I welcomed the rest as I drifted to sleep.
Chapter 6
The sound of the opening carriage doors woke me. Staring outside—at the familiar granite cliffs rising above the forest of gently swaying trees—I saw that we’d made it to the dragon lands. Kull and Rolf had already woken, and I followed them out of the carriage.
The cold took me by surprise. Autumn in Faythander had its occasional cool spells, but never had I felt the air so frigid. Frost crunched beneath our feet as we made our way toward the dragons’ forest. I kept my cloak tight around my shoulders as we traded open ground for wooded area.
A brittle layer of ice coated the forest foliage. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d seen ice in the forest. Kull must have seen my shocked expression.
“Is it normal for the dragon’s forest to be so cold?” he asked.
“Not at all. I’ve never seen it like this. I almost don’t recognize it.”
The trees, with their vibrant orange and red leaves, stood with a fragile stillness as ice coated their branches. Although they stood taller than most buildings, it seemed as though a stiff wind would blow them down.
“It must be because the magic is gone,” Rolf offered.
I hugged my arms tight around my chest. Of all the places in Faythander, I’d always considered the dragon’s forest to be the most magical. But now, the absence of magic made my heart weigh heavy in my chest. Though faint, I could still feel a hint of it deep within the trees, as if the magic had gone into hibernation.
“It’s not completely gone. It’s still there, though barely.”
We made our way to the cliffs of the sky king’s mountain. The imposing fortress of steep heights and razor-sharp cliffs rose higher than the rest. The mountain range had always reminded me of dragon’s teeth. No surprise there.
I half expected my stepfather to greet me. Being one of the most clairvoyant creatures in Faythander, he usually knew I was coming. This time, I saw no sign of him. The cliffs remained eerily quiet, a lack of sound that pressed at my eardrums and made the tiniest breaths seem deafening.
“How do we get up there?” Rolf asked. “Isn’t it supposed to be impossible or something?”
“It’s not impossible, but it’s not easy. The sky king believes that only those with the most troubling circumstances would make the climb to his chambers. Those who don’t make it—well, the sky king expects that halfway through the climb they’ll work out their own problems and turn back. It’s not a bad idea. It saves the him from many tedious disputes.”
“But how do we get up there?” Kull asked, eyeing the cliffs.
“There’s an entrance not far from here. Follow me.”
“An entrance?” Kull raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. It’s a secret entrance the dragons built for me. Neither of you are supposed to know about it, so keep your mouths shut.”
“I will not reveal its location to anyone,” Rolf said.
A smile lit Kull’s face. “And I give you my oath that I shall not speak a word.”
I hadn’t seen him smile in a while. It was good to see him happy again, if only for a moment.
We picked our way over large boulders. Leading the group around the cliffs to the west face, a cold wind prickled my skin and I tasted frost in the air. Gray ice slicked the stone. There was no way we could climb up in these conditions. I pitied anyone who sought an audience with the sky king today.
We made it to the west side, where, unhindered by the shelter of rocks, the wind picked up, howling with a shrill wail and battering our faces. Far in the distance, I spied the Rheic Sea, Faythander’s only major ocean. Its waters were a dull gray that matched the sky.
I hadn’t used this entrance since I was a child. Would it still be there? Perhaps the dragons had thought I’d never use it again and had blocked it off.
Searching the area, I stopped at a moss-covered stone that stood half my height. Was this the right boulder? I saw no others like it. Still, it had been so long since I’d used this entrance.
There was only one way to be sure. Reaching into the moss, I searched for the lever that would release the door. The ice had formed a prickly layer over the moss, making my fingers tingle with the cold as I tried to locate the lever. Finally, my hand bumped against rusted metal.
“Found it,” I said as I grabbed the handle, pulled it down, and released it.
With the sound of grating stone, a doorway opened in the cliff face. The arched entry looked as I remembered, although now, ice-covered vines grew along the sheer rock face and partially hid the entrance.
“This will take us to the sky king’s chambers?” Rolf asked.
“It will take us to the kitchens,” I answered, “which aren’t far from his chambers. Follow me.”
Kull had to duck as we stepped inside. I felt grateful to be out of the wind when the door closed behind us. Inside the small chamber, a steep staircase spiraled upward so high I couldn’t see the top. I didn’t look forward to the climb, though it beat trying to scale the cliffs.
The two Wults followed as I ascended the stairs. Memories surfaced as I climbed. Running my fingers along the smooth stone walls, I thought back to when dragons had hired trolls to build this staircase for me. I remembered watching the trolls, with their pocked yellow skin and beady pink eyes, as they drilled through the mountain. It was the only time I remembered having seen trolls, and
