Since we’d returned her stolen offspring to her, the witch had changed. Her magic wasn’t less powerful, but at least she was easier to deal with—and the crazy was missing—which was a very good thing.
“I’ve been expecting you,” she said. Without saying anything else, she turned on her heel and allowed us to cross the narrow footbridge.
What? No bargains? No threats of enslavement? The last time we’d come to this bridge, Kull had to trade the sword of his ancestors just to get across.
The new Silvestra was growing on me.
After crossing the bridge, we followed the witch through a forested path and up a steep slope. As night descended over the world, we approached a shimmering dome.
With a word of whispered magic from the witch, an opening formed in the dome, just large enough for a person to fit through, and we followed her inside.
She sealed the gap closed behind us, and we stood staring overhead at an enormous castle.
I’d never seen the castle from this angle before. Torches lined the steps leading up to the main gates. Moonlight spilled over the towers—some of them covered in moss, as if they were part of the mountain—and others soared into the sky.
Silvestra turned to our group. “Follow me inside. We’ve much to discuss before sunrise. Olive,” she said, turning her gaze on me, “your stepfather awaits.”
“My stepfather?” I asked, confused. “Why is he still here?”
“You shall see. Follow me.” She turned and climbed the steps leading to the front gates. We followed without speaking, our booted footfalls echoing, mingling with the howl of the wind.
The tall stone doors swung open as Silvestra approached, and we entered her keep. I shuddered as the doors boomed closed behind us. I hated this castle. I’d sworn never to come here again, yet returning to places I despised was becoming a routine thing in my life.
We stood in a broad foyer lined in columns. The floor shimmered beneath our feet, and I felt a spell in the stones. Silvestra led us through the foyer and up a staircase. After we crossed through a hallway, we stood in front of a large set of double doors. They opened with a whoosh, revealing a ballroom.
When I’d first seen this chamber a few months ago, its sheer size and infusion of magic in the floor and in the stones surrounding the room had taken my breath away. This time was no different. The floor’s mosaic was arranged to look like the solar system, with the sun in the center and jewel-toned planets circling the central orb.
Overhead, the domed ceiling was partially open to the nighttime sky. As we crossed the floor, I stopped, staring at my stepfather. He lay on a platform across from us.
His eyes were closed and his golden scales had grown dull. Patches of skin peeled from his flank.
“Silvestra, what happened to him?” I asked.
“It’s his magic,” she said. “For whatever reason, it isn’t allowing him to heal. For a time, it seemed he was recovering, but then his magic weakened and he grew sick once again. I have tried to heal him and failed. Whatever is causing this malady is something I am not familiar with.”
I quietly approached my stepfather. Seeing him sick or injured was becoming all too commonplace lately. But why was he sick now? What could be causing his magic to weaken?
I crouched beside him and ran my hand over his neck.
“Young one,” he said quietly.
“Hello, Fan’twar.”
“I’m glad you’ve come.”
“Me too. You’re looking great!”
He snorted. “You were never a talented liar, young one.”
“I know. You should have taught me better.”
A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.
“Are you okay here?” I asked.
“I am well enough. The spirit of a dragon is a hard thing to confine.”
“That’s very true.” I stroked his nose. “But what’s going on? The last time I saw you, you were recovering in this same spot, and that was four months ago.”
A growl rumbled in his chest. “It’s the magic,” he answered. “Theht’s powers are in the asteroid, and as the asteroid grows closer to our world, they hinder my own. It’s keeping my magic from healing me.”
“You’re sure it’s the asteroid doing this to you?”
“Yes. And the closer it draws near to our world, the more it will wreak havoc on everything that encounters magic.”
“But how? It’s just a space rock.”
“It is more than that. Faythander can sense its own destruction. Our planet can feel the danger, just as I can. Our world senses the magic in the asteroid. It knows its time will soon come to an end. Just as I do.”
My heart sank. “But if that’s so, then why I am even trying to save it? You told me there was still hope. Were you wrong?”
“No,” he moaned. “I was not wrong. There is still hope. There always is. But if the flow of time continues down the path it is on, then Faythander will be destroyed.”
A shiver ran down my spine. This wasn’t good. Actually, this was just about the worst news I could’ve gotten. But I had to stay strong. I couldn’t lose hope. Not yet.
“Find Lucretian,” Fan’twar said. “The druid who spoke the Deathbringer prophecy is the only person who knows how to change the course of time. He has…the sword…” Fan’twar’s breathing grew labored. It took a moment to find his voice. “…has the sword of Dracon. Use it…to destroy Theht.”
“But how?” An image flashed through my mind—a vision of Kull stabbing me through the heart with the sword to kill the goddess inhabiting my body. But there had to be another way.
“Find Lucretian,” was Fan’twar’s answer. His eyes closed. I glanced up at Silvestra. She stared down on me with those icy eyes.
“You must find the druid,” she said.
Yeah, got it.
