“They’re beautiful,” I said, taking one of the bands. It was so light it felt as though it was made of air, but as I slipped it on, its magic combined with mine, weighing gently on my hand.
Kull took his ring, but I gently pulled it from him to slide the band onto his ring finger myself. He smiled, then pressed a kiss to my lips.
“Now we’ve got rings to prove we’re married,” I said. “Hiding this from your sister might not be so easy anymore.”
“You’re right. Hopefully, we’ll be too busy reclaiming lost swords for her to notice.”
We turned back to Wendolun. “Thank you,” I said.
“Yes,” Kull added. “Your gift to us on this day will not be forgotten.”
The elven man smiled. “It is my pleasure.”
The three of us left the secluded area by the pond and made it back to where the others stood. Grace shifted as we approached. With the way she pranced at her master’s side, I could tell she was antsy.
The elves stood aside as Maveryck walked to the center of our group. Holding the staff, he motioned for us to gather around him.
“I will attempt to create a portal to the northlands. I will warn you, however, that controlling the staff’s magic has not been easy. Olive, I could use the aid of your magic to balance the spell. If you could place your hand on the staff.”
I did as he said. Apprehension knotted my stomach as I glanced back at the elven village, the two elven men, and then at Kull.
I didn’t know what the future held, but soon, the fight would end, and whether we still had our lives by the end of it, I couldn’t be sure.
I only hoped we all had something left to live for.
Chapter 21
My stomach flipped as lights appeared in my vision. I gripped the staff, willing my magic to keep the four of us steady as we crossed the continent. Crossing from one world to another was my expertise, but traveling over the Faythander countryside without creating a portal to another world was something wholly unfamiliar.
I felt Maveryck’s magic combine with the staff’s, but even so, we seemed to move at breakneck speed.
A white blur surrounded us before the magic popped out of existence and we landed in the snow.
Icy wind bit at my exposed skin. Glancing around, I found Kull, Maveryck, Heidel, and Grace all strewn haphazardly atop the snowbank. Our gear had landed with us, and some of it had fallen free from the packs and into the snow.
Before our hands and faces went numb, we found our cloaks and put them on. I also pulled on a pair of leather gloves. After securing our supplies, we stood on the hilltop and scanned the horizon.
The snowstorm gave us poor visibility, but as the wind died down for a moment, a mountain range appeared through the blowing snow.
“There,” Heidel said, pointing to the horizon. “I recognize those mountains. We’ll find shelter in the caves that run through the mountains, then follow them through to the other side where the elves are holding Olive’s parents.”
“I hope you’re right,” Kull said. “We’ll not last long in this cold, not when night falls.”
We set off. As we walked, my mind was absorbed by the cold. The only thing I could seem to focus on was putting one foot in front of the other. Blanketed by thick gray clouds, the sun was barely visible. It only appeared as a faint white orb hovering in the sky.
It seemed such a drastic change to the magical elven village that my mind had trouble accepting this was my reality now. If I could’ve stayed back there forever, I would have in a heartbeat. I’d never felt happier in my entire life. Now that we were here, back on the path to saving the world from endless doom and with the threat of death hanging over our heads, I couldn’t help but think I’d taken a step backward. I never knew if I would get back to that place where I wanted to be—where I could be happy—ever again.
If we failed in this quest, I knew the answer.
The sun dipped lower toward the horizon, draining the light from the world as we finally approached the foothills and ascended the rocky terrain toward the mountains. As we climbed, I glanced up at the imposing wall of gray rock peppered with patches of snow. Beyond these mountains, I would either find salvation or death.
With night approaching, the cloak and gloves weren’t enough to combat the icy sting in the air. My nose and ears had grown numb. If we didn’t get out of the wind soon, we wouldn’t last much longer. Snowflakes froze to my eyelashes, making it difficult to see anything.
After cresting a small mountain, we faced the base of a much larger mountain. A dark spot stood out against the sheer granite slab.
“There,” Heidel said, pointing to the dark area. “That’s the tunnel that will lead us through the mountain. On the other side, across a lake, is where we’ll find The Hollows.”
Crossing the distance to the tunnel felt like the longest walk yet, as all my energy had been drained by the cold. I wanted nothing more than to collapse in the snow and be done with this journey forever, but I forced myself to move forward, feeling the breath turn to ice in my lungs.
The tunnel rose before us, taller than it had appeared in the distance. I followed the others inside. Our footsteps, once muffled by the snow, now echoed as we stepped into the entrance.
The temperature
