The flight back to Pandling Grounds would take a considerable amount of time. Despite his confidence, Kaleb still hadn't recovered completely from his serious injuries. The return journey, even if he taxed himself to the breaking point, would take a while—and every minute they weren't there was another minute that Valry and Torrent would lay waste to her homeland.
The Lake called out to her a second time, its voice faint but audible all the same over the din of the passersby. The light will be extinguished... The time has come... The Silence...
Minx massaged her brow with the heel of her palm. I'm trying my best. I can't get a dragon's hide. I just can't do it! That's why I'm here—to find another way. A more peaceful way. Her heart swelled with frustration and it was all she could do to avoid weeping as she sat in the shadowed corner.
Another noise intruded upon her brooding, this one every bit as unexpected as the first.
It was Mau's growl. Minx, we've got company.
The Fae huntress took a deep, steadying breath and looked up. What? Where?
That dragon over there, explained the Faelyr. He's been watching you for a bit now. I thought he was just giving us a dirty look, but it seems he's actually making his way over here.
Minx scanned the room. For a time, she wasn't able to locate the individual Mau was referring to—but a glance to her right, into the mouth of a narrow tunnel, brought him into sight. A hooded figure stood at the threshold to the passage, his slender face almost completely obscured by his cowl. Taking a few steps out of the opening, he extended a hand. Between his fingers was pinched a slip of parchment.
Minx stood, keeping her bow in hand as she approached the stranger. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“A message,” the hooded dragon replied curtly.
She reached out, accepted the slip of paper, and then watched as the messenger promptly retreated into the tunnel. He was gone before Minx even had a chance to examine the contents.
I have to say, while the buildings are beautiful, the dragons could stand to hire new couriers. That guy seemed way too shady, if you ask me... Mau sniffed the parchment and returned to the bench as Minx sat back down.
Minx was almost nervous to read the message. Nothing good, she figured, could possibly come from a delivery as shifty as that one had been. Nonetheless, she leaned forward and unfolded the parchment, reading the scrawled message within it under her breath.
And by the time she reached the final syllable, her breath failed her.
Only two sentences had been jotted on the paper the mysterious messenger had handed over, but those two sentences had been sufficient to inspire in her a fury of horror and rage.
The note had contained merely this:
There never was a deadline. Valry's hostages were killed the very night they were taken.
Chapter 20
Kaleb emerged from the chamber, ears ringing with the shouts of his fellow dragons. He found Minx seated on a bench a short distance away, staring with wide eyes at a slip of paper. Her expression was contorted, shoulders quaking. He approached with a wave, trying to get a look at the paper as he advanced. “Hey, sorry, that took me awhile. How are things—”
Without warning, Minx crumpled the paper in her fist and shot up from her seat. She rushed at Kaleb, taking hold of his shoulders and shaking him as forcefully as she could. Tears in her eyes, she looked up at him and shuddered with rage. “They're... they're dead,” she spat. “They're all dead.” She buried her face against his chest plate, her tears staining the black metal, and then peppered it with several punches as she wept.
“I don't understand...” Kaleb looked to Mau, who whimpered before the bench. “What's happened?”
With a trembling hand, Minx handed over the balled-up message. “T-This note,” she stammered, “it came from a messenger.” She pointed to the nearby passage where, only moments ago, the mysterious courier had emerged. “I don't know who he was, or how he got this information. But look at it yourself—it says that Valry never intended to give me a deadline, and that the hostages were killed the very night they were taken.” She gnashed her teeth, lowering her head. “My mother was among them, Kaleb...”
With great care, Kaleb led Minx back to the bench and helped her take a seat. Then, unfolding the paper, he had a look at the message for himself. “There never was a deadline. Valry's hostages were killed the very night they were taken...” He read the words softly, scrutinizing the penmanship. “What did the messenger look like? How could he have known you would be here?” He folded the paper carefully and tucked it away. “We don't know if this is true, Minx.”
“Why would they lie?” she asked. “I don't know who the messenger was—he was a dragon, I think. He wore a hood, but I couldn't see much of his face. He hardly spoke a word to me, and he was gone before I even had a chance to read it.”
Kaleb nodded. “I suppose he's long-gone, then. Even if we took off through that passage now, I doubt we'd catch him. But... don't panic. Not yet. There's no telling where this message came from. It may have been sent to discourage you, to make you despair. If the enemy is somehow aware of what we're up to here, they'll try anything to rob you of your fight.”
Minx socked him in the arm with an angry growl. “Rob me of my fight?” She shook her head violently. “No... that's all I want to do now. I'll destroy them, tear them apart. I won't rest until they're all dead.” She stamped her foot on the stone floor. “This is my fault. I wasted so much time coming here, trying to find some other way to
