The Gable Forest

Claire insisted they stop for rest. Queen Jade had taken the lead and set a tireless pace, showing an amount of comfort and ease that could only come from thousands of years living in this world. They'd walked for hours, enough that Claire's feet were beginning to ache when at last she spoke up.

"Right. Of course, of course," said Jade. "This is as good a place as any, I suppose. But..."

"But what?" Her nerves were frayed, otherwise she never would've addressed a monarch in this way. A slight breeze rustled the trees around them. She sighed, leaning into it, letting it cool her temper.

"There's a place I know of, not far ahead, with a water fall and a little spring. You would like it, I think. We should rest there." The queen appeared more subdued, at least, as she glanced down at herself and barked an uncharacteristic laugh. "I might even clean up a little. I admit, the forest often gets the better of me when I stay away from the palace too long."

Uncharacteristic. That was a good way to describe not just the queen's laugh but everything. This entire ordeal. Running into her here. Seeing her unkempt. Chasing after some cure Claire knew next to nothing about. But, if it meant cleansing the sickness...

"All right, fine," she agreed, sighing. "It's not far, is it?"

"No, no. Just a few minutes. I've been to this area many times." Jade pointed to a boulder formation partially hidden by forest growth. "When I was younger, much younger, I used to sit there with handfuls of berries and listen to the trees. It marks the trail leading to the falls."

"Lead on, then." Claire's stomach grumbled as she said it. Berries. She wouldn't mind a few when they stopped to rest. Fresh baked bread would be better, though. The craving for cinnamon rolls popped into her head; she almost groaned with hunger. She couldn't wait to eat herself silly when she returned to Kastali Dun. Meat pies. She'd go to the market and purchase a hundred of them. More—

"Can you hear it?" They hadn't quite walked for a quarter of an hour. But she did. She heard the falling of water. It always sounded so musical, so peaceful.

"I do. We're close?"

"Yes. Just...here." As Queen Jade spoke, the threes thinned and opened to a small, rocky clearing with a quaint spring filled by a five foot waterfall. "We've got these all over the forest," the queen said. "There are several just outside of Esterpine. Have you found any of them yet?"

"No, actually. I haven't." She feasted her eyes, mesmerized. "May I?" She wasn't sure why she felt the need to ask permission. Perhaps because Jade was queen; this was her domain.

"Of course." The queen also stepped forward, going to the pool and dipping her fingers in. Claire did the same. It was crisp, cool. She washed her hands, face, neck, then drank deep. Jade let out a small laugh. "Always so refreshing. Well...take as long as you need, Lady Claire. I think I'll have a private break myself. Excuse me."

The queen padded away, disappearing into the foliage, leaving her there to splash more water on her hands. She sat back on her heels, surveying the sight before her, sighing deeply. This. This was why she loved the forest. Hidden gems that looked like they'd come straight out of a storybook. Out of a fantasy painting. She listened to the birds, watched a few swoop down and flutter in the water before taking off again.

She wasn't sure how long she sat like that, just taking it all in. Five minutes? Perhaps more? The queen must have needed a long bathroom break. She suppressed a smile. Even queens needed their moments alone.

What would it be like being Talon's queen? Living with a male? Sharing his space? She certainly wasn't going to keep her suite in the Hall of Kings if—when—they mated. She'd have a whole tower floor to herself in the king's tower. Her ladies in waiting would have their own rooms, and Desaree would preside over everything. This time, she did smile. Desaree would make a perfect head lady, assuming she still wanted the job now that she'd regained her family's title.

She hated that she didn't know how things were going in Kastali Dun with Des, with everyone, really. She felt as if the world was changing as much as she was. And she had no idea how it was changing outside the forest, no idea what direction it was taking. The Sprites were so isolated, so cut off. No wonder Taylynn snuck out as often as she did. Her hand drifted to the pendant around her neck, to the forest tear. She zipped it along its chain.

Twigs cracked behind her, faint over the trickle of water. "Your Majesty?" She glanced over her shoulder. Nothing. The back of her neck prickled, but she pushed the unease away.

Where had the queen gotten off to, anyway? Something...wasn't right. This time, the hairs on her arms stood on end. She rubbed her hands over them, willing her nerves to calm. There were still birds singing, still insects chirping. This wasn't the silence that signaled impending sickness.

Sighing, she rose to her feet, looking over the beautiful spring once more, over the gentle waterfall. Another crack. Louder this time, just behind her, easily heard over the waterfall. She whirled around—gasped. The heavy branch came at her too quickly colliding with her temple. She had just a moment to cry out before everything went dark.

***

Drip...

Drip...

Drip...

Awareness stirred behind her eyelids.

Drip...

Something—a droplet—struck her forehead. It must be raining; she'd fallen asleep and it was raining. She'd been caught in the forest in the rain before, a couple of times. The forest's floor didn't see much rain. Most of its water came from the many creeks and springs—from the magic of the King Tree. But when it did rain, the canopy soaked up most of the moisture and let the excess droplets fall to the world below.

She groaned. Her mouth was dry and wouldn't close. She tried to swallow but couldn't. Her head throbbed. Had she slipped and fallen on the falls? Hit the rocks? Her eyes were closed, so she squeezed them tightly to ease the pain in her head. Then she opened them and blinked. The ache receded. She tried to swallow again. There was something in her mouth, keeping her from closing it.

She blinked again, still not quiet ready to move, still dazed. She was on the ground, looking up at the canopy above. Like everywhere, leaves blotted the daylight from filtering through. The forest's effervescent glow told her it must be late afternoon.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Sickly quiet.

Drip. Another splash fell on her forehead. She blinked and this time, things came into focus. She gasped, sitting so abruptly her head swam and her temples throbbed, making her sway in place. Fear clawed its way down her spine as the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. The forest canopy wasn't green. A familiar sick, oily black substance dripped from the leaves. Dripped onto her—

"Well, my dear. You're awake, I see."

She whimpered against the gag in her mouth, turning, trying to scramble to her feet at the sound of the voice. That voice. She tripped and fell forward, her bound hands shooting out to catch her fall. She cried out and scrambled backwards, away from the red eyes gazing down at her. Kane.

Her wrists were bound, ankles were bound, keeping her from standing. Another whimper came from deep in her chest. Her back collided with a wall of air. No, not air. A barrier. A cage. A set of glowing rocks were set in a peremeter around her, once black, but now read with molten heat.

"Koldis?" She shouted for him. "Koldis?!" Images flashed through her mind straight to him, pictures of where she was, of what was happening. But...there was no answer. He couldn't hear—

"There is no point struggling to break free," said Kane. "My barrier seals you in, keeps you from using magic outside."

Her magic. Why wasn't it responding? Her breathing came in heavy drags, making her chest heave.

She collapsed and slid down the invisible wall. Little white stars popped against her vision. Kane was dressed in dark clothing, but his skin was pale as a sheet of paper, stretched thin over his bones. He looked...wrong. Her heart hammered against her chest, hammered in warning at the sight of him—

"Kane, we had a deal."

Her head whipped around at the sound of Queen Jade's voice. "You?" she cried. It came out garbled against her gag. The queen's appearance, standing there facing Kane, took all the fight out of her. Tears blurred her vision. How? How was this happening? Jade ignored her entirely, eyes focused on the intruder before them.

"Yes...yes. A deal is a deal. You give me Claire and I heal your sick forest. I haven't reneged."

"Well, then?"

Kane barked a laugh, his skin pulling away from his teeth. "You saw what I did earlier, Your Majesty," he mocked. "As I said, I will do that for every patch that requires my attention, but I certainly won't do it right this very second with you standing here. I do not answer to you. So, go away Sprite Queen. Go back to Esterpine and let me handle the blight." He hesitated, putting a hand over his heart. "You have my word."

"Your word," Jade said in a flat tone, eying him. Claire looked between them, blinking back her tears. "Very well," the queen said at last, sighing. She glanced over at Claire and said, "It's a shame, really. But I must do what is best for my kingdom—for my forest. I am sure you can understand what it means to protect one's home. Sacrifices must be made. Goodbye, Lady Claire." She turned on her heel and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Tears leaked down her cheeks, soaking into the rope she bit down on. She tried to call after Jade. Even if she knew she'd been betrayed, she tried to plead with her to come back, to rethink this.

"Now, now," said Kane, his tongue clicking. "No tears. I'm taking you away from here." He moved around the clearing, examining it. She was only vaguely aware of its sickness, of the blackness. The barrier wasn't just a cage, it protected her from the blight. Everything here was dead. Nothing made a sound. There was nothing to make a sound.

Her stomach dropped deeper at the sight of him. Kane. Here in the forest. And here she was, completely and absolutely alone against him.

No, not alone, said Cyrus. Never alone. But you must get yourself out of this.

How? She tugged against her bonds, taking advantage of Kane's back, trying to pull at the bindings around her ankles.

Cyrus didn't offer an immediate solution and that scared her even more. You must find a way.

She tried to speak but her gag stopped her. She needed a way to stall. Needed time to think. She wanted answers.

She climbed to her feet as best she could. Kane noticed her movements and stepped closer to the barrier where he regarded her silently, then he stepped right through it as if were nothing. "Here, let me help you." He reached out and pulled her gag away, then walked right out of the barrier again. She blinked, looking between him and the glowing stones, hesitated, then sprang forward, trying to do the same thing. Her body collided with the wall and it flung her backwards.

Kane laughed. "I don't think it works like that, my dear. But go ahead, keep trying. Now, was there something you wanted to say to me before we get going?" He hesitated, as if thoughtful. "I think you will like Shadowkeep. Appreciate it's rugged beauty."

"You disgust me," she spat. She needed her magic, needed to figure out what she could use to get away from here, how she could break the barrier. She tried kicking the stones, tried throwing her body against the invisible wall, she even tried singing to call call wind, fire, water, vines, anything and everything that she'd learned studying under Pelwyn, but her magic was indeed unavailable.

And Kane just stood there. Watching. Amused.

At last, she collapsed, exhausted from her efforts, exhausted from lack of food, mostly. Jade had waited until she'd gone nearly a day without much food before pouncing. Waited for her to be weak. Waited for the opportune moment to sell her to Kane. All for what? To heal the forest?

Her mind raced over their previous interactions. Jade had said she'd found a solution—now Claire understood. Understood exactly what solution she'd found. Claire was the solution—selling her to Kane in exchange for his...what?

"Why is the forest sick?" She stalled, trying to think of another way to get out of this mess, trying to find something she missed. She couldn't use magic in this cage, couldn't call for Koldis, couldn't break the seal.

Kane turned away from her and pulled something from his pocket. A vial. He uncorked it, said a few quiet words, and splashed its contents against a nearby tree.

She sagged. At least he was going to heal the forest like he'd agreed. At least, even if he took her away, there was that. Perhaps Jade was right, maybe selling her out to Kane was a sacrifice worthwhile in Jade's eyes. The queen wanted to do what was best for her kingdom. Even Claire could understand that.

Where the liquid touched the tree, a sheet appeared. It created a wall of shimmering substance that grew with each of Kane's mutterings. She narrowed her eyes. The forest didn't change. The blackness didn't recede. Nothing was healed. Beyond the sheet, she saw a dimly lit rocky room. A cave.

"What is that?" she whispered, horrified. A vague image rested in her memories. She'd seen this before.

"It's a portal, of course." Kane stood before it, then ran his fingers through the sheet, muttering, pleased. Some of the liquid splashed to the ground.

She stared at it, eyes wide. A realization hit her square in the chest. "That's how you got into the forest the first time, when you attacked Cyrus."

"Oh, yes."

All this time! All this time she thought she'd be safe here and she'd overlooked that simple fact about Cyrus. "The sickness." She swallowed against her dry throat. "The sickness lets you in."

"More or less. I can only transport myself to patches like this, but once I'm inside a patch..." He spread his arms wide, leaving the rest unsaid. He could go where he pleased once he was here. "Now, I don't have all day. Shall we?" He stepped forward, eying her, as if perhaps trying to determine what might be the best way to move her.

She couldn't allow it. She couldn't!!

He had tried to kidnap her before. Tried and failed. She would not give in without a fight. She owed it to everyone who was counting on her. She owed it to Talon. Even if she was the one to defeat Kane, she certainly wasn't ready to do so now. She didn't even possess Isabella's staff.

"Why not kill me?" she said.

He tutted. "Why should I? When I can use you? Jade was ignorant. But not entirely ignorant. She understood your importance—your importance to me, anyway. Though, I must say, she vastly underestimated my honor." He snorted, finding this funny. "She thinks I can heal the forest. Unbelievable, isn't it?"

"You...you can't?" she said as the realization sank in.

"I can't. I know—I know." He clicked his tongue. "I tricked her, you see. Showed her what she wanted to see. I healed a small portion—that was easy enough. But where one place is healed, another will grow sick." He shrugged. "I made her some vague promises. But mostly? I lied. I'm quite good at lying." He walked around the stone barrier, examining it.

Of course he was good at lying.

"Then...you aren't the one who created the sickness?" Despite her rising panic, she couldn't help but ask.

"Hah! Me? I have better things to do. A certain Drengr king to kill. Two more Dragon Stones to obtain. Wouldn't happen to know where those are, would you? After you stole them from me?" He hesitated a beat, then added, "No, Jade created the sickness all on her own...I assume. All by herself. The best part is, I do not think she realizes it's her fault. Imagine that."

"Oh, I can imagine," she said, bitterness coating her voice.

"Yes, certainly. I'm sure you've heard the rumors about her. I have. A queen whose time is long past. A queen who no longer hears the whisperings of her precious Tree. A queen past her prime. Selfish. Power hungry. Greedy—even if she doesn't see things that way. I must say, I cannot fault her. I can even...relate to her on many fronts. I'd hold fast my power, too." He hesitated, reaching out and plucking a dead leaf from a nearby branch. "I merely saw this for the opportunity it was, and here we are."

"You will never win," she said, sneering. "You will never beat Talon. You are nothing."

He rounded on her, anger transforming his features to downright frightening. She flinched even despite her protective barrier. "Now that wasn't very nice. I can see that breaking you will be difficult. But not impossible." He pointed at her, muttering something too quiet to hear.

And then it hit her—pain. Her body erupted with it and she screamed. It unlike anything she'd ever felt, ripping through her. Worse than the Vodar poison, so much worse. She collapsed to her hands and knees, gasping, trying to breathe. Her vision went dark at the edges.

"Lucky for me, this barrier doesn't keep my magic out," he drawled, but she barely heard him.

Another wave of agony tore through her, searing across her skin, straight into her bones. She screamed, pulling herself into a ball as the world disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the pain. She tried to push it down, but in those moments, it became her. Pure, undulated torture. Another wave followed, and another, blasting heat along her nerve endings until she was sobbing, arms pulled tightly around her legs. Sobbing and shaking.

I am here. Cyrus was a faint whisper in her mind. But he was there; she wasn't alone in this.

"There now. There is no need to be disrespectful, hmm?" His words were far away. "Are you ready to apologize?"

"What?" she rasped.

"Apologize. Beg for my forgiveness." The pain had stopped, but it left echos behind all over her body. "Well?"

"I have nothing to apologize for," she bit out.

"No? Very well then."

She screamed as another wave ripped through her, screamed and screamed until it stopped.

"And now? Are you ready to apologize now? To beg me to stop?" She could barely hear him over her sobbing. "Well?"

No. She...she couldn't. Wouldn't. She wouldn't give in. Wouldn't be reduced to begging.

He sighed. "I really don't have all day. But...well. A lesson is a lesson."

The onslaught picked up where it left off. She screamed until her voice was hoarse, until it even hurt to scream. And then she broke. A few words. That's all it would take for this to stop. So she said them, managed to rasp out, "I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please. Please!" She spoke between quiet whimpers, unable to see through the blur of tears and the darkness that had overtaken her vision.

"There now." Everything melted away. Blissful, painless, nothingness. As if it had never happened. "Good girl." Kane stepped through the barrier. She heard his footsteps crunching the blackened leaves beside her, but she couldn't bring herself to move. He knelt and ran his hand down her cheek, wiping away her tears. The caress made her sick, twisted her stomach. But she couldn't seem to move, couldn't pull herself away after all that.

"You have no idea what you've done," he said, his voice close to her ear. So close that she could feel his breath tickle her skin. She shuddered in disgust. "No idea the lengths I've gone to fix everything after your interference. I should peel the skin from your bones, flay you alive." A whimper fell from her mouth, betraying her fear. He let out a heavy sigh. "Luckily for you, keeping you whole works better in my favor. Remember that today I have been merciful. Not a drop of your blood has been spilled here." He stood and his footsteps receded.

"Now, we must be going. We can certainly explore this more once we're home. I'll show you my library of poisons. I think you'll like that. And the spiders. It's a shame about the bats, really. But they will have their uses later."

She sniffed, trying to breathe. It was the only sound she managed. She couldn't speak. Couldn't think. Couldn't drag in enough air. "Koldis, please!" She knew he wouldn't hear her, and yet she couldn't help it.

"Get up."

She didn't move.

"I said—" A familiar wave of pain tore through her, ripping a fresh scream from her throat. She cried out for Talon this time, for each Shield, knowing none of them would hear her. "—get up!" And then the pain vanished. But she knew if she didn't stand up, he'd do it again. So she began to move, forced herself to move even though her body trembled. Each motion was painfully slow. Once she was on her knees, she looked at him, barely seeing through her tearstained eyes.

"There now. That wasn't so hard, was it?" He made another circuit around the circle.

She had to do something. If she didn't fight with everything here and now, once he moved her to Shadowkeep there would be no hope of ever escaping. No hope of getting out of his fortress alive.

"I'm going to move—" Crack. The sound of a snapping branch stopped him—made him hesitate. Through blurred eyes, she looked around. She'd heard it too, heard it easily above the otherwise silent surroundings.

Nothing moved. Kane nodded, satisfied. "No more time to delay. Let's go." He bent to pick up one of the stones—

The world around her exploded into motion. Streaks of white crashed through the dead clearing. Streaks of...unicorns? She cried, a sob wracking her chest at the sudden relief the sight of them brought. One charged straight for Kane, horn lowered, flinging him backwards. He still held the burning red stone in his hand. She moved without thinking, barreling straight through the broken barrier.

Kane was fast, too.

He shouted a command and sent a spear of blackness right into the charging unicorn. A spear of death. The beautiful creature let out a wail, a scream so brutal, she stumbled and fell to her knees. Its beautiful white body twisted and crashed to the ground, eyes glassing over in an instant. She cried out, crawling to its side. Dead.

"You monster!" she hissed, layering ever ounce of hate she possessed towards him into her voice. Fresh tears carved paths down her cheeks. There were two other unicorns. She recognized them from the other day. Seeing their fallen friend, they scattered, dodging the magic Kane threw at them as he attempted to end them the same way.

"No," she whispered, climbing to her feet, dodging the vines coming up all around them. With good creatures in its midst, the blight sought to attack. Sought to infect. It didn't touch Kane, but it came straight for the rest of them. For her.

"Go," she screamed at the remaining unicorns, unable to bear another sacrifice, unable to bear another death. Vines sprang up, ensnaring their hooves. She acted on instinct—didn't use her voice, but only what she'd learned from Pelwyn. With a flash of her arm and the focus of her mind, she sent tendrils of air to wrap around the vines and free the unicorns, to push them to safety. She sent them far from the blight. They neighed in protest. But she wouldn't dare risk them.

"That was rather selfless. Also rather stupid," Kane said, circling her, ready to pounce. More vines threw themselves at her, wrapping around her ankles. Kane used the moment of distraction, his hands flashing through the air, an incant in his voice. She threw up a barrier of air against the black smoke that threatened to tangle around her. He growled, cutting through her air and throwing himself forward to grab her. To drag her through the watery sheet. She'd drifted perilously close to it. She broke free of the vines right as his hand closed around her wrist. Right as the world disappeared into a flash of white.

⭐️🌟⭐️🌟⭐️

Happy Friday, Bookdragons!

Phew! That was intense! And it's not over yet. Yikes. We've reached the most pivotal point of the story. When I plotted the outline for Koldis, this was one of the first scenes that popped into my head. I realized immediately that I needed to craft the story around this. Jade was, unfortunately, one of the key players that made it possible. But it worked!

Next week's chapter is also from Claire's POV and will pick up right where we leave off here today. It's titled, "From Stone to Scale." It's another chapter with something I saw coming from book 1. But I don't want to give ANY spoilers away.

Today it's storming and lots of thunder and lightning, which makes it the perfect kind of day to stay in. I'm hard at work writing this weekend. This morning, I finished writing a scene I've been nervously looking forward to for a long time. I think it turned out right. I'm going to push to get the last few chapters of the book finished this weekend, or perhaps next weekend. Once that happens, you can expect some bonus chapters in your future!

All my best,

Mel