A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(108)

“Sorry about—” but Goldilocks didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence.

A hundred soldiers suddenly emerged from the trees and surrounded the carriages. Jack and Goldilocks quickly retrieved their weapons but there were too many of them to fight. The kings and queens in the carriages screamed as rifles and swords were pointed at them. There wasn’t anything anyone could do—they had been ambushed by the Grande Armée.

General Marquis was the last to appear out of the trees. He stood behind Rook and patted his shoulder. “Well done, my boy,” he said. “Well done, indeed.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN





THE SIGNAL IN THE SKY


The flames on Alex’s and Conner’s wounds faded as the sun set and night fell upon the tiny cottage in the woods. Soon the flames dimmed more, burning so low only a thin glow covered the healing parts of their bodies.

“The flames are almost gone,” Alex said. She stood from the cot and finally could put weight on her leg without any pain.

“My ribs feel good, too,” Conner said. He twisted his torso and touched his toes without any difficulty. “I’ve never felt better! Looks like the fire did the trick!”

“We really need to get going,” Alex said to Hagetta.

Hagetta didn’t argue with her this time. She retrieved Alex’s crystal wand from the fireplace and handed it to her. “Here you are, my dear.”

Alex examined her wand and didn’t find a scratch on it—it was as good as new. “We’ll never forget this kindness,” Alex said. “If there is anything we can ever do, please don’t hesitate—”

Hagetta raised her hand. “The best thing you can do is to promise me you’ll take care of yourselves,” she said warmly. “I don’t understand why such heavy burdens have been placed on your young shoulders, but the taller you stand, the less weight you’ll feel. Don’t ever let anything break your spirit, children. Courage is something no one can take away from you.”

Alex and Conner exchanged a kindhearted smile with her. Goldilocks had told them the same thing once, and now they knew who she had learned it from.

“We always seem to land on our feet,” Conner said. “Except that one time you saw us crash and we almost died—but thanks to you, we even bounced back from that!”

Alex leaned under the table. “Are you ready to go, Lester?”

“Squaaa!” Lester squawked and happily fluttered to his feet, almost knocking the table over in the process.

“Great, then let’s go—”

Suddenly, a heavy knock came on Hagetta’s door. All four of them immediately turned to it.

“Are you expecting company?” Conner asked.

“No,” Hagetta said. She was just as alarmed as the twins were by the sound of a visitor. “Quick, hide behind the cauldron so no one will see you.”

The twins crouched behind the cauldron. Lester dived under the table again and Hagetta placed a large tablecloth over it to shield him better. Alex pointed her wand at the door, preparing for the worst.

Hagetta opened the door only a sliver and peeked outside. “Can I help you?” she asked the caller.

“Hello, sorry to disturb you but I’m looking for a young girl and boy. The goose they were flying was shot from the sky and they were spotted landing in the woods around this area,” said a familiar voice. “Have you seen them?”

Hagetta cautiously opened the door a bit wider so the twins could see who was on the other side.

“Xanthous!” Conner exclaimed, and popped up from behind the cauldron.

“It’s all right, Hagetta, he’s a friend,” Alex said.

Hagetta let him inside and he greeted the twins with enormous hugs. He had never been so happy to see them.

“Alex! Conner! Thank the heavens you’re all right! I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he said.

His cheerful demeanor confused the twins—weren’t they in the middle of a war? Did he not know the Elf Empire and other territories had been attacked?

“Xanthous, why aren’t you in the Charming Kingdom?” Alex asked. “The Grande Armée has started their attacks! We saw them strike the Elf Empire!”

“We were just about to warn you and the other fairies,” Conner said.

“We already know! All the kingdoms have been attacked except for the Fairy Kingdom,” he informed them.

Alex covered her mouth and tears instantly filled her eyes. “Oh no!” she said. “We never expected they would attack all the kingdoms at once! We didn’t plan for that! I told everyone to split their armies in half! I left everyone outnumbered!”

Xanthous placed his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “Alex, you don’t have to be upset. Even with half the armies in hiding, we still managed to outnumber them!”

Both the twins’ hearts started racing, but for the first time in a while they beat in a good way. Was he telling them good news or were they just imagining it?

“Did you just say you outnumbered the Armée?” Conner asked. “But how is that possible? They were double the size of us.”

A proud smile came to Xanthous’s face. “It seems both sides made a mistake in counting,” he said. “They counted the kingdoms’ armies after they were divided and only sent enough soldiers to match those numbers. And it seems we didn’t incorporate the forgotten army in our estimates.”