The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(3)
Dropping her end of the blanket, Naoki craned her long neck to the side, blinking spherical lilac eyes at him. She’d been a handful since they’d parted ways with Finn, Naoki’s mother, as far as the little dragon was concerned. He’d been forced to keep her in Finn’s vacated cabin, lest Naoki attempt to fly away in search of her.
He sighed, then took a seat on the bed beside the dragon. Finn would never forgive him if he managed to lose her friend, not to mention Anna would be furious with losing her collateral.
Naoki made a chittering sound in her throat, then retrieved the blanket and dropped one end in Kai’s lap.
He snorted. “It’s all just a game to you, isn’t it?”
She chittered again.
“Are ye almost done with that dragon!” Sativola called down the stairs leading to the cabins. “We’re about to dock, and it looks like the city has been burned.”
Burned? Well that didn’t sound good. Pushing the blanket aside, he stood, then hurried out of the cabin, shutting the door before Naoki could bound after him. He cringed as her weight hit the closed door, then proceeded to jog down the hallway. He reached the stairs and raced up them two at a time to find Sativola waiting on deck, his massive form partially blocking out the sun.
As soon as Kai was at his side, Sativola pointed a sausage-like finger at the nearby city of Migris. Sure enough, it was giving off large amounts of smoke, and no men could be seen around the gates.
“No signs of life?” Kai questioned, not spotting any, but wanting to verify that whoever had burned the city was not around.
Sativola shook his head, tossing his golden curls to and fro. “None that we’ve seen yet. Looks like the fire has died down, leaving only the smoldering remains.”
Kai snorted. Smoldering remains. An apt description for his life at the present, or so he felt. He had no idea where he stood with Finn, and now she was back with Iseult on their little quest. Not to mention Anna’s troubles with seeing into the gray, the in between places. Her nightmares had only grown worse, sometimes crossing into waking so that she jumped at shadows at the oddest times. Now they somehow had to make it all the way back to Garenoch, and a meadow somewhere beyond that, where Finn used to stand as a tree. It would have all been hard to believe if he hadn’t seen too many odd things with his own eyes, including the Faie of the Blood Forest.
“Well at least we won’t need to hide the dragon when we dock,” Sativola sighed, drawing Kai out of his thoughts.
Kai nodded. There was that, at least. Perhaps he could just keep Naoki in her cabin, and leave it to Finn to draw her out without a fight.
Thinking of Finn, he scanned the sea for the ship she was on, finding it not far off from his own. He squinted his eyes, attempting to make out the figures on the deck, but they were too far away to see clearly.
Sativola jumped as the door to Anna’s nearby cabin burst open, slamming against the exterior wall with a loud bang. Anna exited the cabin and approached, looking dangerous in her tightly fitted black attire: breeches, tunic, and corseted vest. Twin daggers, her constant companions of late, swayed at each of her hips. Her straight, black hair, pulled into a tight braid, accentuated her sharp, hawklike features and dark eyes.
“It seems someone has laid siege to Migris,” Kai explained as she reached them.
She nodded, her eyes taking on a distant look. “It was the Faie, or something like them.”
Kai frowned, waiting for further information.
Instead of answering, Anna glared at Sativola until he raised his hands in surrender and walked away. Turning back to Kai, she explained, “I saw it in a dream last night. I don’t know who led them, or why, but many powerful creatures gathered together to conquer the city.” She frowned. “They wanted to send a message,” she added distantly.
Kai suppressed a shiver. He’d stood witness as the Faie attacked the Ceàrdaman, slaughtering them to break the barrier trapping them within the Blood Forest. He couldn’t imagine what the people of Migris must have felt when the Faie descended upon them. Even if some managed to flee, they would not likely last long in the wilds. The roads were already crowded with refugees searching for a safe place to dwell. At least, that was how it had been when they’d departed on their search for the Archtree, over two weeks prior.
“Are the Faie still within the city?” he questioned, hoping Anna had gained more useful information from her dream.
She shook her head. “I do not know, and I didn’t say they were Faie for sure, just something like them. Something . . . magical. Perhaps some remain, but I doubt it. They accomplished what they set out to do.”
“And that was to send a message?” Kai asked, feeling uneasy as they neared the docks. “What kind of message, and to whom?” This close to the city, he was quite sure there were no signs of life, but he’d prefer to avoid any stragglers who might remain.
“If I knew, I would have said,” Anna snapped. “I don’t know why I dreamed of it at all. The only thing I can say for sure is that our troubles will only increase from here.”
She’d grown flustered as she spoke, darting her eyes around the ship. Was she seeing things again? Kai tried to follow her gaze, knowing he couldn’t see what she saw, but unable to keep himself from trying.
Giving up, he left Anna’s side to help the other men with the sails. Just a moment before, he’d been thinking his life couldn’t get any worse, but if hoards of Faie, or something perhaps even worse, were sacking the great cities, all men would have many more troubles to come.