The day turned to night very slowly while Rowan and the rest of the Ravennites remained underground. Matheus warned that the temperatures would still be too cold following the storm, and that it would be best to wait until morning to leave and head back to the Citadel. It was difficult to tell, however, seeing as no one was permitted to leave the mines. It would be a journey of many miles back to the Citadel, and Matheus said he did not want to take any unnecessary risks; it would be best to give the mountains time to recover after such a terrible storm.
Rowan was restless all day. She got very little sleep the previous night. The dreadful sensation of hopelessness at the thought of the loss of her friend was almost too much to bear. It engulfed her heart in a cold darkness, and had almost brought her mind to the brink of collapse, as if she desired nothing more than to simply escape this horrible reality
The shroud of darkness was lifting from Alex’s mind, and with it the horrid experience of his trip through the mysterious, white valley. As he finally made his way back into the woods, his head was throbbing profoundly, and he hardly took notice of how quickly the sun had set, allowing the darkness to take over the mountains once more. As a matter of fact, it had been nighttime for hours, and Alex was no longer sure whether or not he was dreaming the whole time.The temperatures were still low, but it certainly felt warmer than it had earlier. It was as if he could feel again. Still, after his ordeal, he knew that he needed to rest. The body he was still carrying over his shoulders was quickly beginning to weigh him down. Alex decided it best to stop and break for a while. He headed over to the nearest evergreen he could find and gently sat Kota’s body down to rest against the tree trunk.
As Rowan silently made her way through the dark woods, heading as fast as she could for the Dividing Mountains in the south, her attention was suddenly captured by the sound of thunder crackling over the mountains.She quickly froze in her tracks. At first, she was fearful that the terrible winter storm might not have been over yet. As Rowan gazed up at the sky, she narrowed her eyes curiously at the sight of a red wave of light rolling outward across the clouds. She had never seen anything like it before, and she did not know whether to feel wonder or fear. None of that mattered right now as she shook herself back to her senses. She had to hurry on her way. It would not be long before Matheus realized she was gone and sent the Ravennites out to look for her.Back at the Citadel, Delmar found no rest as he stood atop the tower’s overlook and stared
Alex collapsed into the snow, hanging onto his consciousness by a thin thread. His body felt as though it had been set on fire on the inside. His vision was blurred and his heart ached as it pounded heavily. Alex had been through a lot in the last two years, but he had never experienced anything like this before. It was as if his entire sense of logic had all but dissipated. It was difficult to think clearly as he struggled to lift himself up with shaky arms.Alex was completely oblivious to his surroundings, so much so that he never considered he may not have been alone. A few meters behind him, amidst the cover of the trees, a tall, dark figure was standing in the shadows, as though it were watching him. The figure took a single step from the tree line, still shrouded in the darkness, but as it did, the air around it suddenly became motionless. In fact, the entire environment appeared to be still; the bo
“Where is she!?”Matheus hurried down the tunnel of the mine to where Rowan had made her encampment with her Domineer hostage, only now, the two of them were gone. He looked down at the Ravennite he had asked to keep an eye on her. He was still lying unconscious on the ground, and Matheus kicked him in the side to try to wake him. “Get up!”The Ravennite slowly but steadily came back to his senses. He sat up against the wall of the mine and groaned as he held his head. Matheus was growing impatient. “What happened?” he asked tensely. “Where’s Rowan?”“Rowan,” the man repeated in a murmur. His head was still aching, but it quickly made him realize what was going when he saw that Rowan was not around. “Rowan!” he exclaimed, his eyes opening
What hour was it? For all Rowan knew, it could be nearly dawn by now. Her sense of time had been obscured after spending the past twenty-four hours inside the abandoned clay mines during the bone-chilling aftermath of the storm. She did not care. All her thought and focus was bent on tracking down Caine’s encampment.That name gnawed at her heart with a piercing strain; a young man she had once almost called a friend, whom her family always trusted, was now nothing more than a haunting demon she felt she had to face. Her blood ran hot with hatred, and her mind seemed to be blotting out any rational thoughts that might deter her from her reckless path.This powerful strain stayed with Rowan ever since she encountered Caine at the Iron Furnace. He tried to bring her over to his side by convincing her the last of the Ravennites would surely be destroye
Just on the other side of the mountains, the Domineers were as restless as the Ravennites while they patrolled the borders of their encampment. Caine was becoming increasingly anxious, and that was never a good sign. Ever since the anticipation of the storm, Caine’s uneasiness continued to grow until it began to affect the rest of them as well. They never had so little contact with Ramon’s camp as they did the past few months, and the silence was deafening.Most of them were certain that the storm smply delayed the messengers they were expecting from Ramon, but Caine was fearful that his message was never received at all, and that the Ravennites would be on their doorstep before they knew it. He ordered the Domineers to patrol the woods surrounding the plain at all times, but beyond that, Caine seemed to keep to himself, as if there was something he was not telling the rest of them.
“Take them out of here!” Caine shouted as he approached the rest of the Domineers crowded around the cluster of catapults. They only stared back at him curiously. “Did you not hear me?” he panted with anxious exhaustion.“What’s going on?” one of the Domineers stepped forward. “Is it the Ravennites?” His question suddenly caused the others to glance this way and that.“Just do as I say!” Caine fired back angrily. “Start moving the catapults. We’re taking them back to the camps.”“What?” the Domineer asked in confusion. “I thought we were supposed to stay here until Ramon’s men arrived, so we could lead the catapults over the mountains and to the Citadel. That was the plan.”
The entire atmosphere went deathly silent as soon as her charge had ended. The disturbing sound of the tearing of flesh echoed briefly in Rowan’s ears, but it was not what she was expecting. Her jaw fell wide open as she stared at her victim in total shock. The very sight before her was unbelievable.Caine howled in both agony and anger. As soon as Rowan charged her sword at him, he instinctively raised his left hand to protect himself, and the tip of the blade pierced right through it. The Domineers looked on in horror and disbelief, unable to decide what to do at this point. The air was filled with his blood curdling screams as Caine tried desperately to suppress the pain.Rowan was too astonished to move. Eventually, Caine rose above the pain. He opened his eyes, which had gone bloodshot, and stared at Rowan with a crazed look of hate. She could not ba