Battle for Cymmera by Dani-Lyn Alexander

Author:Dani-Lyn Alexander [Alexander, Dani-Lyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Ryleigh followed the path through the forest, keeping close to Allura’s side.

Payton stuck like glue on Ryleigh’s other side. Though she kept her posture rigid and her head high, her hands constantly fidgeting gave away her fear.

Allura slid through the forest without making a sound, the silence of a predator stalking its prey.

Despite the heat and humidity, Ryleigh shivered.

Unlike the clearing they’d emerged into when they first entered the new realm, this forest teemed with life. Hundreds of hummingbirds hovered among the trees. Small animals scampered through the forest and darted across the path, then disappeared, rustling the brush. Some kind of white monkeys with colorful backs swung from branch to branch above them, keeping pace with her as she walked. Their harmonious calls echoed from the treetops. Ryleigh couldn’t drag her gaze from the beautiful, graceful creatures, unlike any she’d ever seen.

Allura reached an enormous evergreen tree and stopped. She slid her hand across the bark, and an opening appeared.

Payton gasped.

Allura waited, staring anxiously at Payton. When she didn’t make any further comment, Allura sighed, turned away, and strode through the opening.

Ryleigh followed the other woman up a spiral staircase carved into the inside of the tree. When they reached the top, they emerged onto a huge wooden platform. Miles and miles of lush green forest surrounded them. Flowers carpeted the tops of the trees. A blue sky, reminiscent of the color of faded denim, embraced it all.

“Please, sit. Be comfortable. I’ll be right back.” Queen Allura gestured toward a large table surrounded by armchairs, then returned to the stairway.

Ryleigh chose a seat facing a mountain, where a breathtaking turquoise waterfall crashed over a wide plateau. She ran a hand over the smooth, mauve fabric, then sank into a cushion as soft as a cloud. She closed her eyes, indulging in one moment of peace, allowing her exhaustion just an instant of respite. She tried desperately to keep her grief over Jackson at bay.

“What do you think is going on?”

Ryleigh turned her head toward Payton and cracked one eye open enough to peek at her.

She perched on the edge of the chair closest to Ryleigh’s, clasping and unclasping her hands as her gaze darted wildly around the room.

Ryleigh sighed and sat up straighter. “I don’t know yet, but Queen Allura seems hospitable enough.”

For the moment, anyway.

“I guess.” Payton leaned toward Ryleigh and pitched her voice low. “Do you really think I could be her daughter?”

She didn’t know what to think. She’d always found something off about Payton’s story, especially the rehearsed way she always repeated it. And the remarkable resemblance between her and these other women, especially Allura, was hard to deny. But the fear emanating from her made Ryleigh hedge a little. “I don’t know. You’ve said you were taken from the human realm, but I—”

“I have seen to your people. They will be removed from the clearing and brought to our village.” She nodded toward Ryleigh. “They will be safe here, for now.”

Damn. She’d been hoping the people she’d left in the clearing had escaped their notice.

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