Seven Dreams by English Charlotte E

Author:English, Charlotte E.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dragons, shapeshifters, fantasy adventure, fantasy fiction, fantasy mystery
Publisher: Charlotte E. English

Chapter Fourteen

Based on Eva’s descriptions, Serena had expected to arrive in Orlind to find a small, barren island of bare rock, separated from the mainland by a long stretch of water.

That was not exactly what happened.

They travelled to Orlind under escort, following Avane and with her companion flying behind. When the airship finally crested the last peak that divided them from the Seventh Realm, the vista that lay before them revealed no miserable lump of rock at all, but a flourishing island of considerable size.

Serena, Anserval, Eva and (to Serena’s delight) Fabian stood at the viewing deck together. When Orlind at last came into view, they were all taken by surprise. Even Anserval stopped mid-sentence in the middle of one of his monologues.

The glittering expanse of water that lay between the mountains and the island was barely a few miles across, Serena judged, and it was surprisingly serene. Where it met the foot of the Sammerills the water was of a typical greyish hue tossed with green; as it approached the island, however, the grey gave way to blue and the green to purple, turning it a mesmerising twilight-violet colour where it met the shore of Orlind.

The island itself was no less startling. A short beach of silvery sand gave way to a forest of tall trees with thin, curving trunks and silvery bark, their leaves in all shades of blue, green and purple. The tiny shapes of coloured birds were just visible wheeling and diving above the treetops, and fishing out of the strange sea that surrounded their home.

As the airship grew closer, Serena discerned more details: the trunks were striped in colours, weirdly contorted seashells in strange hues lay littered across the beach, and flickers of movement revealed the presence of darting animals among the trees.

‘What’s all this?’ Serena breathed.

Eva shook her head. ‘I don’t know. Last time I was here... it’s been almost two years. I realised — I hoped — it might have changed, but this is... this is beyond anything.’ She sounded awed and a little breathless. Tren merely stared and said nothing at all. She wondered what he, with his draykoni heritage, made of this sight. He was no shapeshifter, but as a powerful sorcerer he must possess strong draykon blood. Did he see or sense anything that Serena did not? Did Eva? She wished, suddenly and fiercely, that she hadn’t left Teyo behind. She wanted his thoughts and his unique perspective on this dazzling place. More than that, she wanted him to see it.

There was nowhere in all of this for their ship to land, but Avane made no move to stop or slow down. They sailed serenely over the tops of the trees and found, on the other side of the forest, an open area of lush bronze grass. Arrayed around the edges of this peculiar meadow was a variety of structures. Some were built from branches and grass and leaves and resembled enormous nests, although they appeared to possess several levels like some human dwellings.

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