Shattered Souls (The Shattered Trilogy Book 1) by Emily Huffman

Author:Emily Huffman [Huffman, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

A crowd of lightning bugs streamed into the clearing. They twirled around my feet and zipped into my ankles. I waved them away, but they were insistent, swarming around me.

“They can take us to Kharkus,” Lilliana explained. They twirled around her, lighting up her body in a glow of twinkling lights.

“And we’re just going to go?” I raised my eyebrows and turned to Jaina. “What about Jaina? Does she have enough time for this?”

“He was supposed to just let us back in.” Lilliana rubbed at her wrists.

“We were supposed to be returning to take the throne,” Selenious said.

“Is there not another way in?” I looked deeper into the Forest.

Selenious stood and followed the lightning bugs. “Our ancestors spent weeks and countless lives were lost to the nearby Ancients trying to find a better way into the Forest.”

“Did Kharkus not let them in?” I asked.

“He gave our grandfather the same offer—the Trial of the Emerald Way.”

“Do you have any idea what that is?”

Lilliana looked at her brother. “I’m sure he knows.”

“I know the same story you do. Our grandfather completed the Trial, and Kharkus allowed our people in.”

“So we don’t have a choice?” I asked.

“Not without doing something incredibly stupid.” Selenious sighed.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, if the rock held powerful magic and whims of its own.

We followed the lightning bugs. As dusk faded to night, I didn’t need to light a candle. Their glow lit the path beneath my feet and a few steps ahead. The rest of the Forest was pitch black with only the occasional rustling of leaves or scampering of paws to prove that there was anything beyond our small lit area.

Just when I had begun to think the lightning bugs were lost—or maybe Lilliana had misinterpreted their meaning—we reached the entrance to a small cave. Kharkus waited for us outside, lounging on a rock. The lightning bugs scattered, leaving us in darkness, and I pulled out a torch. The fire crackled to life, casting shadows off the nearby trees. Kharkus was gone.

“Dreamer stays.” Kharkus stood behind us and leaned over the cart to peer closely at Jaina once more.

“No way,” I objected, pulling the cart closer to the mouth of the cave and away from Kharkus. He threw out his arm and gripped the edge of the cart. The cart lurched to a stop. I tugged in vain; the wood of the cart creaked and groaned, but it didn’t budge.

“Dreamer stays,” Kharkus repeated.

“Why would I leave her with you?”

“Kharkus many things. Not liar. Dreamer, Dreamer safe.” He held out his arms and swayed back and forth. “Forest protect. Kharkus vow.”

I looked to Selenious and Lilliana for guidance. Lilliana was already investigating the cave, by running her hand along the gray stone.

Selenious met my gaze and gave a slow, firm nod. “She is likely safer here than wherever we are going.”

“Let’s get this over with quickly then.” I took one last glance at Jaina in the cart. I wondered what she was going through now.

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