Ultimatum (Ultimate Mage Book 3) by Simon Archer

Author:Simon Archer [Archer, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2020-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

18

First thing in the morning, we got back on the move. We continued our trek through the kingdom for the next week or more, though time began to blend together for me, the closer we got to our destination. We continued to fight and kill mountain elves as we went, coming across groups of them in castles, towns, and other structures throughout our journey. None of them gave any indication as to where they were going or what their ultimate plan was before they died, but we were mostly just happy that they were dead, as were the residents of the places we rescued.

“We are growing near,” Marinka said one morning as we traveled down the cobblestone path.

“We are?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t realized how far we’d come, as the days and nights had begun to squash together, forming a new kind of timelessness not unlike that we’d experienced on our two quests. The only difference this time was that we were home in the kingdom, not in some foreign land that none of us knew much about. That difference lent an eeriness and an almost laziness to the way time passed for me then.

“Indeed,” Marinka said gravely. “We should be there before the day is out.” There was a long silence, broken finally by Godfried.

“What do you think that we will find there, cousin?” he asked, his voice smaller than usual, making him seem younger. Perhaps it only made him seem his true age, and I often thought of him as older than he actually was.

I remembered once more that the royal castle was the only home that Godfried and Marinka had ever known. I wondered how I would feel if my parents’ apartment in Queens was under attack and shuddered at the thought. It would be a strange feeling, no doubt. But then again, this was all strange.

“I do not know,” Marinka sighed. “I hope that we will find our families and friends and the rest of the castle in good spirits, untouched by the attacks that have plagued the rest of the realm, but I realize that this hope is likely merely a fantasy.”

I almost laughed at that word but managed to stop myself. This was all a fantasy for me. I’d grown up hearing and watching stories of elves and magic and strange worlds and creatures, only to find that some of it was actually true. Not for the first time, I wondered what other strange worlds must be out there, waiting to be discovered.

“I cling to this same hope, my friend, though I also fear that it is a foolish one,” Nadeine said, placing a hand on Marinka’s shoulder.

“Whatever we find, we’ll face it together,” Ishida said.

“Right,” I agreed. “We’ve faced a lot as a team, and we’ve always pulled through. There’s no reason to think that this is any different. Just a little bit bigger and scarier, maybe.”

“And more of a threat to our daily lives,” Bernsten said, his eyes wide at the thought of what was to come.

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