Six of Ruin (Heirs of Irenwell #1) ✔

Chapter 39: Two-Headed Giant

Rixen led the way; I could barely focus on my own breathing and had no idea where we were heading. Something within me felt irrevocably broken, like I've felt something impossible in that ballroom, something nothing could match.

"Come on." Rixen pushed the smaller iron gates open.

"The back door?" I asked and followed him out.

"One of many."

The fresh air slapped my face, sobering me up. I breathed in the cold and let it cool the heat under my skin. The sudden change in pressure made my head spin, like I stood up too fast.

Rixen grabbed both my shoulders, "Are you alright?"

"Dizzy." I mumbled, closing my eyes for a moment.

"There's all kinds of substances in the air in there." Rixen chuckled. "But there's no time to be drugged right now, we have to go."

Slowly, I opened my eyes, "This was a strange experience."

"It gets stranger." Rixen arched his eyebrow.

Finally, I took in the sights in front of me. We were on a stone balcony, overlooking the moonlit valley full of grey-black ruins. The columns, supporting nothing, still stood proudly, outlining the large square in the middle of the valley.

I could still make out the streets, moss-covered cobbled pathways, cracked stone stairways and half-ruined bridges connecting the sides of the city. The ruined city spread all the way from the valley, up the hills, where the evidence of the previous civilisation became scarcer.

In the distance, on the opposite side of Aradda Tower, I saw another fort, which mimicked the tall towers of Aradda. These towers were pitch-black, almost like fire marred the stone. Unlike Aradda Tower, the Waiting Tower was carved in the mountain, it was a part of it. A mountain range spread around it; high, dark and threatening.

"The Waiting Tower." Rixen said and began descending the stairway on our left. "The only other entrance to the Spirit territory beside Liu Raj's lake."

"What is this?" I looked over the ruins.

"City of Aradda." Rixen shrugged. "Or what's left of it."

Judging by the number of stone foundations, the city used to be huge, perhaps bigger than the capital of Irenwell. It also appeared to be completely abandoned, except for the weak, distant fire lights right under the Waiting Tower.

"That's the town of Dahn." Rixen said when he glanced at me and saw me looking towards the lights. "Come on."

We came down the narrow, fence-less stairway and I clung to the stone wall like my life depended on it. I wasn't afraid of heights, but staring down into nothing still made me dizzy. Once we finally reached the ground, I let out the breath I was holding.

"There," Rixen pointed at the wooden double gates not far from us, "That's the entrance to the tunnels."

Twinges of panic spread across my skin. The wooden gates were still closed. Ace said we shouldn't wait for them, but I couldn't help myself. Shouldn't we wait at least a moment?

Time ticked away, each moment passing by too quickly. Music still rang through the towers, but it did not sound inviting now, it sounded like a dangerous premonition.

"Rixen," I swallowed the rising panic, "Where are they?"

"I don't know." The shadowman took my hand, slightly pulling me away from the door. "I think we need to go."

His anxiety mimicked mine, growing exponentially stronger by the minute. I couldn't move, not when I knew they were still inside. Ace promised he would keep them safe. And yes, I knew better than to trust a devious mage, but his promise was the only lifeline I had left. There was nothing else to hold on to.