𝔸 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕎𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙 (Book 2)

Twenty-Six

y'all wanted to see my Dani drawing. Ask and you shall receive.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I woke a few hours later from a nightmare.

    It took me minutes to remember where I was and why I was there. But at least I wasn't tired. Weary, but not tired.

    Thankfully, Rhysands inner circle had left before I'd woken up. Rhys was waiting at the door when I'd come down. The door was open, revealing the streets beyond. He ran an eye over me, likely noting the casual outfit I was wearing. Weather appropriate and comfortable.

    Each step towards the sunny city was both eternity and seconds all rolled into one. For a moment as I looked upon it the weight on my shoulders vanished.

    In the distance children still shrieked with laughter.

    I'd made about three steps on the walkway before I'd halted altogether. Somehow it was different out in the open, more freeing. I hadn't been outside a house in months. Hadn't seen any unfamiliar faces in months. Hadn't breathed new air in months.

    I could have wept at the feeling.

    The street sloped down, revealing more townhouses with people sitting on the perfectly green lawns filled with beautiful arrays of flowers and plants. At the bottom of the hill curved a large winding river. Flowing without care. Sparkling like the deepest Saphire in the sunlight. Snaking towards a vast expanse of water beyond.

    The sea.

    I'd seen many oceans and somehow this one made me breathless. Glittering and open. Ships sailed as families took them out on the water, laughing as far as I could see. The white wings of the birds shone above them as the sweet sounds of their chirps resonated through the land.

    I was beyond words.

Beyond anything but a small frail thing that could only sit and stare at the beauty of the city in itself.

There were no monsters. No darkness. No despair. Not even a hint of fear.

Untouched.

Untouched for five thousand years.

Looming ahead like eternal guardians of the city sat three large mountains. The river flowed towards them as though it was a magnet. Sleeping giants, somehow alive and at rest all at the same time.

As if in answer my body lit with a slithering feeling on my skin as my power rolled off me. Calling to those vast mountains and everyone here.

"The middle peak," Rhys said as he came up beside me, and yet I couldn't seem to pry my eyes away from the sight. I was sure my mouth hung open in awe. I finally looked at he pointed to the largest of the mountains. Holes—windows seemed to have been built into the uppermost part of it. And flying towards it on magnificent wings were two large figures. "That's my other home in this city. The House of Wind."

This city...I couldn't even form a thought that would sum up what I felt as I looked at it.

"We'll be dining there tonight. It's also when your sister will arrive and where she'll be staying." Rhys added.

I turned to him, a little breathless, "How?"

"Luck."

A lie. Plain and simple. Nothing like this could be protected by just luck.

I'd leave it for now. Only because my entire body was screaming at me to start walking. For a moment, only a moment, the lights, the breeze, the people, it all made me forget.